Here at Fazeley Studios with Nick Booth and Gavin Wray from Podnosh on the Social Reporting Training Course . 

With colleagues from Neighbourhood Forums and Community Groups learning about how to blog . Sitting next to Robert from Kings Heath Neighbourhood Forum who has just set up his first blog and near to Peter and Jackie who have just loaded up a sensational photo! Shahida is doing AudioBoo……

Nick explaining that social media not journalism but a great, powerful and fun way of connecting and having conversations in neighbourhoods

19th April

Back again for the second week of the Social Reporting Training – people still turned up even tho’ the sun is shining outside.

This week we are concentrating on the use of flips and adding podcasts on to our blogs….people finding the flips easy and fun to use and now trying to upload. Good stuff…

The Flips are available for loan, free of charge to community groups . Please contact Karen on 0121 675 8519

You’ve already seen some of the results of the Flip training with a number of local citizens, including footage from Local Democracy Week events. Here’s a round-up of some more of the videos submitted, starting with the video above which finds Glyn Selwyn, Chair of Bournbrook Neighbourhood Forum, interviewing people about the litter problem in the Bournbrook area of Selly Oak.

Thanks to being trained in using a Flip camera, Glyn was able to capture evidence of some of the affected areas, as well as reflecting the litter picking work being done by volunteers to combat the issue.

Below, you can see Glyn talking to Steve McCabe – MP for Selly Oak – about the impact of neighbourhood organisations and volunteering. Finally, there’s also a video recorded by Claire Spencer from Chamberlain Forum, gauging responses to Councilor Paul Tilsley’s Chamberlain Forum lecture and discussing how future measures might affect the work being done at ward level.

Shaun from Voice is Power feels empowered thanks to the work he does campaigning on issues affecting young people and the community as a whole. He spoke to us at the showcase event launching the new Voice is Power website, as part of Local Democracy Week.

Shaun talks about the impact different media forms can have in communicating messages, and his own hopes for the future. Particularly active in campaigning about pressures affecting young people in education, Shaun is enthusiastic about the impact youth volunteering has in the community, as well as enjoying the feeling he gets from raising awareness of these issues.

You can see the full interview with Shaun by watching the video above.

Claire Spencer of Chamberlain Forum attended the Voice is Power website launch showcase and spoke to some of the young people involved in their campaigns. This selection of videos charts the work ViP is doing on behalf of young people, focusing on the key issues which were raised by their peers.

In the video above, Manni discusses his role in leading on a campaign tackling the education pressures which face young people. Manni and his colleagues have already met with councillors and elected representatives to address the issues, and they will be working with schools to bring in a series of recommendations.

The work that the UK Youth Parliament Executives are doing seeks to help improve the lives of other young people in Birmingham. Issues such as racism, bullying and violence in the community affect a lot of people and the progress of these campaigns – as well as the proposals the young people are making – can be seen at the ViP website.

Voice is Power launched their new website at a special event as part of Local Democracy Week

Birmingham’s Children and Young People’s Parliament, Voice is Power, held a special event as part of Local Democracy Week to launch their new website. A number of groups and individuals were involved in the showcase, including dancers, singers and poet Matt Windle, alongside information about their current campaigns and the unveiling of a new video which will be taken to local schools to promote the work they do.

You can watch the video here.

Below are some of the key points from the speakers’ presentations about work the young people are doing with Voice is Power.

• Young Champions: Young people have a right to have their voice be heard. Young Champions involved in numerous campaigns as well as meeting to talk about their views
• ViP DVD launch: Wanting to make improvements to lives and the surrounding community. Birmingham a multicultural but divided city – engaging young people in political and community issues is a way of overcoming those barriers/boundaries and enhancing social cohesion. Optimism and change
• Campaign – Activities: Trying to work with Birmingham City Council to enhance opportunities for what young people can do in the city (inc making planned Paradise Circus library young people-friendly). Working with schools to help them become more active in the community too. Meetings with leading councillors to encourage them to prioritise issues affecting young people
• Campaign – Racism: Debates and discussion groups plus going to schools to talk about what’s been learned and ways of tackling the issue of racism in a multicultural society
• Campaign – Education pressures: Working with council committee after conducting a consultation among young people. The findings stressed the problems of pressure from families, teachers and and the prospect of exams. Recommendations were shared at the consultation stage and will be put forward in order to try to help young people reach their full potential in education and beyond
• Campaign – Violence in the Community: Trying to build relationships between young people and the police as a way of presenting young people’s concerns and views to authorities
• Campaign – Anti bullying: Raising awareness of issues affecting young people relating to bullying, and drawing up strategies which can help to tackle the problem. Collating information and resources which exist to help people who are affected by bullying. Implementing a Twitter campaign in order to get people talking about bullying and attract support for the anti-bullying campaign

You can find out more information about Voice is Power at their website as well as on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Discussions taking place at the Big Society Symposium

A number of representatives from organisations across Birmingham and the West Midlands gathered for discussions about the Big Society and what it means to the cmmunities around us in the future. A series of speakers presented their thoughts to the deegates, around the theme of Social Enterprise and the Big Society, before rotating discussions groups formed talk about the issues facing us.

Sarah Crawley, CEO of iSE, began the day by stating the need for clarity in Social Enterprise and how it can work in conjunction with the Big Society agenda, while posing two questions: how can social enterprise contribute to that agenda, and what is the potential for growth in that area?

Councillor Len Clark made a short address to introduce the presentations, stating that the biggest challenge will be that of change. His key points included the following:

• The need to change how we interact with the community. It’s unlikely, however, to be radically different from what has gone before – already happening, just giving it a new name
• The fear that services delivered particularly to elderly and frail people would be dominated by private sector – the need for the voluntary sector to step in here is clear but also a challenge. Also requires improvement in the market
• No one is closer to the communities than the (SE) organisations here
• Big Society agenda will mean the need to cut back office cuts and focus on meeting needs at the front-line – services affecting children, parents, families, community and the organisations within those communities. There are niche services to be developed in this market
• Prospect of alliance of organisations in Birmingham to cover a wider spectrum of services – a federation of partners. This may be a key facet of the path forward
• Birmingham needs a clear menu of services to allow third sector organisations to find partnerships

This was followed by Dr Dick Atkinson, Chief Executive of Balsall Heath Forum, who raised the idea of social renewal as being the same principle as the Big Society. Drawing parallels between local community and the environment, he talked of the need to “mend the hole in the social O Zone layer” as well as raising the following points:

• Enlightenment – science has brought about huge developments, but has also perhaps intruded on the values which hold the village/community together
• Embodiment of Big Society – strong looking after the weak, young looking after the old
• Perhaps we don’t have that balance of subjectivity and values in the West (look at Chile as example of sticking together)
• Balsall Heath residents removed the need for a Vice Squad by working with the police themselves – it was disbanded, saving £350K
• The state has provided the services we need for years – as an unintended consequence we’ve become dependent on these and demand more
• Being able to scale back and also help ourselves in order to bring about better and more valuable communities
• We need to ‘fish for ourselves’

Next up was Sally Reynolds, from Social Homes UK, who gave a very personal and impassioned account of her view of the Big Society agenda.

• Big Society is a culture of volunteerism
• Not a new concept but there is no masterplan
• Already millions of pounds cut from organisations who exist to encourage volunteerism – is this hypocritical? Croydon Council cut £60m of funding to voluntary organisations. How do you do more with no money?
• Suddenly the onus is on local authorities – if people should be doing more for themselves there needs to be less bureaucracy
• The need for entrepreneurial thinking in the public sector, voluntary sector and third sector. The period of re-positioning will hopefully bring about more creativity
• Social enterprises and related organisations are accustomed to working without resources but the Spending Review cuts will hit the voluntary sector hard

Gerry Higgins, of CEiS, offered a view which seemed more optimistic, covering numerous ideas including the role that communities might play in controlling energy sources via asset transfer:

• Is Big Society a concept or a strategy? How does it sit with the reduction of resources?
• There is a need for intermediaries as well as the front-line services, so it’s important not to neglect organisations which fulfil criteria – guide, connect people, avoid mistakes, co-ordination, but removing duplication and waste
• There is also a need to square the rhetoric of increasing volunteerism and active citizenship during an era of public spending cuts
• Many social enterprises may not be able to survive this, but there are opportunities – partnership initiatives play an important role
• Asset transfer is also important in empowering communities and giving them more control over the areas in which they live
• Social enterprises in relation to renewable energy can play a part too – the model for this exists in Europe, where the community has direct control of the resource
• Some private sector companies are wanting to convert at least part of their businesses into social enterprises, which is just one sign of the growth within the sector
• Opportunities for forging links with co-operatives and other businesses; social enterprises should not be afraif of partnering with the private sector
• Day-to-day things you do can have a real impact in the next 5-10 years time, so it’s an opportunity

The final presentation was delivered by Jas Bains, of Ashram Housing Association:

• Due to protected sectors, there are going to be some casualties somewhereSta
• State is perhaps going to be more of a guarantor than deliverer of services
• Shift taking place (blending), with a fusion of ethical and financial interests
• A big issue facing us for the future is ensuring the sustainability of ventures which fulfil the Big Society agenda
• Civic leaders need to have a responsible view in helping and leading the way for community-focused projects to survive and thrive
• Organisations need to look at how their services can help to increase social mobility, particularly among the most disadvantaged families. We’re resourceful, with initiative and leadership, which is a positive thing

The delegates then split into discussion groups to consider ways forward and possible approaches for an uncertain future. Some of the key points raised during these discussions are below:

• Thinking nationally and internationally, not just locally
• Vital optimism – you can do anything and the best is yet to come
• Communities helping themselves and helping others
• The importance of a knowledge process to ensure everyone learns from each other
• Integration not separation – need to build networks and consortia to make the Big Society agenda a reality

You can read coverage of the whole event via Twitter by following the #isebigsociety hashtag.

It makes for an intriguing look at the democratic process at local level, the formalities and traditions which are observed (e.g. nodding at the mace, which you can see at around the 4:35 mark), and a glimpse behind the scenes at the Council Chamber.

You can see more videos at the Birmingham City Council YouTube channel.

Matthew Ebo interviews Rob Clarke from Parents and Children Together (PACT) about the impact that mentoring young people can have, particularly in disadvantaged communities. PACT, a registered charity, is based in Small Heath and works with young people aged between 9 and 16 years old, aiming to support them and also their parents in order to benefit the whole family group.

The goal of the project is to help the young people they work with move into jobs or further education, as a way of opening up opportunities for them in life.

At around the 4:30 mark there’s further insight into the tradition and a look at the expectations which help to define the role of Lord Mayor of Birmingham.

A group of students from Four Dwellings High School, Quinton and a youth group from Kingstanding have made this film about their research into the activities of Birmingham suffragettes in the early 20th century.

It was made as part of the People and Parliament: Connecting with Communities project. It’s a fascinating video, shedding light on the role education plays in teaching young people about political and democratic history, as well as highlighting what those young people think about the current electoral system.

You can watch the video above – and you can find more videos from this project and other similar content at the UK Parliament YouTube channel.