CitizensUK Assemblies 2014

8/12/2019 CitizensUK Assemblies 2014

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www.citizensuk.org

promoting civil societyIn association with

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In association with

Assemblies

2014page 4 and 5

www.citizensuk.org

reweaving the fabric of society

Issue 1 July 2014

In this issue...

Hello and welcometo Citizens UK p2

The Road to 2015p6 and p7

Social Care Campaignbuilding momentum p3

Living Wage CampaignCitizens UK takes action p8

Why Im involved

and making a differencep9

Citizens UK - the home of community organisingin the UK. Building powerful communities thatwork together for the common good.
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2www.citizensuk.org

reweaving the fabric of societyIn association with

Recently we found that you, our friends and members, were telling us that you wanted to know more about whats

happening across the Citizens UK movement. I hope that this bi-annual newsletter will help keep you up to date. As aconvert to Twitter, I also recommend you follow @CitizensUK for real-time news about Citizens actions across the country.

You will be amazed at the breadth of activity going on each week.

Our work to promote and strengthen civil society as a force to

make democratic change has seen the tradition of public assembly

revived. The front cover features Birmingham Citizens leader,

Abdinasir Ahmed, from the citys Somali community, giving

testimony at their packed assembly. You can read about this years

Citizens Assemblies, including Birminghams, here. There is also

more about how the new Citizens UK Council plans to affect

the2015 General Election.Each CUK Chapter now has elected

Delegates on the CUK Council. Over the last eighteen months

they have shaped a Manifesto for Civil Society and this will be

launched over the summer.

In April this year we unified all our Chapters and Alliances to

become one national charity,Citizens UK. I can now say we are

a truly national charity, with Chapters across London, in Milton

Keynes, Birmingham and Nottingham.

Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Citizens will found in

October and we are building alliances in Leeds, Glasgow,

Taunton, Manchester and the North East. We are also part of an

international network of organising, learning and sharing with

our colleagues across the world (USA , Canada, Germany and

Australia), and have been lucky enough to both host and attend

events with theIAF andOne Sweden,as well as train two groups

from Hong Kong in the craft of organising.

With growth comes challenge, and in an ever tougher funding

environment we are always looking to recruit new institutions

and find new funding partners. We are lucky enough to have

some wonderful supporters, includingAviva,who are not only an

accredited Living Wage employer and principal partner, but also

offer Citizens UK advice and practical help, including the designand print of this publication. Id like to take this opportunity to

thank them and all our funders, friends and members on behalf of

our new CUK Board of Trustees and the Guild of Organisers.

I look forward to working with you over the next year as together

we build our power and relationships in anticipation of the

next Citizens Fourth Debate with the three Prime Ministerial

candidates in early May 2015.

Neil Jameson

Executive Director

Citizens UK

2www.citizensuk.org

Hello &

welcome......to the first edition of our newCitizens UK update, another first

in a year of development and

growth. And fittingly so,

as this year we celebrate

our 25th Anniversary!
http://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.industrialareasfoundation.org/http://www.industrialareasfoundation.org/http://www.onesweden.se/http://www.onesweden.se/http://www.onesweden.se/http://www.aviva.co.uk/http://www.aviva.co.uk/http://www.aviva.co.uk/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Kv6i-ekYQ&list=PL5162560DC214078Ahttp://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Kv6i-ekYQ&list=PL5162560DC214078Ahttp://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.aviva.co.uk/http://www.onesweden.se/http://www.industrialareasfoundation.org/


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2www.citizensuk.org


Our campaign to improve Social Care,

www.icareaboutcare.org.uk, is beginning to

build momentum, and as a key proposal in

the Citizens UK 2015 Manifesto, you will be

hearing more about it in the coming months.

At some point in your life you, or a family

member, will need social care. It seems

everyone has a story about care in their family.

Some stories are positive and there is good

quality care work that we need to celebrate.

But we hear story after story of worry, frustration

and anger about poor quality care.

The Social Care Campaign is bringing together

care recipients, families, care workers, providers

and commissioners, united behind a commonset of basic standards: the Social Care Charter.

These standards include: continuity of care

worker, proper training, Living Wage and

pay for travel.

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North London Citizens member,Annemarie Anangexplains:

All too often the care provided for my

mum has been inconsistent and inadequate.

This has ranged from careworkers not

knowing how to help someone suffering

from dementia, to care companies forgetting

to send a carer. My mum has me to care for

her now. But Im all too aware that not everyone has a loved one who

can help when they are at their most vulnerable. Thats why we need

to work together and make our concerns heard at the highest level,

so no-one suffers the indignity of poor care or being put in a situation

where its impossible to do a good job. Read more about Annemarie

and her mumhere.

www.citizensuk.org

#i careabout care

Please take the time to share your

storyhere.

Read more about the campaign at

www.icareaboutcare.org.uk

#icareaboutcare

Annemarie Anang with her mum

Norman Lamb MP with care providers, recipients and commissioners at the Care in the Square tea party action.
http://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/http://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/story_4http://www.citizensuk.org/http://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/stories#stories-sechttp://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/https://twitter.com/search?q=%23icareaboutcare&src=typdhttp://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/http://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/http://www.citizensuk.org/https://twitter.com/search?q=%23icareaboutcare&src=typdhttp://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/stories#stories-sechttp://www.icareaboutcare.org.uk/story_4


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East London943 people attended assemblies in

Hackney, Newham, Redbridge and

Tower Hamlets.

Wins included:

Hackney Council to support thecampaign for recognition of Alevism

in their schools

Birkbeck, University of London, towork with Newham Citizens and

create a bespoke pilot programme

to train 30 local residents for health

and social care professions

Redbridge Council agreed to paytheir directly employed care workers

at least the London Living Wage

Tower Hamlets Council towork with Citizens and housing

association Poplar Harca to trial a

Living Rent model

Assemblies 2014

CardiffThe soon to be founded Cardiff Citizens and Vale of Glamorgan Citizenslaunched their#10,000 storieslistening campaign to understand the concerns of their communities

before launching an agenda of action in October 2014

4 5www.citizensuk.org www.citizensuk.org


We are proud to be r eviving the tradition

of public assembly as a way of doing

politics, negotiating with people in

power and making progress with the

business of our members.

Over 4,100 people attended a Citizens UK

Assembly between March and May 2014.

With so many members actively involved

in staging these events across the Citizens

network, we wanted to celebrate and share

some of the highlights.

And now the hard work begins

...working with the newly elected and

reappointed local politicians to help them

deliver the pledges they made to us!

North London800 people attended assemblies in

Barnet, Brent, Camden, Haringey

and Islington.

Wins included:

1.1m pledged by Barnet Council to

rebuild the Bravanese CommunityCentre

A public deal with HS2 to create aCamden Citizens Charter guaranteeing

jobs, training and housing for

local people

Police to donate 50 bikes each year forfive years to support Haringey Citizens

bike workshop scheme, with all profits

used to fund the CitySafe campaign

A commitment from Islington Council

to help increase the number of LivingWage employers in the borough to 100,

including at least five care providers

Brent Council to attend a roundtableon how they can champion the Social

Care Charter

South London1,273 people attended assemblies

in Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth,

Lewisham, Southwark and

Wandsworth.

Wins included:

A commitment to make CroydonCouncil a Living Wage employer

Greenwich Clinical CommissioningGroup to work with young people

to co-design the Children and

Adolescents Mental Health Service

Lambeth Council to providetraining to support our back to

work campaign

Agreement from LewishamCouncil and Police to launch an

independent commission into hate

crime in the borough

A commitment to find a suitablearea for a community land trust

development in Southwark

Jane Ellison MP agreed to workwith local care providers and host

a Care Assembly in Wandsworth

during November 2014

Birmingham

Milton keynes

CardilffThe vale ofGlamorgan

Nottingham

West London492 people attended assemblies in

Ealing and Westminster.

Wins included:

Ealing and Westminster Councilspledged to work with us to implement

the Social Care Charter across their

boroughs, but could not guarantee

a Living Wage commitment for sub-

contracted care workers

Westminster Council agreed towork with us to tackle safety issues at

an underpass

NottinghamHosted a Delegates Assembly, with 202 leaders representing 33 institutions

pledging to work together on five campaigns:

1 Supporting homeless 16 and 17 year olds

2 Job creation in the city

3 Living Wage for retail and universities

4 Social Care

5 Hate Crime Commission

Birmingham429 people attended the Birmingham Assembly.

Wins included:

A pledge from the Clinical Commissioning Group Chair for a world class mentalhealth service for young people, including an interim service for 16 and 17 year olds.

Read more here

Backing from the Police Commissioner to pilot the CitySafe scheme in Birmingham

Milton Keynes 260 people attended the Milton Keynes Assembly.

Wins included:

A pledge to see the council pay directly employed staff at least the Living Wagefrom April 2015

Agreement to attend a presentation from our students on cyber safety and discusswhat the Council can do to help raise awareness of the issue

NorthLondon

SouthLondon

WestLondon

EastLondon
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In association with

Citizens UK exists to promote civil society.

We believe that public life should be occupied

not just by celebrities and politicians but also

by everyday organised people, demanding part

of the action.

So, just as the political parties are building their

manifestos for next years General Election, Citizens

UK has spent the last 12 months preparing a

Manifesto for Civil Society.

Citizens UK Council Co-Chair Charlotte Wood:First we listened to what matters to our member

communities. Then we held workshops to address

the common themes they identified, inviting sector

specialists to help us shape each one into a

manifesto proposal.

The proposals are true reflections of the issues that

matter in our communities. By bringing them to the

attention of people in power and those that vote for

them, we can make real change happen.

We know this process works: thanks to your actions

before the 2010 election, and the cooperation of the

coalition Government since, many of the proposals

we put forward then have now been carried out.

These include: a cap on the cost of credit, Britains

first urban Community Land Trust, recognition of our

Living Wage Campaign, and an end to the use of

mmigration detention centres for children.

As the 2015 election approaches, we need tostart taking ournew manifesto proposals to localMP candidates, to our places of worship andeducation, and ultimately to the polling stations.

The proposals:

1 Improved social care

2 Better public health

3 More permanently affordable housing

4 Restore the UKs reputation as a place of sanctuary

5 Improve employment and training opportunities

6 Make financial institutions work for our communities

7 Promote the Living Wage as the norm for good employers

The Road to 2015 creating a manifesto for civil society

6www.citizensuk.org

reweaving the fabric of society

l Would people in your institution be interested in gettinginvolved with the General Election campaign?

l Could you host a training session in your area sowe can build a diverse team, get out there and act?

Contact Citizens UKs Tom Henderson, to find out more:[email protected] t: 0207 043 9881

Citizens UK leader,Barbara Nalumu

We led the

campaign to end the

detention of children

for immigration

purposes because it

directly affected our

communities. At the start of the campaign

in 2009, 30 families from my own Ugandan

community were in detention today

there are none.

Case studyCase study

In 2010 we asked the political party leaders to pledge to end the detention

of children for immigration purposes. Earlier this year we celebrated as the

Immigration Act was passed, making this proposal law. Thanks to our campaign,

whilst in 2009, 1,119 children entered detention centres such as Yarls Wood,

in 2013 just eight children were detained in such centres (and then released

following age assessments), 103 were

held briefly on arrival at the border,

and 91 were held at the family-friendly

centre, The Cedars, for very short periods

before leaving the UK.

www.citizensuk.org/2014/06/end-to-

child-detention-written-into-uk-law

The Cedars.

Citizens UKs General Election Assembly, May 2010, saw the three party leaders

address members and respond to the Peoples Manifesto.
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Living Wage

CampaignWith over half the families living in poverty being in-work, its no surprise that

low pay remains on the Citizens agenda across the UK, unifying communities

to act together and challenge local businesses and organisations to become

accredited Living Wage employers.

Citizens UK actions have been happening up anddown the country:

Father Michael Brown, Nottingham Citizens, led a delegation to

the Next AGM in May, asking them to lead the retail sector in

tackling low pay by becoming the first major retailer to

be accredited.

Bluebirds for a Living Wage Cardiff Citizens football action.

Islington and Cardiff Citizens targeted the top and bottom of

the Football Premier League, challenging their teams,Arsenal

and Cardiff City to be the first football clubs to accredit as

Living Wage employers.

Lambeth Citizens celebrated an important victory, as ITV became

the first national broadcaster to be accredited. The team is now

focussing their efforts on other high profile employers on Londons

prestigious South Bank.

Children from Haringey Citizens Willow Primary School said a big

thank you toHomes for Haringeyas they presented them with

their Accredited Employer plaque.

Living Wage Foundation News:

Over 750 organisations are now accredited by the

Living Wage Foundation,an initiative of Citizens UK,

as Living Wage employers.

High profile sign-ups during 2014 have so far included

Nationwide, Clear Channel, Nestle and the National

Audit Office.

Earlier this year Aviva, an early supporter of the campaign, and

principle partner of the Foundation, cemented their commitment

to tackling in-work poverty. Read about their journeyhere.

Christine Deputy, Group HR Director, Aviva, said:

Paying the Living Wage is absolutely the right thing to

do for our people, our business and the communities we

are part of. We have paid the London Living Wage since

2006 when it first came into practice, in 2012 we paid

UK Living Wage to all our permanent UK employees,

and now were extending this throughout the UK to

include our subcontracted workforce. I am pleased to

say this now completes the fulfilment of our long term

commitment to the Living Wage.

www.citizensuk.org


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l Help us celebrate accredited Living Wage employers.

If you spot the Living Wage employer mark or use the services of

a Living Wage accredited employer, tweet a picture to

@LivingWageUK.

You can find the list of accredited employers atwww.livingwage.org.uk/employers
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Im a Spurs girl, so taking part in an action to deliver

hundreds of letters to Tottenham Hotspur asking

them to pay the Living Wage was an important and

proud moment. I will be an even prouder fan when

they pay!

Its great to be part of an organisation that supports

us to make change. Lots of groups do a lot of talking,

with Citizens we listen, talk, and build power to act.

My background is in nursing, so I have a special

interest in the Social Care Campaign. I think its

important we care for care workers, starting with

the Living Wage. BUPA spoke at the launch of the

campaign, and I want to see them introduce the

Living Wage to their staff.

Susan Greaves

St Stephens and

St Nicholas Church,

Manor Park, Newham,

East London

Joyce Thipa

Calvary Family

Church, Basford,

Nottingham

The first time our voice was heard! We have

been operating the church for over six years, and

had reported issues of crime and abuse against

us to authorities, but had no feedback let alone

assistance. Since joining Nottingham Citizens

weve been listened to, the Police have evenattended our church to talk face to face.

We held an Assembly with the Police and Crime

Commissioner candidates in 2012. We put specific

asks to them, and had commitments made publicly

to us. It helped me decide who to vote for.

We can hold them to account on their promises.

I am looking forward to doing something similarwith our MP candidates for the General Election.

Now we collaborate with a diverse group of

people; we didnt have that exposure to diversity

before. Personally, I co-chaired a Nottingham

Citizens AGM. It was awesome, a great experience.

I would encourage other faith and community

groups to join. You benefit in a big way.

www.citizensuk.org


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Why Im involved......our members explain what they enjoyabout their work with Citizens UK.

Whats your proudestCitizens moment?

What are you looking forward toin the year ahead?

Whats the impact of membershipbeen on you and your institution?

Q

Q

Q
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Contact us:@#With thanks to Aviva for their support in producing this newsletter.

For further information about Citizens UKplease follow us at:

l @CitizensUK

l #cuknews

l www.citizensuk.orgl 0207 043 9881

Here are some simple ways you can take action

and help support the work of Citizens UK.

@ Pass me on! We want each copy of thisnewsletter to be read by at least five people please signbelow and pass on to a friend or colleague.This newsletter was sent to you by:

Tweet a picture to@CitizensUKshowing us where

you are reading this newsletter.Lets see where in the world we can reach

Join us!Is your institution a member of Citizens UK?If you would like to find out more [email protected] call 0207 043 9881

You can help us build a new generation of civic leadersprepared to act together for the common good.Please donate atwww.justgiving.com/CitizensUK

Citizens UK is the home ofCommunity Organising in theUnited Kingdom.

Citizens UK started life in the early 1990s when,

having attended Community Organising training

in the USA, Neil Jameson was inspired to build analliance of civil society organisations in the UK.

Following several years of patient relationship

building The East London Communities Organisation

(TELCO) was launched in 1996 at a public Assembly

of community leaders from over 30 east London

organisations. Since this first Assembly, the success

of TELCO and the Community Organising model has

led to Citizens alliances forming across London and

beyond in Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Birmingham

and Cardiff. Today, these local alliances bring

together over 300 member organisations that

represent the diversity and interests of civil society

in the United Kingdom.

These alliances affiliate to Citizens UK, the home of

Community Organising in the UK, which has a strong track

record of working with diverse civil society organisations

for the common good. We train local community leaders in

the principles of Community Organising so that with their

neighbours they have the power to challenge politicians,

councils, and businesses.

Community Organising is based on the principle that

when people work together they have the power to

change their neighbourhoods, cities, and ultimately the

country for the better. We work with people who want to

transform the world, from what it is to what they believe

it should be. To do this we listen to our members, asking

them about their concerns and developing strategies to

improve our communities. We ensure that civil society is

at the negotiating table alongside the market and state,

so that our communities are included in the decisions

that affect them.

We work in local chapters and campaign teams.

Find out more about what we do at:

www.citizensuk.org

Who

we are...
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Documents

CitizensUK Assemblies 2014