PAC-UK National Adoption Week 2024 Events

PAC-UK is delivering a series of free to attend online and in-person events during National Adoption Week 2024, which takes place from Monday 21st to Sunday 27th October.

All events listed below are free to attend and our online events will be recorded and uploaded to our PAC-UK YouTube channel to watch at a later date if you are unable to attend on the day. We have a named PAC-UK contact on the registration page for all our events who you can contact for any queries.

On Friday 25th October, we are thrilled to include - what is now our third annual - in-person event for adopted people at our Family Action Head Office in London as part of our programme. This event is strictly limited to 50 people due to the size of the venue, so please only book on if you are definitely planning to attend and let us know if your plans change so we can free up the place. This event is now fully booked - to be added to the waiting list email judith.ellis@pac-uk.org 

You can 'follow' PAC-UK on Twitter/X here and 'like' PAC-UK on Facebook here. Sharing and commenting on our posts is appreciated. We will use #PACUKNAW2024.

Our online events are open to all, so the audience will be mixed – many speakers and attendees (via chat) will be sharing their personal views and experiences which can be difficult, emotional and triggering. You can take time out of online and in-person events whenever you need to – our PAC-UK Advice Line is also open throughout the week if needed.

Adoption and adolescence: Discussing the transitions from teenager to early adulthood

Free Event

Date: October 21, 2024

This FREE to attend online event is open to all parties affected by adoption and permanency, including social workers and other professionals.

Chaired by Mike Hancock (PAC-UK National Strategic Lead), five younger adult adoptees look back and discuss the challenges of adolescence.

What does it feel like being an adoptee and a teenager? How does being adopted affect teenage identity? What helped with transitions? What challenges do adopted teenagers face? What happens to relationships with parents, siblings, friends, authority figures and romantically?

Join Aaliyah, Dawn, JP, Peter Humfreys and Tiegan Boynes as they discuss education, relationships and identity exploration.

Event start time 1.00pm | Event end time 2.15pm

(Zoom links will be sent to everyone who registers closer to the time - please check Junk folders)

Availability: Spaces remaining.

Film premiere: Adopted in school – understanding the needs of adopted young people

Free Event

Date: October 22, 2024

This FREE to attend online event is open to all parties affected by adoption and permanency, including social workers and other professionals.

Young people who are adopted can sometimes find that school is a tricky place to be. They can feel that the challenges they face and the behaviours that stem from such challenges are misunderstood.

Commissioned by West Yorkshires five Virtual schools (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield) a group of young people who are part of our Adopteens service share their personal experiences and ideas for change.

They invite you to view this film with an attitude of acceptance, curiosity and empathy: to hold their voices in mind and consider the actions you might be able to take and to make their school experience more positive.

Introduced by Jo Mitchell, National Service Lead, PAC-UK

Event start time 1.00pm | Event end time 1.45pm

(Zoom links will be sent to everyone who registers closer to the time - please check Junk folders)

Availability: Spaces remaining.

Forever family: Birth family perspectives on maintaining sibling relationships

Free Event

Date: October 23, 2024

This FREE to attend online event is open to all parties affected by adoption and permanency, including social workers and other professionals.

A powerful and insightful event on the sibling connection and the impact of separation by adoption and the importance of maintaining these relationships which can be among the longest and most meaningful in our lives.

The session will be hosted by birth mother, Angela Frazer-Wicks MBE as well as birth parents Kristy, Jill and Andy. Vicky Swift (Adoption England) & Angela will share their expertise on sibling contact and how keeping links can transform lives. Family Rights Group, with birth mother Sammy, will explore their mapping tool of support services for birth families and how crucial these can be. And three birth fathers will share real-life experiences of how different care plans impact sibling relationships.

Introduced by Emma Crowther-Duncan, North Adult Services Regional Manager, PAC-UK

Event start time 1.00pm | Event end time 2.15pm

(Zoom links will be sent to everyone who registers closer to the time - please check Junk folders)

Availability: Spaces remaining.

(It’s not all) Long Lost Family: Reflections on intermediary, reunion and new services and funding through FamilyConnect

Free Event

Date: October 24, 2024

This FREE to attend online event is open to all parties affected by adoption and permanency, including social workers and other professionals.

Using video testimony of birth parents and adoptees we ask: Why is finding relatives separated by adoption so important? What feelings come up? How does an intermediary service work and what support can we give? What does our FamilyConnect service offer and who can receive a free funded service?

With Jenny Brooks - birth mother and intermediary, Mike Hancock - adoptee and National Strategic Lead at PAC-UK and Sharon Lake - manager of our FamilyConnect Service at PAC-UK.

Event start time 1.00pm | Event end time 1.50pm

(Zoom links will be sent to everyone who registers closer to the time - please check Junk folders)

Availability: Spaces remaining.

Adopted people in-person meet-up - London

Free Event

Date: October 25, 2024

This FREE to attend in-person event is open to adopted people (aged 18 and over only) and will take place at our fully accessible Family Action Head Office, 34 Wharf Road, London, N1 7GR.

A day of workshops and lunch open to adopted people (aged 18 and over only) with keynote speaker Daisy who has powerfully told her story of transracial adoption and seeking justice in the podcast The Second Victim: Daisy’s Story available on Audible.

A chance to talk with other adoptees and choose from workshops on trans-cultural adoption; birth parent contact; identity; search and reunion and the experience of younger adult adoptees.

Event start time 10.00am | Event end time 4.00pm

(Please arrive at least 15 minutes early for welcome and refreshments - further information about the day is listed when you click on the 'Register' button below)

This event is now fully booked - to be added to the waiting list email judith.ellis@pac-uk.org 

Availability: 0