Wednesday, 29 September 2010

Empowerment Works in Somerset

Empowerment Works made its debut appearance yesterday at ‘The Big Community Development Picnic’, organised by the South West Foundation, and George (the Funding Advisers Forum) at Shipham Village Hall in Somerset. I made a presentation about the campaign to 80 community development workers and funding advisers, outlining the Big Society agenda, suggesting ways of responding to it and highlighting examples of successful empowerment projects. The event was a great opportunity to introduce the campaign, and feedback was very positive. But the mood is grim. With so many organisations and jobs under threat from cuts, how, people want to know, are they meant to bring the Big Society about? Community development skills are essential, but how do we preserve them in the current climate?

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Welcome To Our Test Site

Welcome to the Empowering Communities Website.
We are developing a programme of work to ensure that there is a lasting legacy from community engagement projects carried out by Empowering Communities, a regional partnership in the South West of England. Lots of training, events and resources have been developed to help communities get their voices heard and to support public authorities to listen and engage with them. For the time being the site is in development, but we'll be using this website to tell you all about this work and how you can learn from it and take it forward, so please return again soon.