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Shape Your City

Welcome to the September/October edition of the London Empowerment Partnership e-bulletin

  

News & Updates

London Civic Forum Launches 'Strengthening Local Democracy' Consultation

London Civic Forum is collecting responses from its members, stakeholders and wider networks to help us inform our response to the 'Strengthening Local Democracy' consulation. Please see the 'Did You Know' section of this bulletin below for further information, or read more here.

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London Civic Forum Recruits Young Campaigners

London Civic Forum and the London Empowerment Partnership are currently in the initial stages of developing its own Youth Campaign, run by and for young people in London. The campaign will focus on a specific issue of importance to young people in London, and will provide a unique opportunity for young people to receive training as campaigners and have the opportunity to directly influence decision-makers in London.
If you would like further information about the campaign or are a young person and would like to register your interest, please contact Natalie at London Civic Forum (natalie@londoncivicforum.org.uk).

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NCVYS Accepting Nominations for Young Partners Award

All over England young people are involved in decision-making with voluntary and community sector organisations and projects. The Young Partners Award celebrates this and provides an opportunity for organisations and projects to demonstrate what they have achieved, share innovative ideas and inspire other organisations and young people.
Read more here...

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Demos' Projects Focus on Youth Participation and Citizenship

Leading think-tank Demos have launched two projects which focus on young people's role in democracy and civic participation in today's society. The first- Anatomy of Youth- is a research project which aims to 'look at society and policy making from the perspective of young people aged 16-25 in Britain'. A second project aims to draw attention to recent debates around the possibility of a 'youth civic service'.
 Read more here...
Speaker's Corner

 The role of the youth-led sector in community empowerment

Within the Third Sector there are many organisations being led by young people. Together these organisations form the newly emerged youth-led sector which prides itself on having young people in strategic and service delivery roles. The youth-led sector serves as a valuable contribution towards community empowerment. It not only allows other groups and people within communities to see the positive work and efforts that young people can produce, but it is an empowering model in itself for the young people directly involved. However, there are some barriers to the youth-led sector fulfilling its potential which the Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS) identified in a piece of research investigating the impacts of the recession on the youth-led sector (for the full report please visit www.iars.org.uk).

The first barrier relates to a matter of awareness about the youth-led sector. It became clear throughout the research that funders and infrastructure organisations had a general lack of awareness of the existence of the youth-led sector. “There is a gap in knowledge about the youth-led sector” said one participant.

The second finding came from the youth-led organisations perspective. They reported difficulty attaining new funding when competing with larger organisations that provide youth services but are not youth-led. They explained the difficulty in conveying the extra value, and therefore extra costs, of youth-led work to funders. “Youth-led is seen as a soft activity” said one participant who went on to say that funders do not warrant this with extra funding.

These barriers prevent the sector from being properly resourced and able to do its job effectively. As a whole the youth-led sector needs to be empowered itself with the resources that will enable it to continue to empower young people. If the youth-led sector is to be successful then there must be recognition of the sector and its good work from funders, commissioners and local governance structures.

IARS’ research made several recommendations but there was one that particularly relates to the two issues highlighted in this article. This recommendation demonstrated the need for a body to promote awareness and understanding of the youth-led sector and its needs. This recommendation is being taken forward through the new Youth-led Sector Policy Forum hosted by IARS and it is hoped that through strategically working with funders and youth-led organisations that the youth-led sector will become more widely recognised and properly supported within the Third Sector.

- Alexandra Burch is Youth Project Officer at Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS).

Upcoming Events

Please see below for a selection of upcoming events and training opportunities. London Civic Forum events are listed in blue. 

Planning Places of Worship
22 September 2009; 9.45am-3.30pm
Cost: free; Open to all

London Civic Forum's 'Just Space' Network and Faiths Forum for London are hosting an event to look at current policy and practice in relation to places of worship and planning. This event will look at how the planning law protects the needs of different sections of the community and presents evidence that the implementation and enforcement of policies does not meet the requirements.
Read more here...

How to use creative methods for participation
22 September 2009; 10am-4.30pm
Cost: £153.75; Open to all

'Participation Works' is hosting this new, one day course to enable participants to to develop particular expertise around engaging with children and young people. The course will focus on building knowledge in this specific area of participation, developing ideas and exercises to use with children and young people, and help build delegates' confidence to incorporate training into their own work.
Read more here...

Disability Capital 2009
25 September 2009; 10am-5pm
Cost: free; Open to all

'Disability Capital' is a conference with aims to discuss a range of themes of interest to deaf and disabled people, including sessions on the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, improving accessibility in London, transport and skills and employment. This conference is organised jointly by the Mayor of London in association with F2F events.
Read more here...

Ready Steady Change
29 September 2009; 10am-4.30pm
Cost: free for third sector organisations
Open to all

Organised by Participation Works, this one-day course has been adapted specifically for the third sector. The course builds on a selection of training methods and tools designed to foster skills and knowledge in increasing children and young people's effective participation in decision-making. This course is suitable for all individuals involved in participation work.
Read more here...


The Duty to Involve- Are you involved?
5 October 2009; 10am-5pm
Cost: £150 for 100k organisations; £200 for organisations between 100k and 1m; £250 for statutory organisations and organisations over 1m
Open to all

With the new Duty to Involve now in effect, local councils are now required to 'embed a culture of engagement and empowerment' into their everyday practices. This seminar will give participants the chance to explore the opportunities and challenges the Duty to Involve presents and develop strategies for getting the most out of it. This event is run by Praxis UK in partnership with Involve, New Economics Foundation and Institute of Development Studies.
Read more here...

Making Asset Transfers Work for Everyone
12 October 2009; 10.30am-3pm
Cost: £150+ VAT for LGiU Affiliates; £250 + VAT
Open to officers and elected members with responsibility for community engagement, asset management and community cohesion and equalities

Organised by the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), this seminar will consider the funding and management issues involved in transfers and what input from local authorities might be required to encourage community benefit. Asset transfer is strongly promoted in the Community Empowerment White Paper as one mechanism by which local councils can devolve power and assets to the community.
Read more here...


'Breaking the Barriers'- Conference on Older People and Transport
    16 October 2009; 11am-4pm
Cost: free; Open to all

'Breaking the Barriers' aims both to show how transport barriers are being broken for older people and disabled people in London, and to discuss how the remaining barriers to social inclusion resulting from inaccessible transport can be removed. This event is organised jointly by Age Concern London, Greater London Forum for Older People and Help the Aged.
Read more here...

Empowering Young People through Legal Education
16 October 2009
Cost: free; Open to all

Jointly hosted by Plenet and Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS), this event will provide an opportunity to network and learn how public legal education can equip young people to deal with common place law-related issues they are likely to face at some point in their lives.
Read more here...


Strengthening Community Cohesion in the UK: The Issues, the Challenges, the Initiatives
22 October 2009; 10am-4.30pm
Cost: £225 Third Sector; £295 Local Authorities and NHS; £395 Central Government
Open to practitioners, local policy makers and civil servants

This 'Westminster Briefing', hosted by The House Magazine, will give delegates the opportunity to discuss and be informed on current thinking and debates around building community cohesion in Britain, from both the Government and opposition, as well as experts in the field.
Read more here...

Building a Culture of Participation
22 October 2009; 9.45am-4.30pm
Cost: free for third sector organisations
Open to all

Organised by Participation Works, this course aims to equip individuals with basic theory and practical approaches to participation, and to explore how an organisation's culture can be more supportive and appropriate for enabling children and young people's active and meaningful participation across the organisation.
Read more here...
Have Your Say

Young People's Question Time
17 September 2009; 6.30pm-8.15pm

The Mayor of London is holding his first Question Time specifically for young people in London. This Question Time will provide a unique opportunity for young Londoners to ask the Mayor about issues or topics they are concerned about.
Read more here...

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Equality Bill- Making It Work
Closes: 30 September 2009

In June 2009, the Government Equalities Office (GEO) published a consultation document setting out policy proposals for the specific public sector equality duties. Comments and responses to this consultation are invited.

To download a copy of 'The Equality Bill- Making It Work', please click here. Read the full press release here.


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'Look Listen Change' Seeks Young Participants
Deadline for applications: 14 October 2009 at 5pm

Hosted by the National Children's Bureau, the Look Listen Change consortium is currently recruiting young people between the ages of 13 and 19 to take part in a brand new Youth4U- Young Inspectors programme. Young people taking part in this programme will be directly involved in inspecting services in their area, such as transport, health clinics and libraries, thereby enabling young people to directly influence their own community or local area.
Read more here...

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Policing London Business Plan
Closes: 30 November 2009

This year's public consultation to inform the 'Policing London' Business Plan has now started. The consultation is organised by the Metropolitan Policy Authority (MPA), and provides an opportunity for individuals to influence the MPA's priorities and objectives over the next year.
Read more here...

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Mayor of London Transport Strategy- Public Consultation
Public Consultation- October 2009- January 2010

In November 2008, the Mayor of London announced his intention to develop a new Transport Strategy in the document, 'Way to Go'. This initial document set out the Mayor's proposals to improving transport in London.
Public consultation on the Mayor's full transport strategy is due to begin in mid-October 2009 and will run through January 2010, providing Londoners and opportunity to feed into and influence the Mayor's proposals.
 
Once open, the full consultation document will be posted on the Mayor of London's website. Futher information about the strategy- including the Mayor's initial proposals and Statement of Intent- can be found on London Civic Forum's website.

 In Your Area

Local Consultation- Barnet
Consultation on services for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people in Barnet
Closes: 16 October 2009
Open to all residents of Barnet

The London Borough of Barnet is seeking residents' views on about services provided for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing individuals in the borough. The feedback received from this consultation will help the Physical and Sensory Impairment Partnership Board in the development of its three year strategy for deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people in Barnet.
Individuals wishing to take part in the consultation can do so by completing a short online survey. This survey- and further information about the consultation- can be found here.

Local Consultation- Tower Hamlets
Consultation on the future of Victoria Park
Open to all residents of Tower Hamlets

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is seeking input from residents on new multi-million pound plans to restore Victoria Park. The Council has set up multiple opportunities for local residents to have a say and express their views on proposed plans for the park, including access to an online survey and the organisation of special events to promote resident involvement. Input into this consultation will help inform the Council's final plans for the park, which will then be submitted as part of the final application for a £5million Heritage Lottery Fund/Big Lottery Fund bid.
Read more here...
Did You Know? 
LEP Launches Online Consultation on Supporting Local Democracy
Closes: 2 October 2009

Communities and Local Government (CLG) recently launched its consultation document, Strengthening Local Democracy as part of the government’s efforts to promote local democracy and increase citizen participation and involvement in regional and local democratic structures. This consultation builds on the government’s paper, Building Britain’s Future, originally presented to Parliament in June 2009.


As the ‘hub’ for community empowerment in London, the London Civic Forum and London Empowerment Partnership are keen to ensure that its members, stakeholders and wider contacts are provided an opportunity to influence and respond to this consultation. With London Civic Forum's new website- and the 'Shape Your City' website also up and running- we now have increased capacity to engage with our members and stakeholders on this issue. To take part in this consultation, or to find out further information, please click here.
We Need You! 
The London Empowerment Partnership is keen to ensure that information about community empowerment and engagement is shared and discussed as widely as possible. If you would like to publicise the work of your organisation or advertise an event or training opportunity in this bulletin, please email Natalie at natalie@londoncivicforum.org.uk.  
 Contact Us
 
Hannah Peaker
London Empowerment Partnership Co-ordinator
tel: 020 8709 9775
email: hannah@londoncivicforum.org.uk

Natalie Murr
Civic Engagement Project Support Officer
tel: 020 8709 9772
email: natalie@londoncivicforum.org.uk

                                                                                                                       
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