This year’s Care Experienced Week is taking place from 26th October to 1st November.

Throughout this week, we’re coming together to celebrate the Care Experienced Community and provide opportunities for our members to connect with Who Cares? Scotland, each other and their supporters.

Find out more about this year’s theme and previous years below.

2026

Forward to the Future
This year’s theme is 'Forward to the Future' as we want to celebrate all of Scotland's Care Experienced community, where they are now and what they are looking forward to in the future. We’re encouraging people to speak about their hopes for the future - whether that’s change they want to make as an organisation, a volunteer or on an individual level, their career goals and aspirations.
Access our Comms Pack

2024

Belonging and Connection
2024 saw us focus on the importance of Belonging and Connection. Why? Because this is something that is often overlooked and undervalued in many ways. We know from our members how important it is to connect with other Care Experienced people and how it helps them feel like they belong - whether that is through groups or events like our Love Rally.
Love Rally 2024

2025

Rights
Last year's theme focused on 'Rights.' Throughout this week, we focused on our Action on Advocacy campaign and how we were campaigning for the right to independent advocacy to be included in the upcoming ‘Promise’ Bill. We also launched our 'Connected by Care' manifesto, which outlined our members five main priorities for political parties before the Scottish Election.
Read our manifesto

2023

Lifelong Rights
In 2023, our Lifelong Rights campaign launched during Care Experienced Week. Since 1978, we’ve heard from Care Experienced people that care can have a lifelong impact. The available data shows that Care Experienced people currently do not have the same life outcomes as their non Care Experienced peers. The Lifelong Rights Campaign was our commitment to change this.
Read more about our Lifelong Rights campaign

The History of Care Experienced Week

The first Care Experienced Week was held in October 2018. It was launched and initially celebrated by Who Cares? Scotland but is now celebrated globally.

Care Experienced Week was inspired by National Care Leavers’ Week, however, our members told us that although they may leave care, they never leave their care experience behind and that they identify more as ‘Care Experienced’, plus this allowed us to celebrate every stage of care experience, including those still in official care settings. 

Our Annual Events

Take a look at the events we host every year to celebrate Care Experienced Week!

Time to Shine festival

This event is all about having fun! It’s a chance for Care Experienced people and their guests to come together and have a big party, dance, play games, enjoy good food and each other’s company. Each year has a different theme and we highly encourage dressing up!  

AGM/Love Rally Pre-party

As Scotland’s only Care Experienced membership organisation, it’s important to us that our members know what’s going on. Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is a chance for you to find out what Who Cares? Scotland has achieved the previous year and what we’ve got planned for the next.

The AGM is then followed by the Love Rally Pre-Party where there is time to catch up with other members, listen to music and make banners for the Love Rally.

 

the Love Rally

The Love Rally is a rallying cry that there should be love in the care system for all Care Experienced people.

Each year hundreds of people march through the streets of Glasgow, calling out for love for the Care Experienced community, before finishing in George Square to listen to Care Experienced speakers, campaigners and performers.

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