Friendship Force World Conference 2017
 
Did you know...?

In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, the Global Liveability Survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit named Manchester the best British city to live in!

Manchester is the most linguistically diverse city in Western Europe.

Manchester’s Chetham’s Library is the oldest public library in the English-speaking world and was the first free library.

In 1761 Manchester started the Industrial Revolution with the arrival of the Bridgewater Canal, the first canal built entirely independent of rivers.

The world’s first passenger railway was founded in Manchester in 1830.

Vegetarianism began in Manchester, inspired by the anti-meat sermons of the Reverend William Cowherd at the Salford Bible Christian church.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels often met in Chetham’s library, where they began to write The Communist Manifesto.

The first professional football league was formally created and named in Manchester’s Royal Hotel in 1888.

Henry Royce and Charles Rolls (of Rolls-Royce) first met in Manchester in 1904, at the Midland Hotel.

 It was the birthplace of the suffragette movement; Manchester's Emmeline Pankhurst was instrumental in winning the right for women to vote.

John Dalton wrote his atomic theory in Manchester. The atom was then first split by Ernest Rutherford in the city in 1919.

In 1948, the first programmable computer was built in Manchester; nicknamed "The Baby", it weighed 500kg!

The world’s first IVF baby was born at Oldham General Hospital, Manchester, in 1978.

In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the Manchester music scene had a huge impact on Britain’s cultural landscape with New Order, The Smiths, the Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays and other incredible homegrown bands dominating the charts.

Beetham Tower is the tallest residential building in the UK

Bury, in Greater Manchester, is the UK's undisputed home of the Black Pudding.

The University of Manchester boasts 25 Nobel Prize winners – the third highest after Oxford and Cambridge.

Manchester has the biggest student population of any city in Europe.

AND FINALLY...It doesn't rain all the time!! Despite what you may think, Manchester’s average annual rainfall is 806.6 millimetres compared to the UK average of 1125. Its ill-conceived reputation most likely originated from a misleading climate map from 1926.
Well, phew...thank goodness for that!

Time Travel to 1977 


Travelling is a wonderful thing as we Friendship-Forcers all know, but time-travelling...well that's just magical!  Here's how our welcome party begins. Imagine...the red carpet leads into a dark tunnel lit only by twinkling lights. When we emerge into the ballroom on the other side, we will find ourselves transported to a disco party in 1970s England. 

So, need some ideas about what to wear? 
For the ladies the 1970s were all about peasant blouses, bell-bottoms, floral maxi dresses, shell and feather jewelry, headbands, huge floppy hats, floaty sundresses, platform boots and cowboy boots, flower-power, jumpsuits, tie-dye...oh, and let's not forget the Farrah Fawcett flick! For the gentlemen it was all about paisley prints, bellbottoms, tie-dye, wide kipper ties, velvet jackets, frilly shirts, satin shirts, gold medallions, denim outfts, mood rings, sheepskin vests, headbands, aviator sunglasses, pointed shirt collars, bolo ties, long moustaches, and leather pants. We'll have our cameras ready!


Custom Coloring


Remember the fun you had coloring-in pictures as a child? Do you feel like exploring your creative side when in Manchester? 

We invite you to come by anytime during the conference and make your mark on a piece of personalized artwork, hand illustrated to a huge canvas, especially to celebrate Friendship Force's 40th anniversary. The artwork will consist of patterns, people, places and other images that are representative of Friendship Force. 

The giant canvas will be mounted in a prominent position in the hotel and we'll have special artists pens available for you to use any time you pass by. So whether you contribute to just a small dot or to a 20 cm section of the design, together we'll be creating our own unique masterpiece to commemorate our weekend together. 

Friendship Force Logo Wear


Celebrate our 40th Anniversary in style! We have some great quality clothing items available with the 40th Anniversary World Conference logo.

Choose from a T-shirt, polo shirt or lightweight jacket. Click here for pricing and to see the various colors and sizes available. 
Order your limited edition conference merchandise online when you register, and we'll have it waiting for you at the FFI desk at the Midland Hotel on August 24.

If you've already registered, you can modify your registration to buy merchandise. Enter your email address and the reference number from your confirmation email, go to the "Options" page in your registration, and make your selection.