First Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest and award winning journalist to speak at Community Housing Cymru’s popular One Big conference
The first Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest Tori James and award-winning journalist Sarah Dickins are set to speak to hundreds of Wales’s housing association leaders at a major conference this summer.
Professional adventurer Ms James and former BBC journalist Ms Dickins will be appearing at housing trade body Community Housing Cymru’s One Big conference on July 4th and 5th.
The conference, which will be taking place at the Mercure Hotel in Cardiff, brings together the key people and organisations from across Wales’s housing sector to discuss how they can support housing associations and tenants, and develop housing services across Wales.
During this year’s two-day event, speakers will be discussing retrofitting existing homes to meet the growing demand for housing, decarbonisation and net zero, building affordable homes and protecting the environment, and delivering high quality homes.
Ms Dickins and Ms James are among a host of speakers, panellists and industry experts who will be sharing their experiences over the two days.
As keynote speaker Ms Dickins, who was the BBC’s economics correspondent for 10 years, will be discussing the economic outlook: what it means for Wales, the social housing sector and net zero ambitions.
The former journalist, who left the BBC to become a sustainable economics advisor, said: “I’m really looking forward to speaking at the event, I think Community Housing Cymru and the sector are really crucial to the changes that we are all going to have to make in terms of becoming more sustainable, supporting the transition in terms of how it affects employers and tenants, and the changes we need to cope with in the next few years.
“Community Housing Cymru plays an important role in terms of not just employing measures that help us cope, like solar panels, but also helping people get used to the idea that we are going to be living in a different world.”
Fellow keynote speaker Ms James, who became the first Welsh woman to climb Mount Everest at 25, will be discussing resilience for people and teams in difficult times.
The star of On Top of the World, about her expedition and record-breaking climb, said; “I’m very excited to be speaking at the Community Housing Cymru One Big conference. I’ll be sharing my experiences from some of the most extreme and demanding environments around the world.
“I will look at what it takes to be a high performing team, deliver under pressure and develop resilience to see you through in the long term.”
On the upcoming conference, Community Housing Cymru’s chief executive Stuart Ropke said it was set to be another successful event.
He said: “Over the years our One Big conference has become a staple in the housing events calendar and we’re proud to be able to bring the sector together again in this genuinely impactful way.
“One Big is an invaluable space where housing association leaders and key people can come together to discuss the big issues, share their thoughts, and work together to make a difference to Wales’s evolving housing sector.
“We look forward to seeing all our housing association members, partners, guests and speakers, for what is shaping up to be another memorable year.”
For press or media queries please email media@chcymru.org.uk