EVENT CANCELLATION POLICY: Cancellations made up to five working days before the event are refundable. Cancellations made after this, are non-refundable. Substitutions may be made without charge at any time, please contact cpd@socialcareireland.ie to arrange the substitution.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY: If you experience difficulties of a technical nature while placing a booking please contact info@socialcareireland.ie.
19 October, 2024: We are aware of issues adding attendee registration details and are working with the software providers for a fix.
DATA SHARING: Note that where events are online and/or interdisciplinary it will be necessary to share your email address with the facilitator.
Social Care Ireland Annual Conference 2025
April 2, 2025 @ 8:30 am - April 3, 2025 @ 5:00 pm
€30.00 – €220.00The theme of this years conference is,
‘Creativity, Innovation and play in Social Care – The Power of Possibility in an era of regulation’
Date: 2nd & 3rd of April 2025
Venue: The Fairways Hotel. Dublin Road, Haggardstown, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 E6KC. Email: reception@fairwayshotel.ie
/ Phone: +353 42 934 3910
Please book accommodation directly with the hotel
If the Fairways is booked out there is another hotel near by the Gateway Hotel Dundalk they are also accepting the promo code.
When booking online enter the code “SCI2025” into the promo code section. You will automatically receive the Social Care Ireland discounted rate.
Social care practice often requires thinking and acting creatively and innovatively in complex and sometimes ambiguous contexts which are now increasingly bounded by regulation. While standards, regulations and legislation provide essential benchmarks, recognition, promotion and support for creative, innovative and playful practice is central to bringing about positive change for individuals and communities, and within cultures of care. It is widely recognised that creativity and innovation are essential 21st century skills. However, with the professionalisation of the social care sector the importance of creativity and innovation in being an effective social care worker may have diminished. The Standards of Proficiency for Social Care Workers, for example, contains just one reference to creativity (SP 5.16). With so many regulatory bodies overseeing social care services (e.g. Tusla, HIQA, CORU) staff teams may find it more difficult to think laterally, problem solve and collaborate while respecting regulatory parameters. Thinking and acting creatively and collaboratively can often provide innovative solutions and challenges to existing systems. The 2025 annual conference will focus on the power of possibility in adopting and enhancing creative, innovative and playful practice in such contexts.
Call for Abstracts:
This two-day event will bring together practitioners, educators, leaders and researchers to explore what it means to practice creatively, innovatively and playfully in social care, to share best practice and showcase what works to enhance these core dimensions of professional practice. In a context shaped by registration as well as legal and regulatory systems we hope the conference will enhance the possibilities for acting creatively and innovatively to build meaningful relationships for positive change and improved service delivery. The Social Care Ireland conference committee invite social care workers and managers, social care educators, service users and researchers and other professionals working in the field of social care to submit abstracts under three categories. Please refer to the abstract guidance document and submit an abstract coversheet. Abstract deadline for 2025 conference – 5pm, Friday 6th December 2024. For any queries relating to the conference please contact socialcareirelandcon@gmail.com
Sponsorship at the Conference:
We have a number of sponsorship options outlined in the leaflet attached. What do you get for your sponsorship is the exposure to a wider social care community with fantastic networking opportunities. If you would like to take up one of the sponsorship options please fill out this online application from and send back to socialcareirelandcon@gmail.com
Student Mentorship Programme:
Social Care Ireland are delighted to continue supporting the student mentorship programme with Adrian Mc Kenna. This is the third consecutive year running and we would like to build on the success of the previous years. The programme was brought to inception in conjunction with Social Care Ireland, it was designed to facilitate access to the annual conference for social care students who ordinarily would struggle with self and professional autonomy. It was piloted with two students being supported by two mentors for the two days of the conference. Those original participants evaluated the process and Social Care Ireland decided to support ten students at the 2023 and the 2024 conference. The student profile can include those who came through the college access programmes, those who have come through the care system, those who come from marginalised groups in society, those in recovery from poor mental health and or addiction etc and or any student that has struggled to get to where they are today. If you would like to know more please read the following links and email socialcareirelandcon@gmail.com
Keynote Presenters:
Keynote: Dr. Neil Maiden
Theme: ‘Embracing creativity and creative thinking in social care’
Creative thinking is a skill that employers are increasingly seeking from their employers. In 2024 the World Economic Forum reported it is the fastest-growing skill demanded by organisations across professions. Social care is no different. Not only can creative skills encourage people in care to engage more in artistic activities, but also creative thinking is essential to overcome everyday care challenges and seize new opportunities. This keynote will define creative thinking in the context of social care work, and frame it is a skill can that be relearned by professionals in the form of specific techniques and more general good practices. Moreover, it will present how emerging digital technologies, and in particular Artificial Intelligence can be used in simple and secure ways to augment this creative thinking, as one means of broadening our understanding of the social care profession.
Biography: Neil Maiden is Professor of Digital Creativity at the Bayes Business School at City St George’s, University of London, and Director of the Centre for Creativity enabled by AI funded by Research England. His research interests include uses of artificial intelligence to augment human creativity. He is and has been a principal and co-investigator on numerous EPSRC- and EU-funded research projects with a total value of over £64 million. He has published over 220 peer-reviewed papers in academic journals and conferences. He chaired the Steering Committee for the IEEE International Conference on Requirements Engineering series 2009-2012, and was Editor of the IEEE Software’s Requirements column 2005-2013. His details are available at https://www.city.ac.uk/people/academics/neil-maiden.
Keynote: Professor Vlad Glăveanu
Theme: ‘Creative experience: How to discover new possibilities for self, others and society’ 
Biography: Vlad Glăveanu, PhD, is Full Professor of Psychology in the School of Psychology and Director of the DCU Centre for Possibility Studies at Dublin City University, and Professor II at the Centre for the Science of Learning and Technology, University of Bergen. He is the founder and president of the Possibility Studies Network (PSN). His work focuses on creativity, imagination, culture, collaboration, wonder, possibility, and societal challenges. He is editor of Europe’s Journal of Psychology (EJOP), an open-access peer-reviewed journal published by PsychOpen (Germany) as well as Possibility Studies and Society, launched by Sage in 2022. In 2018, he received the Berlyne Award from the APA Division 10 for outstanding early career contributions to the field of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts.
Keynote: ‘That’s Life’ project Brothers of Charity Services Galway 
Theme: That’s Life program will showcase the inspiring work of artists with intellectual disabilities, including in-person presentations and performances by adults engaged with That’s Life. This offers a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the creativity and community impact fostered within social care through the arts.
Biography: That’s Life, part of the Brothers of Charity Services Galway, is an inclusive arts and personal development program that empowers adults with intellectual disabilities through music, visual arts, and physical theatre. Over the past 25 years, it has evolved into a dynamic platform that fosters creativity, self-worth, and community involvement. The program’s innovative approach combines high-quality engagement with accessibility, collaborating with local artists and organizations to create transformative experiences. Participants engage in diverse projects—from music performances and visual installations to sensory-rich theatre—showcasing their talents in public and challenging perceptions around arts and disability. Through its commitment to inclusivity and artistic excellence, That’s Life has become a vital part of Galway’s cultural landscape.