Active Citizenship is about getting people physically involved in the improvement of their communities.
It is recognised as the best way of making sure services and facilities are tailored for the people who use them, and it was the theme of a seminar at the Watershed earlier this week organised by the Easton and Lawrence Hill Neighbourhood Management team.
A packed room of attendees explored ideas and possibilities to spur more people to play a part in their local communities.
Mayor George Ferguson was joined by Bath MP Don Foster, John Low of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and members of community groups including St Paul’s Unlimited, the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft, The Dings Community Association and Happy City.
Localism was a key theme, devolving authority and empowering individual communities to build their own blueprints.
Bristol has long prided itself on an inherent vibrancy, ‘can do’ attitude and creative approach to solutions: it has the potential to trailblaze in this field too.
We have many active citizens in Bristol, but “the reality is that we only engage with 5 to 10 per cent in a meaningful way,” said Ferguson.
“Bristol is a tale of two cities – the active and the disenfranchised. We need to break a few rules to make things happen.”
Foster noted the traditional divide between rich and poor.
He said: “Middle class do-gooders will just get on and do it. Poor people struggling just to survive don’t.”
We need to reach out to that latter group, he added, advocating creating “local heros” equipped with the skills and influence to galvanise their communities.
Under the clichéd but apt tag line of Margaret Mead’s popular quote – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” – speakers encouraged individuals to pursue their own initiatives, pledging support and relative freedom from trammelling rules.
Children and fun were identified as key routes to engaging the wider population.
As Ferguson reminded the audience: “Fun is a serious business.”
By Laura Collacott
