2025 Community of Learning Conference

October 14 to 16, 2025, in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Resilient Leadership: Reframe, Reconnect and Reignite

This year’s Community of Learning Conference will invite participants to join us in the Maritimes for two beautiful fall days filled with intentionality, reflection, and experiential learning. Using an ecological perspective applied to resilient leadership, we will enter into collaboratively shared learning content that will explore the dynamic strengths of organizations within our national network and the emerging
competencies of the leaders! We will reframe, reignite and reconnect through reflective engagement with each other and the place we are in.

The conference is being hosted collaboratively by Family Service Nova Scotia and Family Service PEI in the historic city of Halifax. Scroll through this page for information about registration, pricing, and the Conference Special Event.

Conference Special Event

East Coast Kitchen Party Cruise

Enjoy a three-hour boat cruise of Halifax Harbour while listening to East Coast music and sampling various maritime-inspired foods!

  • Cost: $120 per person (please purchase the $120 add-on tickets when you’re registering for the conference. Remember to purchase the add-on event ticket for yourself and any other attendees you’re registering who would like to join the cruise.)
  • Time:
    • Check-in: 5:00 p.m.
    • Cruise: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
  • Location: Cable Wharf, 1751 Lower Water Street (7-minute walk from the hotel)

Attend the Annual Community of Learning Conference

A Community of Learners is a group of people who share values and beliefs and actively learn from one another.

The Family Service Canada community is interdependent. Each of us is responsible for receiving and sharing resources and points of view while sustaining a mutually respectful environment.

Technology makes it possible to connect across distances and throughout the year, but in-person connection is essential. Our annual Community of Learning Conference provides that connection and supports our development of trust and relationships.

Every year, one member hosts the conference—welcoming conference attendees to their city or town.

The Community of Learning Conference is Different Every Year

We build our conferences around a theme or prevalent issue. Agencies or subject matter experts facilitate learning sessions and lead discussions. In the past, content shared at the conference has included

  • Practical learning around essential non-profit functions like fund development or governance.
  • New initiatives like multi-agency collaborations.
  • Service opportunities like the F&ST program or different approaches to single-session counselling.
  • New research in areas like neuroscience and brain development that impacts how we serve families.

Every conference also includes ample opportunity to connect in smaller groups. Whether you want to discuss a specific issue or relax in your peers’ company, you’ll find it.

Dinner, drinks, and opportunities to experience some of what the host city offers are just some of the other aspects of the conference.