Decision-Makers

Our society pays great lip-service to issues of justice but we so often fail to match our actions to our words, making it difficult for those in positions of power to really prioritise the needs of the poor and the vulnerable.

Government and council representatives, church leaders, network co-ordinators, and NGO management teams have an enormous responsibility as they seek to make choices that will help and not harm children at risk. Viva works to practically resource and equip those decision-makers, inspiring and encouraging them and bringing them together to share new ideas and strategies.

One of the key ways in which Viva does this is through The Cutting Edge conferences: events which provide a forum for Christians working with children at risk to connect, learn, and strategise collaboratively. They work to strengthen and unite the response of the global Christian community, inspiring and enabling more local church involvement, and they also help to develop dialogue with inter-governmental groups such as UNICEF, increasing accuracy and credibility.

Viva, supported by an International Programme Committee, facilitates an agenda that contains a mixture of plenary meetings, discussions, and networking opportunities. The programme is designed to support the varied mix of individuals and teams who attend as they strive to increase the quantity and quality of work for vulnerable children. A key resource for every decision-maker, the conferences provide a unique opportunity to form effective partnerships, engage with new ideas, and devise fresh, united, and sustainable solutions.

The conferences tend to run on an eighteen-month cycle, but may vary subject to the timetables of the regional centres and international staff and organisers. If you would like to know more about when the next Cutting Edge conference is taking place, please see the Viva Community Calendar.