Civic Revival is pleased to announce five linked exploratory forums taking place monthly from October 2020 to February 2021, each looking at a key dimension in the civic, municipalist and local democratic empowerment landscape.
They will contribute to the publication of a ‘Civic Revival manifesto’ or position paper in March 2021, ahead of the May 2021 local elections.
The events will be held online in October, November, December, January and February. Each event will be on a Thursday at 6pm, and be a fully interactive conversation on Zoom. The more formal part of the event will end at 7pm, and will be followed by 30 minutes of further chat and informal networking over a drink (b.y.o.).
Contact richard [at] civic-revival.org.uk for more details and your invitation to attend.
Thursday 29 October, 6pm GMT Forum 1) 'Manifesto for the Civic Revival': Mapping the territory
Introduction to the series: why do we need action now to foster civic revival and new local democratic empowerment? What might people be looking for in a civic revival that is meaningful and a possible basis for consensus? What are the key ingredients of genuine local pride, motivation, identity and community empowerment?
Thursday 19 November, 6pm Forum 2) Self-governance at a human scale: proof of concept. What does effective and successful citizen power look like?
Identifying and describing successful examples in real places and the principles revealed.
Thursday 17 December, 6pm Forum 3) Who is hindering the civic revival? Facing tough realities and resistance
What gets in the way of localism and community action and why?
National and local tensions, competing political and administrative agendas. Commercial, cultural and bureaucratic gatekeepers and resistance.
Case studies from real life projects to ‘democratise the High Street’: successes & failures
Forum 4) Nurturing the narrative of civic revival: reaching out in the right way (January 2021, date tbc)
Describing, disseminating and defending the citizen leadership message in the best language and context.
Forum 5) 'Manifesto for the Civic Revival': a rallying point (February 2021, date tbc)
Defining the content of the Civic Revival message for promulgation and presentation to civic activists and wider society, as a contribution to raising the level of public debate on these issues in the run up to the 2021 local elections.
Each of the five forum discussions will be facilitated by a pair of guest discussion leaders.
The emerging messages will be captured in a report to be presented as a direction-setting position paper/manifesto for Civic Revival, published in March 2021, offering a coherent agenda which candidates standing for office in the 2021 local elections can be invited to respond to, and be measured against by citizens when deciding how to vote.
Contact richard [at] civic-revival.org.uk for more details and your invitation to attend.
