Reimagining our provincial events, and building for the future

PAN EVENTS: Virtual AGM on October 24; PLHIV & PWLEs event on March 11, 2020; Ongoing Webinar Series with Health Authorities & Other Government Stakeholders

We are pleased to share that this year PAN will be doing some of our work a little differently, introducing ways for more people to connect. This fall, we will not be running a large in-person provincial conference… Instead we will be holding our Annual General Meeting virtually on Thursday, October 24 from noon to 3 PM.

Funding played a role in this decision. For many years (the past decade!) we have been able to leverage support from different partners and funders (with huge thanks particularly to the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) for our 2017 and 2018 events) to hold the fall conference. This year we do not have sufficient funding to support a provincial event of the size and scope of past years. We decided to dedicate the funding we do have to hold in-person event for people living with HIV (PLHIV), hepatitis C and other lived experiences (PWLEs) – which will be happening on March 11, 2020 in Surrey.

With these changes, we are also responding to feedback received in the wake of last year’s PAN fall conference, leading us to reevaluate certain aspects of the provincial conference program:

  • Executive Director (ED) Summit: we heard that EDs wanted PAN to facilitate more conversations and potential collaborations across the network when it came to large national and provincial funding calls and sustainability challenges.   We also heard a desire for more purposeful opportunities to engage with each other, particularly around collective advocacy issues and professional development.
  • PLHIV Forum: we heard that there was not sufficient time to engage fully in meaningful conversation about network priorities for people living with HIV (PLHIV). Also, in light of the governance changes that took effect in 2018, we want to be thoughtful about expanding participation in the Forum to other people with lived experiences (PWLEs).
  • Health Authority (HA) and Government Panels: we heard from some members that they wanted more time to engage with Health Authority reps, the province and other government stakeholders – to allow for more questions from members and discussion.

 

Being responsive to this feedback, we are making the following changes this year:

  • We have created a new webinar series called ‘PAN presents… which allows PAN members to engage with representatives from each health authority, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and other key stakeholders with the luxury of more dedicated time, and greater opportunity to inform the presentation topics as well as engage in Q&A.

⇒ On May 29, we hosted the PHAC Harm Reduction Fund Webinar and Q&A, followed by a members-only session.

⇒ On September 12, we hosted PHSA Hot Topics, where PHSA reps spoke to topics chosen by our members (an update on current epidemiology in BC; and PHSA women’s services).

  • Our 2019 AGM will take place VIRTUALLY on October 24th from 12-3 pm (starting with a keynote address by Dr. Christy Sutherland).   Update: View here 
  • As noted above, we are busy planning a full-day People with Lived Experiences (PWLEs) Event on March 11, 2020. Update: Event and registration information
  • Sustainability and funding will likely be themes at the future in-person PAN Executive Director Event tentatively imagined for the fall of 2020. As with the PWLE event, more time will be available for EDs to connect, and we are looking forward to gathering input from EDs in to help create an interesting and productive program.

 

Future Planning and Representative Governance

Our Board of Directors is updating our Strategic Plan to carry PAN into the next 5 years. One of the first items to be finalized were our “refreshed” Values and Approaches.  The 2019-2024 Strategic Plan will be released shortly.

At the 2018 AGM, the membership voted in favour of a new set of bylaws that, among other things, ensure our Board members fully represent our mission.  We are now actively recruiting for the following board seats: one in the Interior Health region; one representing the concerns of Indigenous communities and populations; and 5 seats designated for PLHIV and/or PWLE of hep C.  The deadline for submitting an application this year is Friday, September 27th. More information and application forms here.

This is a time of change.  But, we believe, good change. As always, PAN strives to be intentionally responsive and proactively strategic in light of the challenges, opportunities and member feedback. Thank you for your support!

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

Jennifer (Evin) Jones, Executive Director,
[email protected]

 

 

Image: Tim Mossholder, Unsplash