Creating Community Conversations - Gallomanor

Democracy starts with people

A while back we blogged about how only 7 seats out of 32 were contested in the May 2007 District Council elections in Teesdale.  On the Isle of Wight they have no such problem.  Last Thursday 6 local people were contesting a by-election for a single Parish Council seat in Ventnor.  On a cold December day just before Christmas they achieved a turnout of 28%.

There is no way of telling but the efforts of a local blogger, Simon Perry and his team on VentnorBlog may have helped.  All 6 candidates were interviewed on camera and asked questions that had been left on the blog, results were live blogged and a Podcast from the returning officer was recorded.

Apparently the blog has 17,500 readers which is quite incredible for a town of only 6,000 people.

I spoke with Simon about why don't more communities have thriving online presences?  I feel the key ingredient is having someone with the energy, drive and commitment to produce the content rather than the tools.  But that is probably coming from someone who doesn't have a problem with the tools.  Would having better pre-configured sites in Wordpress and the right guidance help more communities thrive?

Simon also sent me some links:

The Secrets of Success in I'm a Councillor

I've now finished writing up the I'm a Councillor 2007 evaluation report (which you can download from our website). It's been fascinating looking in detail at the feedback and the questions that were asked. Although of course I was there for the whole event, while it's on I'm caught up in organising everything. It's great to get down to the nitty-gritty of what young people and councillors say to each other, and what they got out of it.

Reading the report hopefully gives you a great sense of what the event's really like and 'the big picture' of the how the event went this year, across the country. And if you're thinking of taking part in 2008 it may help you to plan for next year. Returning councils usually find they get more out of the event the second year, because they've learnt a lot from organising it once. The evaluation report is one way for all councils to short-circuit that and learn from each other's experiences, and that's one big reason we produce it.

Key points in this year's report:-

• 50% of young people visited the site in their own time, after being introduced to it at school
• Event busier than ever
• Clear dividend for returning councils

The report also contains:-

• How did the busiest councils do it? - Case studies from successful councils
• Feedback from young people, councillors, teachers and council officers
• Outcomes from last year

Hope you enjoy it! The information packs for the 2008 event will be printed in January, and we'll send those out to you then if you're interested. And if you have colleagues who would want a copy, get them to email me and I will add them to my list.

YouCanDo Guides

Yesterday saw the launch of the YouCanDo Guides from The Scarman Trust at Westminster Central Hall.  The highlight of the day were the stories from six ordinary (or extraordinary) people who have helped change their communities.   

The smooth running of the day was somewhat disrupted by one of the speakers, Ian Bone, who disregarded the usual rules of Westminster conferences by dishing up a few uncomfortable facts about the following speaker, David Blunkett MP.  The biggest shame was that neither Blunkett nor Parmjit Dhanda, Minister for Community Cohesion, could make time to attend the event earlier and hear the stories from real people who are actively involved in changing their communities as opposed to just listening to those who are more inclined to merely talk about it.  The event was filmed so I hope that they will take time to watch at a time convenient to them.

Gallomanor have been heavily involved in the Guides for the last few months.  We were asked to produce the marketing materials for them including the YouCanDo website at www.youcando.org.uk.  It's been an intense few months as we've worked with the Scarman team to tease out the details of the Guides which are the bringing together of decades of experience in helping communities change.

 

There are nine Guides in total ranging from the all-encompassing Guide to Asset Based Community Development to the rather precise Guide to Community Finance.  The Guides are designed for local authorities and other organisations interested in community cohesion to use with their staff and with community members.

You can read all about it at the site and also download the materials we've produced.