We're thrilled to kick off another edition of our newsletter. 📰
In this issue, we'll talk a bit about our upcoming network day, hosted by Codema on the 8th of August, job opportunities and news.
👉 Have you something to contribute to the upcoming monthly newsletters?
We're all ears! Use our submission form to share your events, resources and news because together, we're building a stronger, more inclusive democracy.
Please note, sometimes this newsletter is too long for your email provider. Click the link on the top right that says 'view in your browser' to make sure you're reading everything.
Co-Working Day
🎉 Join us for Co-Working Day in Dublin! 🎉
On 8 August, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, come down to 2 Crown Alley in Temple Bar for a morning of productivity and fun.
Whether you're a freelancer, a remote worker, or just someone looking to get things done in a lively atmosphere, we've got you covered.
Expect great company, inspiring conversations, and build connection to others working to make a better democracy. Don't miss out on this chance to co-work, connect, and celebrate in the heart of Dublin! ✨
DIY Democracy: Citizens' Assemblies from the Ground Up
Citizens' Assemblies are a powerful way of bringing diverse public voices together to carefully deliberate over complex social issues and come to a consensus about what needs to happen. They can overcome polarisation and make decisions that are based on the common good rather than individual self interest. However, they are complicated, expensive, and difficult to set up, creating barriers to access that limit who can commission them, the topics they deal with, and the implementation of what they recommend.
This workshop will explore ways of reducing those barriers while maintaining the legitimacy and quality of dialogue that makes citizens' assemblies such a powerful tool for collective decision making.
Rebekah McCabe from Involve will break down the features of a citizens' assembly and we'll play with ways of reconfiguring them so that democratic innovations are accessible to all.
This workshop will have a practical focus and will be of interest to anyone curious about the mechanics of citizens assemblies, or interested in public engagement and how they can bring more deliberative decision making to their work.
Save the date: NICVA's Future Thinking Summit 2024
Join NICVA at the Future Thinking Summit, a dynamic gathering dedicated to showcasing the resilient and innovative VCSE, a space for conversations, connections, and learning, where key societal issues can be discussed, experiences shared, inspiring creative solutions for future generations.
They are bringing together all aspects of our civic society and that includes you! This is a unique opportunity for you build meaningful networks and connections across all sectors.
There will be space for conversations and learning from best practice, and a chance to explore how you can collaborate with each other to deliver real and meaningful social change.
🕛 When? Sun, 22 October, 9am - 5pm
📍 Where?
W5 and W5 LIFE, 2 Queens Quay Belfast, County Antrim, BT3 9QQ
🗯️ Tell us a bit about yourself and what you would like from the network.
This survey captures network members' attitudes and perceptions of public participation and deliberative democracy on the island of Ireland.
We will use responses to better understand the needs of members, to evaluate the effectiveness of the network, and to demonstrate its value to members and funders at the end of the first year.
Please note, sometimes this newsletter is too long for your email provider. Click the link to make sure you're reading everything.
Involve
📢 Are you ready to make a real difference in helping to change our democracy for the better? Then Involve are looking for you to join the team!
Involve wants to build a more vibrant democracy, where everyone can shape a society that works for all of us.
Most people don’t have enough say in the decisions that affect their lives. Half (47%) of people in the UK believe they have no influence over decision making.
But Involve believe things can be different. They believe our current politics and democracy must evolve to meet the new challenges of the 21st century.
If any of these positions sound like you, find out more and apply.
📍 Location: Flexible. Must be comfortable with committing to regular travel both for project work and Involve team activities, across the UK.
💰 Salary: £45,665 – £54,798
⌛ Hours: Full time, 35 hours a week with flexible or part time considered
🕛 Closing date to apply: 9:00 on Tuesday 27 August.
👉 You will play a central role in our team, with particular responsibility for developing, managing and delivering Involve’s growing training offer.
This includes our proactive training offer; in other words, masterclasses and courses that we schedule and advertise. It also includes our reactive training work, where we respond to incoming requests to run training for specific organisations.
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2️⃣ Senior Associate (Media Relations)
📍 Location: Flexible. Must be comfortable with committing to some travel. Must be able to travel across the UK.
💰 Salary: Our freelance rate of £600 per day – £7,800 total contract value.
⌛ Hours: Approximately 8 hours per week for 3 months (August – October 2024)
👉There is a particular window of opportunity for impact in the first 100 days of the new government, that we feel an effective media strategy would help secure.
This role will help us take advantage of this moment, and see tangible results in shifting the dial towards people affected by decisions being part of making them.
Citizens' White Paper
Involve has collaborated with lead partner Demos - Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank — to develop a ‘Citizens’ White Paper’, which sets out why, when and how the government could embed citizen involvement in national policy making to tackle the complex and potentially divisive challenges facing our country and deliver on the Prime Minister’s promise to restore trust in politics.
The paper makes the case for putting citizens at the heart of an evolution in policy making, bringing their insights, experience and collective judgement to bear on the challenges ahead. This will help create the governing mandate needed for change and ensure that citizens can partner with the government to deliver on the actions needed for national renewal.
The Citizens’ White Paper sets out a practical, costed roadmap to change, deliverable over the next parliament, that enables citizens to participate in the policy decisions that affect their lives. Recommendations were developed with civil servants, parliamentary officers, academics and experts from across the field.
Our political system isn’t equipped to deal with the challenges we face, nor the threat of populism. We need a new layer of participation embedded at the heart of our political system to renew our democracy.
If you'd like to host fellow members for a learning call, a network meeting or co-working day, get in touch!
We're especially keen to hear from people outside of Belfast and Dublin who have availability from January 2025.
WhatsApp Group
A community thrives on communication and sometimes it’s easier to send a text message to chat through ideas or tell someone about an event.
Join the All-Island Better Democracy Network WhatsApp Group here.
Are you a member?
You may be receiving this newsletter but aren't actually a member of the network. We'd love for you to join!
Please fill out the form here to become a member and let us know where you're coming from and what topics you are interested in.
Involve, Community House, City Link Business Park, 6A Albert St, Belfast, BT12 4HQ, Northern Ireland and, Involve, Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London E2 6HG, United Kingdom
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