The International Centre for Participation Studies at Bradford University is holding an event on 20th February: Making a difference to the neighbourhood? A new politics?
The event is a conversation about community organising in Britain. It takes place on Thursday, 20 February 2014 from 13:00 to 19:30 at the Delius Arts & Cultural Centre,
29 Great Horton Road, Bradford, BD7 1AA. (View map)
Ute Kelly, who works at the ICPS, said,
“We’re hoping it’ll be a really stimulating conversation around different approaches to making change in communities, and we’ve already had bookings from a range of people with interesting experiences to share.”
Clicking on the link below will take you to Eventbrite, where you can book a free ticket to the event.
Making a difference to the neighbourhood? A new politics?
Topics of conversation
The conversation, between people engaged in various forms of community activism and organising in Britain today, is about:
- How do we approach organising and activism in communities today?
- What are we learning about power and change?
- How do we engage with politics in an age of austerity and state withdrawal?
- Can organising at the community level make a difference?
- Is this a new form of politics?
- How might this impact on Bradford’s communities?
Who will be there?
The aim is to share experiences and to open up discussion between different organisations that are working at the community level to generate change, and the participants in Bradford’s Community University (Comm-Uni-ty).
These are a group of academics and community activists who have come together over the last year to exchange knowledge around power and participation.
The final part of the event will be the sharing of the work of the Community University and a discussion on the potential of new forms of knowledge exchange and the role of Universities (and other educational centres) in relationship to community organising and activism.
IPCS hope people attending will come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences- from organisations that have grown up around different approaches to community organising, to trade unions and parties who have begun to shift into community organising, to organisations such as the cooperative housing movement with a long history of work in the community, to grass roots environmental and community groups, and to social movements.
The event is not about listening to speakers but listening to each other and our varied experiences and knowledge. You will be fed (lunch and tea). The event will include: –
- A participatory conversation.
- A creative reflection on organising communities involving Community University Participants and Bradford University Arts
- Comm-UNI-ty Comm-Hons Awards for participants on our power and change knowledge exchange programme.
There is no parking at the venue but it is a short walk from Bradford Interchange & Forster Square.
Comm-UNI-ty has been funded by the ESRC and JRF.
The International Centre for Participation Studies (ICPS), was established in 2004 as an integral part of Peace Studies. They aim to explore the meaning and practice of participation in relation to the building of conditions for humanity to live without violence and the capacity to address the complex human and natural crises which are converging in the 21st century.