Forget Twitter – the Conservative Party conference is where the real debate happens

I joined the Conservative Party last year. For me it is all about championing my community – I live near Grenfell Tower and I teach locally.

It's exciting to finally be at my first Conservative Party conference. I'm new to the Conservatives and new to politics. After months of “meeting” and following people online via Facebook and Twitter, my online political community is suddenly coming to life. I am meeting my e-friends face to face, hearing their voices for the first time and getting to know their characters. Everyone is incredibly smart, and I've never seen so many suits! Instead of learning about ideas that are constrained by an editor’s word limit or 140 characters, I am hearing sophisticated debates along with all the nuances, passion and accompanying facial expressions.

It is great to catch up with the friends I made as the Conservative candidate in Rhondda; reliving happy memories of canvassing in the rain, followed by long lunches drying off. Those few weeks together with a common purpose formed a bond between us. Meeting at conference adds another shared experience and dimension.

The feeling of camaraderie is astonishing. As someone who is passionate about my community, it is a surprise to find another community here. A community of people developing, sharing and exploring ideas. A community dedicated to creating opportunities and supporting each other. A community with all the stresses and strains of the world, with all its idiosyncrasies and individual characters.

It was also an honour to thank the Prime Minister at the Women2Win reception on Sunday evening (albeit a bit terrifying). It's the third time we have met and I am always taken by how tall she is!

As director of Women2Win my mission is to get more women into politics. It's a tough remit and my challenge is to find high calibre women who are prepared to put themselves forward. Only 67, or 21 per cent, of Conservative MPs are women. At conference I am on the lookout for female candidates that Women2Win can support and help navigate through the political maze to become MPs.

Local councillors are a great source of political talent and ambition, so I was keen to attend the 2018 London Borough Councillor training to find some fresh talent to put forward as prospective female candidates for future elections.

As a recent candidate and champion of women within the party, I am hoping to hear how the recommendations from Sir Eric Pickles’ general election review go down. The emphasis on developing a vibrant youth wing, the appointment of a digital director and support to deal with intimidation is encouraging. With parliamentary candidates set to be in place in battleground seats by June 2018, candidates will be well established before the next election in 2022. I'm delighted that more women will get recognition.

The seminars and fringe events I am attending reflect my passion for teaching and my community. The number of events are mind boggling. Yesterday the Policy Exchange had events ranging from road transport to nuclear reactors to teachers. Today, I am heading to the Conservative Women's Organisation to hear some inspiring female entrepreneurs at their “make it your business” event. Then it's off to The Centre for Social Justice’s talk “off the scales” – on England's childhood obesity crisis. Wednesday is the last day and we will hear the Prime Minister’s “building a country that works for everyone” speech. Then back home to London and my other community.

Virginia Crosbie is director of Women2Win and teaches at the masbro centre and parent gym in London. She stood in Rhondda in the recent general election