Make Your Mark Conference 2026: A day of co-creation and collaboration

This year’s conference explored how co-creation and collaboration can transform volunteering, not only across the heritage sector but far beyond it. From a thought-provoking keynote to engaging workshops, the day was packed with practical ideas and powerful examples of what’s possible when volunteers’ voices are truly heard.

A particular highlight for many attendees was the volunteer panel, which grounded the day’s themes in lived experience. As one participant shared, “The panel session was great and really helped bring it back to experience and voices of volunteers.” Another described it as “really insightful and engaging”, with several people noting that the keynote presentation and volunteer panel were among the most memorable moments of the event.

We’re grateful to our funders, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, whose support makes our events possible. We’d also like to thank NatureScot, Historic Environment Scotland and The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, along with all the brilliant partners on our Campaign Working Group, for supporting the conference and helping shape such a strong programme.

Despite some unavoidable technical issues on the day, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Attendees described the conference as impactful and enjoyable, with 100% of respondents saying they would recommend Make Your Mark events to others.

Comments from the feedback include:

• “Thank you for a really interesting and useful conference.”
• “It’s always amazing to be able to hear so many speakers in one day — every MYM event I’ve been to has left me with loads of ideas to implement.”
• “The programme and speakers were really well put together with lots of interesting and useful content.”
• “The online facilitators were amazing at keeping us updated and getting issues fixed!”

We’re especially pleased that online attendees felt supported and included, with many appreciating the opportunity to take part remotely.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, shared their experiences and helped make the day such a success. We’re already excited to build on the energy and conversations sparked at this year’s conference, and we can’t wait to welcome you back to a Make Your Mark event soon. Be sure to follow us on Eventbrite and LinkedIn to be the first to know about future events!