Changes to the website
Tuesday, 12 August 2008 10:00 | 
Written by webmaster | 
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Welcome to your CSC. We hope that you enjoy these pages as much as we do. We are now in the proces of launching our new website so not all previously available content may be availble.
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Last Updated (Thursday, 14 July 2011 11:00)
The Role of the Voluntary and Community Sector in Deprived NeighbourhoodsFriday, 08 July 2011 18:09 | Written by Matt Scott | | |
Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Matt Scott, writing for the Department of Communities and Local Government writes an in-depth review of the community sector. Click below on the attachments to download the documentation set. Introduction Following on from the Prime Minister’s words, it is ‘social action’ which typifies what voluntary and community groups do, unmediated by the state but profoundly affected by the ‘size, scope and role of government’. The sector is driven by a mission that is in many ways far bigger than the state or market because it underpins and binds society together in ‘fighting inequality’ and in the promotion of ‘social solidarity’. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that the role of the sector in deprived neighbourhoods is to support the creation of the Big Society at a local level and that the sector has the capacity and the willingness to be the foundation stone on which to build the success of this project. This is not a political point because voluntary action transcends and cuts across politics; it is recognition of mutual interest and opportunity that brings communities together and allows them to flourish. The sector can unleash positive and lasting change at the most local level, often in the face of almost insurmountable odds, but the extent to which it is helped or in many cases hindered, can become a defining issue .
Last Updated (Thursday, 14 July 2011 11:01) |
Empowering Communities WebinarFriday, 08 July 2011 16:53 | Written by webmaster | | |
How can communities develop most effectively so that people feel empowered? This webinar is one of a series of three looking at grassroots community, development and democracy. It follows from an earlier webinar we held on "Reshaping Grassroots Politics: Organising People for Power." This webinar will give a brief overview of Community Development and will focus on how communities can build capacity to what the tools needed to do this are. It will particularly look at the work of Paulo Freire who developed means to turn ideas into action through making action relevant to community need. So this webinar will raise some questions for discussion. • Where did Community Development come from, where is it now and where is it going? • What is the relationship between the ideas of Freire and Community Development practice? • What does it mean to be ‘in and against the state’? • The contested nature of Community Development: strength or a weakness? • What is the difference between Community Development and Community Organising? This first webinar will be presented by Matt Scott who is the Director of the Community Sector Coalition. Between 1996 and 2008 he worked in a community development role in South East London, including management of the Lewisham Community Empowerment Network. Prior to this he has worked in the North East and Midlands in a number of roles including as an advice worker, volunteer co-ordinator and manager in several workers co-operatives. He is also a Director of the National Coalition for Independent Action, a founder member of the Community Development Network London and an occasional lecturer at Goldsmiths College where he is completing a PhD on the role of communities in the modernising local government agenda. For details or how to sign up for this online event: click here. Share this article
Last Updated (Thursday, 14 July 2011 11:01) |
