Thursday 18th March 2010 at Kingsway Learning Centre, Widnes from 9.45am - 1pm including lunch.
This NWTWC learning exchange seminar, hosted by Halton Borough Council, will explore what local authorities are required to do to measure empowerment and how a range of local authorities have used frameworks. It will enable participants to consider how to choose the best framework for their situation and how a framework might help an authority understand their empowerment work and take it forward. The seminar is aimed at people working at a strategic level.
Introduction: Dwayne Johnson, Strategic Director, Health & Community.
Speaker: Stuart Pate, Head of Community, Cumbria County Council.
Case studies from Halton, Wirral and Salford.
There will also be an up to date report on other approaches supported by Communities and Local Government.
Download a copy of the programme here
Closing date for registration 12th March 2010.
Monday 22nd March 2010 at Castle Green Hotel, Kendal from 1.15pm - 4.15pm.
The aim of this workshop is to share knowledge and expeirences about how can local government can continue to support and strengthen civil society and promote active citizenship in ways that mobilise communities to build social and economic solutions to the current economic crisis.
This workshop is being presented by Professor John McKnight.
The afternoon is aimed at a wide variety of people from professional, voluntary and community backgrounds and leaders within Cumbria and Lancashire who are involved in community development.
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a different and powerful approach to developing communities and the people within them. It starts from the idea that all communities have the potential to be rich - they all have assets and resources which, uncovered and mobilised, have the power to transform.
Download an event brochure here
Closing date for bookings 5th March 2010.
Wednesday 24th March 2010 from 3pm onwards at Zion Arts Centre, Manchester, M15 5ZA.
This Arise and Shine advocacy project, funded by NWTWC aims to increase understanding of the issues faced by women asylum seekers and refugees among those who provide services to this community or play a role in developing policy which touches them in some way. The aim is to create new channels of communication between these marginalised women and service providers and policy makers.
The event is in two parts:
The target audience is local authority officers and councillors, frontline staff and policy makers who interact with this community in the course of their work but who have had little or no specialist training to guide them.
Together with the workshop and information pack all delegates will receive, it will equip participants to work more sensitively and to recogonise and counter mistaken assumptions and stereotypes.
It is anitcipated this will be oversubscribed so your booking will be confirmed in due course.
Download an information and booking form here
This is a fully funded opportunity to participate in one of three Action Learning Sets (ALS) being run by Faiths4Change and funded by NWTWC in Burnley, Speke and Oldham from January to March.
The theme is Empowerment, Equality & Economic Inclusion and it is suitable for paid workers, volunteers, local councillors and others but places are limited so take advantage of this opportunity now.
This theme will be relevant to those of you working on the following programmes, agendas or in related fields such as Welfare to Work, Every Child Matters, Sustainable Communities including transport and travel, Young People Not in Education, Employment or training, Promoting Employability, Basic Skills, Enterprise Skills, Community Cohesion, all equalities strands and Women and Work to mention some.
ALS is a participative approach to finding solutions to work related challenges. it enables you to put forward challenges that you are facing, share experience, find and try out solutions with peers from other organisations.
Download flyer for Burnley Action Learning Set here
Download flyer for Speke Action Learning Set here
Download flyer for Oldham Action Learning Set here
For more information or to book a place please contact Marjorie Griffin on 0151 705 2111 or marjorie@faiths4change.org.uk
Tuesday 30th March 2010 at Palace Hotel, Oxford Street, Manchester, M60 7HA from 9.30am - 4pm.
NWTWC is supporting Connecting Communities in the North West through a targeted Support Funding programme which aims to improve the effectiveness with which local authorities engage with local people and the way in which they respond to their concerns about public decisions and services.
As part of this programme, we are very pleased to announce that colleagues from Manchester City Council and Oldham City Council have organised this free sharing good practice event.
it will be of interest to a range of people who engage with communities, including Officers, Elected Members and key community respresentatives. Go along to find out more and share good practice around Neighbourhood Day Grants implemented by the City of Manchester Council and Neighbourhood Agreements piloted by Oldham Council.
Download event information and agenda here
Action Learning Set comprising of 4 sessions:
Thursday 25th February 2010 from 12.30 - 4.30pm at GMCVO, Manchester (Lunch served 12.00 - 12.30pm)
Thursday 11th March 2010 from 12.30 - 4.30pm at GMCVO, Manchester (Lunch served 12.00 - 12.30pm)
Thursday 1st April 2010 from 12.30 - 4.30pm at GMCVO, Manchester (Lunch served 12.00 - 12.30pm)
Thursday 15th April 2010 from 12.30 - 4.30pm at GMCVO, Manchester (Lunch served 12.00 - 12.30pm)
NWTWC is committed to encouraging collaborative learning and improved practice in empowerment and engagement across the North West. As part of this commitment we are pleased to be working with IDeA, the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government, to offer the opportunity of taking part in an Action Learning Set. This set will be for officers who are facing the challenges of ensuring engagement and empowerment is part of the mainstream of their Council's activities.
For those unfamiliar with Action Learning, this would be a good chance for you to have a try and see if this is an approach for you.
If you're asking - Why Action Learning?
Action Learning has proved effective at working on issues that are complex, messy and maybe have a sense of an ongoing, repeating pattern about them: common characteristics of issues related to community engagement.
Action Learning implies both self-development and organisational development. Action on a problem changes both the problem and the person acting upon it.
We need you to be available for all the four dates.
Download a flyer for this event here