Originally created for the 2010 papal visit to the UK, Catholic Voices trains ‘ordinary’ Catholics to tell the Church’s story and create a new generation of confident media and public speakers. The project has transformed the way Catholics are perceived in the media, receiving the backing of bishops and broadcasters alike.
The work of Catholic Voices is currently expanding in the UK, as they seek to create an even greater number of confident Catholic speakers. Recently, their focus has turned towards creating the next generation of Catholic public speakers who, together with the existing teams, make themselves available to speak in parishes, schools, chaplaincies to deliver workshops (some of whom may then go on to appear in the media). The ‘Public Speakers’ Programme’ aims to give world class training to ordinary Catholics so they have the skills to become public speakers.
In the UK since 2010, their training programme has resulted in over 100 Catholic Voices speakers making over 1,200 appearances on TV and radio programmes, commenting and debating the Church’s positions on a large range of topics. More recently since the official launch in 2017 of their ‘Public Speakers’ Programme’, they have delivered nearly 600 workshops and talks to over 100,000 people in a variety of contexts including parishes, schools and universities.
You can apply for the 8th National Speakers’ Training, which will be held in London in September 2019, via their website: www.catholicvoices.org.uk.