8/8/2019 The Online Councillor seminar: new ways of connecting with communities

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The ‘Online’ Councillor: New ways of connecting with

communities

Date/Time: 27/01/2011 10:00 to 16:00

Venue: LGiU Offices, 22 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0TB

Rates: LGiU affiliates: £150 + VAT (£176.25 Inc VAT)Non Members: £250 + VAT (£293.75 Inc VAT)

By 2014, 83% of the country will have access to broadband internet and withonline engagement being an integral part of the Coalition’s Big Society

agenda, LGIU believes that any community leader simply can no longer affordto rely on offline activity alone – the debate will simply pass them by.

Services like FixMyStreet, WhatDotheyKnow, OpenlyLocal, NeighbourhoodCrime Maps, HelpMeInvestigate and Where Does My Money Go? symbolisethe emergence of a new political literacy. These new tools and techniques areallowing citizens to connect, network and mobilise around issues and buildsocial capital to help bring about change themselves.

The LGIU has been working with its members and leaders in the field of online political networks to analyse these new forms of participation. Theseplatforms of engagement are not expensive or highly sophisticated – they arequick, easy-to-use and free - and we’ve found that online councillors are usingthe internet to add measurable value to their work.

• They are listening more effectively to the conversations taking place

• They are able to efficiently engage and respond to issues of concern

• They are harnessing these new energies to bring citizens together and

put them more in control of their lives

This seminar will provide:

• An overview of social media, internet tools and hyperlcoal websites

• Analysis of the latest behavioural research into using these services

effectively

• Strategic advice on efficient online engagement and community

management

• Discussion on how these new activities can be fitted easily into acouncillor’s daily workflow

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Note: This seminar will be very interactive. To get the most out of the sessionall attendees are recommended to bring a laptop (ideally with a good batterylife) and charger.

The ‘Online’ Councillor: New ways of connecting withcommunities

Speakers include:

Hugh Flouch - Founder of @NetwkdNeighds & @harringayonline,

working with citizens & organisations to use 2.0 for civic empowerment& collaborative governance - www.networkedneighbourhoods.com

David Wilcox - previously worked in journalism, communityengagement, and regeneration partnerships. David is the co-author of the NESTA handbook, Social by Social - a guide to using social mediafor social impact, and blogs at socialreporter.com.

Cllr James Cousins - A councillor in Wandsworth who has been largelyignored by Wandsworth residents on social media for a number of years. Despite this he is passionate about using social media as a way

of being ignored by even more people and regularly uses Twitter, blogsand dabbles in pretty much every other network going.

Who should attend:

• Councillors who want advice on how to understand, listen and engagewith local online communities

• Officers involved in supporting members or with responsibility for managing neighbourhood arrangements and engaging with local‘active citizens’

Further exploration: LGIU has compiled a short selection of interesting andinsightful resources that explore the tools available to councillors andexamples of positive results achieved through online engagement.http://www.diigo.com/list/robandale/the-online-councillor-_-day-1

To prove that you don’t need high production skills, there is a video of AndySawford, LGIU Chief Executive, discussing how social media can be used bycouncillors to share best practise, but more critically, how it allowsrepresentatives to engage with local citizens and build their role as community

leaders. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85LFPxeCme4

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Twitter: You can find us on twitter at @LGIU or follow our local democracyblog at www.lgiu.wordpress.com