Transforming Passion into Power: Volunteering at the heart of social change - 23-25 April 2008

If you only attend one volunteering event in 2008 - make it this one. In one place, you will gain insight into the work of Volunteering England and of key organisations working in and with the third sector, enhancing your work to ensure that volunteering remains at the heart of social change.

You will hear from a variety of third sector leaders at one of our inspiring plenary sessions including Question time: a volunteering special involving a panel of politicians including Phil Hope MP, Minister for the Third Sector, who will answer your questions, along with MP's with responsibility for volunteering from the two other major political parties. Take your pick from 71 tailored workshops over this three-day event.

Highlights of the Convention include:

• A debate on Volunteering and 2012: a lasting legacy or a publicity stunt?
• Volunteers and the Law: next steps. What needs to be changed in terms of the law? Mark Restall, Head of Information, Volunteering England, discusses the Criminal Records checks, what a volunteer is (and the arguments over definitions), and getting your own house in order.
• Keeping track: what do you need from a volunteer database? Udeni Salmon, Leonard Cheshire looks at the options of buying a database off the peg or knocking something up in Access and learning learn how to decide what's right for you.

For the registration form and latest announcements about the Volunteering England National Convention, go to www.volunteering.org.uk/convention. For further enquiries, e-mail events@volunteeringengland.org or telephone 020 7520 8928.