Get involved

Take a look at the events we have planned.

Time to Shine festival

Our annual Time to Shine Festival is an opportunity for Scotland’s Care Experienced community and their friends to come together, have fun and celebrate Care Experienced Week. 

This year we are transporting you to Hollywood and the world of cinema as our theme is “Film Characters”, as chosen by our members. Expect street food stalls, plenty of popcorn, a cinema room, a DJ and lots of activities and fun for Care Experienced people of all ages!  

Sign up here > 

AGM / Love Rally Pre-party

This year we’ll be holding our Annual General Meeting alongside The Love Rally Pre-Party, so Who Cares? Scotland members are invited to join us on the morning of the Love Rally to grab a breakfast roll and find out what Who Cares? Scotland has achieved in 2023 and what we’ve got planned for next year.

Then there will be time to catch up with other members, listen to music and make banners together as you get ready for the 2023 Love Rally! 

Sign up here > 

the Love Rally

March with us from Glasgow Green to George Square to show your commitment to achieving a lifetime of love for Care Experienced people across Scotland. Last year around 500 Care Experienced people and their supporters marched at the Love Rally, and we would love to go even bigger this year, so spread the word!  

This year’s Love Rally will also see the launch of our Lifelong Rights Campaign.

Find out more here > 

If you have planned an event for Care Experienced Week that you want us to promote on our website email comms@whocaresscotlad.org. 

The Launch of our Lifelong Rights Campaign

In October 2023 during Care Experienced Week, Who Cares? Scotland will be launching a new campaign. It will be focusing on the lifelong rights of Care Experienced people.

When we ensure everyone in our community has access to the support they need, if and when they need it, everyone benefits. However, our learning, from what we’ve heard over five decades, tells us that Care Experienced people, from birth to old age, continue to have their rights diluted, infringed, or disregarded altogether.

The Promise says that:

  • ‘Scotland’s parenting responsibilities are lifelong and holistic for the young people that Scotland has cared for.’
  • ‘Present definitions that operate do not ensure that those who leave care prior to their sixteenth birthday are able to access legal entitlements, even though they have been removed from their families by a decision of the State.’
  • ‘Older care experienced people must have a right to access to supportive, caring services for as long as they require them.’

However, we hear from the Care Experienced community through participation and advocacy evidence, including our Helpline, that Care Experienced adults are being left to struggle and are still facing stark inequalities in areas including health, socio-economic deprivation, education and employment and housing.

Key Messages 

In order to Keep the Promise, Who Cares? Scotland’s Lifelong Rights campaign calls for:

A lifetime of equality for Care Experienced people by having:

  • Extra protection for Care Experienced people of all ages to access their rights.
  • Independent, relationship-based, lifelong advocacy for every Care Experienced person in Scotland who needs it.

Aims

  • To work alongside local authorities, the Scottish Government, care providers and other agencies, to recognise the value of relationship-based, lifelong Independent Advocacy.
  • To empower the Care Experienced community to influence law, policy and practice around The Promise, advocacy, equality and human rights to ensure extra protection for Care Experienced people of all ages to access their rights.

Objectives 

  • We will engage with Care Experienced people through a Summer of Participation.
  • We will engage our members in a Love Rally and launch a report about Lifelong Rights during Care Experienced Week 2023.
  • We will create opportunities for members to learn about their rights and attend campaign events.
  • We will respond to the Mackie report and influence The Promise Scotland and the Promise Bill, continuing support for Jasmin’s petition.
  • We will respond to the Human Rights Bill, support independent research on Care Experience and the Bill.
  • Work alongside local authorities, the Scottish Government, care providers and other agencies, to recognise the value of relationship-based, lifelong Independent Advocacy and lifelong rights through local influencing, training, and a media and communications campaign. This will encourage local Corporate Parents to treat Care Experience as a protected characteristic.
  • A State of the Nation report on Care Experienced people’s rights.
  • We will continue influencing UNCRC Bill implementation, engage with the Scottish Government’s review of Scottish Specific Duties, and look for other policy opportunities to promote lifelong rights.