Unity Conference 2025

Committing to Excellence: Relational Leading and Learning in Challenging Times

The annual Unity Conference will return to the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin on 10-11 November 2025.

The Call for Papers is now open. 

We look forward to learning, networking and catching up in November.

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Comments received about Unity 2024 …

Hi John, I wanted to reach out now that I am back in Canada and express my appreciation for the opportunity you provided me and my team to present at the conference. It was my first CYC conference and it was truly an incredible experience. I learned so much and cannot wait to continue building on that learning and see where our journey takes us with our topic. It was so lovely to see so many people engaged with our presentation and I will treasure this experience for life. I really appreciate learning about Child and Youth Care from so many different and unique perspectives. It has really helped me grow my own perspectives and I am excited to develop these new connections I have made with other professionals in the field. From the depths of my heart, thank you so much for all the love and care you put into this conference and for allowing me to be a part of it. I hope to make it again next year!

Hi John, It was really great to be at the conference and to meet you, as well as a number of other people I got to connect with. I could really talk(write) your ear off about the experience, but I’ll try to keep it brief. I certainly have been telling people about it. I also wrote a couple of entries about it on my LinkedIn page. It took me a little time to understand the history and orientation of the gathering, and that was all a good process. If I have the opportunity to come back and present again, I’m excited about how to more consciously bridge between my work and the central themes of the gathering. I read some of your writing in the book you gave us, thank you. I like your insightful and down to earth writing style. I also read a little more online and saw you have some background in psychoanalysis which I have lately been increasingly interested in. I started on Revolution in Mind on the flight home. While I don’t know whether I’ll be able to come to next year’s conference, I am happy to help with its development or organization, and spreading the word, if there is any way for me to do so.

Hi John, Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and all those involved in organising such a wonderful event. We were delighted to be involved and are looking forward to the next one!

Hi John, Just about to board our plane. Thank you so very much for the opportunity to present and learn from your incredible speakers. It must involve a huge amount of work but you make it relaxed and so connective. I met some incredible people. So hope to return. Very best wishes and thanks.

John, Thank you for pulling off such an amazing conference! Having organized many conferences over the years, I know how much work it is. That you did all of this on your own, in your own time, is incredible. The warmth, the connection, the care, the attention to details, the genuine focus on relational practice – the watches!!! – all of this stems from you. Thank you. It was a wonderful experience and I am already looking forward to next year. I am also offering to help with the conference planning!

John, I heard from a number of first time attendees how much they enjoyed this conference and they outlined their plan for returning next year. I specifically heard that it was well organized, the participants were very engaged, the banquet was fun and the auction was mentioned as a highlight of that event. I am also planning my return in 2025 and throw my hat in the ring with the other DB’s to support planning and implementation.

Wow! Brother John Digney, excellent work. My family enjoyed, and We learned a lot. What a humble and kind man you are. We also appreciate many whom we were able to spend time with and listen to. I am willing to be part of next year’s planning team. Planning on coming again. Many blessings.

John, This last unity was amazing. I wasn’t in a great place last year when I attended so I wasn’t able to fully embrace it. I am appreciative of all the work you did to make this happen. I seen you running around and you never seemed flustered. It was a warm and welcoming conference with a closeness among attendees that was felt by all. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I really hope I can come back next year. It was also great getting to know you better. Even though I did think you were the IT guy last year lol. I can tell you have a big heart and wanted the best for everyone at the conference. It was heartwarming to see you mention those that couldn’t attend. I could tell you felt that. This was a beautiful experience and people were so connected. I will also help out of you need anything for next year!

Thank you all, and most especially John, for all of the incredible time, dedication and commitment that goes into creating a conference like this! I always tell everyone that the Unity Conference is one of the most relational and connection filled conferences I have had the privilege to attend! I am grateful that some of our wonderful team also got the opportunity to experience that this year as well! I would love to continue to experience Unity in the future and always happy to support in any way I can! 

John, you are a wonder and an inspiration! Thanks for everything you do for Unity, for presenters, participants and the CYC community. The Unity conference is special and I am grateful to have been to many. I plan to attend again next year and will be happy to help before, during or after. The joy of this conference is spending time connecting with friends and CYC family who enrich my life in many ways. I hope you spend some time resting now!

John, you are Superman. Somehow you manage to consistently cultivate a space rooted in genuineness, wonder, and humility… fertile grounds to embody relational practice. Sounds like a reflection of you, to me. Thank you for doing what you do! And for doing it with pure love and a big heart. Candidly, I came into Unity this year thinking it would be my last. But now I’m not sure that I can separate! So, count me in to contribute to the planning committee. And I’m excited and hopeful to reunite again next year. With lots of love back.

Hi Johnny D, once again Unity has been a highlight of my year. This is my seventh time attending, and in many ways this one felt the best to me. I could outline all the concrete things that made it feel that way, but I believe the true charm and value of Unity beyond the good organization, the high quality workshops/ keynotes, and the other details is the feeling of camaraderie, feeling of being welcome and overall special magic that you (and others…but mainly it is you and how you relate to people and create that welcoming feeling) seem to have created over the years. It is always an excellent learning experience, but also a refreshing human experience, to be part of Unity. My compliments my friend!