On Wednesday the 8th of January RBKC took a decision at the Administration Committee that could have significant implications for community participation. We believe accepting the extensively rewritten Charter for Public Participation is to be welcomed. KCSC and the Grenfell Network Group played a significant role in the transformation of the Charter.

In achieving this significantly revised Charter, KCSC acknowledges the role Robert Sheppard (Council Officer) and Cllr Cyron played in the changes. It is clear they listened to the reasoned arguments made by the community, KCSC  and others, (32 submissions were made including KCSC/GNG, Kensington Soc. and numerous residents mainly from the North).

However, KCSC remain concerned that the Charter lacks the Standards and Evidence Framework we highlighted again last night;

"We believe that there needs to be a Standards and Evidence framework to underpin the Charter, similar to that which was included in KCSC’s submission. We recognise that the current timeframes make that very difficult to achieve so suggest that a panel of residents, Voluntary Sector Agencies and councillors produce this during the first six months of the Charter as it beds in, so lessons can be included."

The Council’s response is that it will review the Charter over the first year with a mid-point mini-review and will seek to work with KCSC to assess its effectiveness.  

It is worth noting that this Charter is a first in England, it should remain a dynamic work in progress.To achive this the Council must see the community as a resource, to collaborate with and even work as partners on significant projects. 

Perhaps this is a fork in the road, here's hoping for  2020. 

Two final places have been made available on our "Create a Buzz" training in conjunction with our partners Community Organisers! The deadline for registering is now  interest is the 13th January. See details below.

KCSC with our partners Community Organisers are embarking on an ambitious training project, "Create a Buzz!", to provide fantastic, free, training in elements of community organising. The idea is simple, relevant and needed if the wider community in North Ken is to challenge and make changes to the way things are done here.

We have extended our cohort to 25 or so people drawn from the North Ken community; volunteers, residents and charity workers who want to come together to learn some key skills and eventually host community conversations and decision-making events in this area. The drive is to explore ways for the community and charities to expand the pool of people in the community who participate in decision-making, change how things are done in the area, raise their voices, perhaps engage on the boards of charities and work in the voluntary sector. A North Ken Quake. The initial focus is to hold an event, with our support, in March. 

Broken into four short sessions of an evening, one and a half days training and a half day event the Create a Buzz! programme is tight acknowledging all the strains there are on people's time. There's an option which will follow the March event, one we encourage, to get more deeply involved in the process by learning the theories and techniques that underpin Create a Buzz! 

The Create a Buzz! focuses on two tools, the "World Cafe" and "Community Hosting".

*Community Hosting?

'Community Hosting' is the way of creating safe spaces and conversations in communities, using a variety of methods to encourage community participation, where those of our community engaged in self-organising can reflect, learn, build understanding and challenge power to bring about meaningful change.

* World Cafe?

World Café is a simple, effective, and flexible format for hosting large group dialogues which help people to learn, explore possibilities, and co-create together.

Conversations are action—the very heartbeat and lifeblood of social systems like organizations, communities, and cultures

The process will begin in January 27th so there will be much more detail to come in the next few weeks.

We are very keen for people from the local area; workers in the charitable sector, volunteers and residents to get involved. If you, a volunteer or fellow worker want to be part of this please contact me as soon as possible [email protected] spaces are well limited! This will also have a certificate to cover elements of the training!

Oh and if you are wondering, two things I moved the moon around 90 degrees and I took the photo with a fixed telephoto lens on my Samsung s8. Try that iPhone owners!