We had a good live chat today in Dumfries and Galloway, with Cllr Sean Marshall showing how it should be done, asking young people questions and getting them talking. They got very enthusiastic, telling him about what they wanted to see in their area. So enthusiastic that Sean was deluged! Read more
Hi, I’m chief moderator every year, although until the event starts I’m the only one. It’s not too bad, I boss myself about a bit and then sneak off for sly tea breaks when I’m not looking… I’m mainly doing prep at the moment, except when something’s happening in Dumfries Read more
I’m a Councillor, Get me out of Here 2006! has gone live in Scotland already this year. Dumfries & Galloway Council’s event has been live all week. On October 9th a further 33 councils from all over the UK will go live too. We’re covering all four corners this year. Read more
OFSTED published today their latest report on Citizenship teaching in secondary schools. You can download it here. As you’d expect it recommends direct contact between students and councillors as a good teaching practice. A common feature of good lessons is the high level of participation on the part of pupils. Read more
It’s been a hectic day today calling all the councils who have expressed an interest in I’m a Councillor but from whom we’ve not had a definite yes or no. We’ll do a final count tomorrow but it looks like we’ll have about 35 councils taking part in October which Read more
This year we are running an international version of I’m a Councillor alongside the 30 plus UK councils already signed up to the event. In the second week of the fortnight students will be able to also access a second version of the site where they will be able to Read more
The LGA’s first magazine are hopefully running an article in September about what it is like to participate in I’m a Councillor from a councillr’s perspective. In pulling together some material for the article I came across this quote from Cllr Pat Todd in Canterbury. "I found the experience rejuvenating. Read more
I’ve been given the chance to post on the ICELE blog about the Budapest Conference. This is what I wrote: I’ve now caught up on my sleep from Budapest, but not my thoughts. I have two over-riding themes left over from the event. Firstly was listening to Etienne Chouard speak Read more
One of the discussions that should have occurred at the event is now happening on the blog of the lovely Antonia Bance. I met Antonia at the event. She is a Councillor in Oxford, new to the job and comes across as really passionate about what she believes in. She’s Read more
Last week I flew to Budapest to take part in the International e-Participation and Local Democracy Symposium. 3 days of hotel air-conditioning and PowerPoint presentations. Joy. Griff Wigley and a few others kept a blog through the event and I hope to be able to contribute to it soon. It Read more