All 2020 CIH events to become virtual summits – statement from CIH chief executive, Gavin Smart

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present us with new challenges every day that many of us are working hard to overcome. The future is uncertain, and we don’t know as yet when the UK’s lockdown will be fully lifted, so it’s important for all of us to do what we can to keep ourselves and the communities we serve safe. We said at the beginning of March that the top priority for CIH will always be the safety and wellbeing of our members, customers, and colleagues. With this in mind, we have taken the decision to move all the face-to-face events we had scheduled for the remainder of 2020 online, to our new virtual platform. We also won’t be hosting any of our annual award ceremonies for the remainder of 2020.

Experience a CIH event virtually

Following the success of our first virtual events over the past few weeks and the great feedback we have received from delegates about our new virtual platform, we believe this is the right thing to do to ensure the safety of everyone involved. We’ll be moving the full programmes of sessions and speakers to the new virtual platform, which gives you the same, if not more of an opportunity to share, collaborate and network with your fellow delegates, speakers and sponsors.

The remaining conferences we scheduled for 2020 were Total Housing 2020, TAI 2020 and South West Conference 2020. Some of the dates have changed slightly and we have extended each event by one day, to accommodate all of the sessions we had planned. The new dates are:

• Total Housing 2020 – 2, 3 and 4 September
• TAI 2020 – 22, 23 and 24 September
• South West Conference 2020 – 13, 14 and 15 October

Over the next week, we’ll be communicating with everyone who has already booked their place for any of these events.

Given the vital work that housing professionals do, including supporting some of our most vulnerable fellow-citizens, we think this is the right decision to ensure your safety so you can continue to serve your communities. We will update you on any further information relating to our usual calendar of events as the COVID-19 crisis progresses.

If you have any questions, please email events@cih.org.