First ChangeMakers meet-up on the 6th February

Thanks to all of those ChangeMakers who made it to the first meet-up earlier this week.

Among other things, we used the ‘open space’ discussion to talk about:

• The CSR Forum developing in the city and how this could link in with the existing efforts of businesses and volunteer groups, for instance the Rotary Club and Churches Together.

• Peterborough in Transition, a new project being spearheaded by The Green Backyard and something that is part of the wider ‘Transition Towns’ movement helping towns find community-led responses to climate change. The conversation focused on how we might learn from past environmental campaigns that have now entered the mainstream, for example recycling efforts. It was also mentioned that we should try and ask ourselves the same questions that everyday Peterborough residents might ask about the project, for instance why is it being put into place now, why are we passionate about this, and why are those who are running the project involved in it? This might enable us to better articulate the work and get the message out more effectively.

• Speak Up, the website supporting young people that is going to be developed by Kamal, Niamh and others. The conversation in this group centred on how the website might tie in with what local groups and neighbourhood associations are already doing with young people in Peterborough. This includes the work of MANERP, the project that Brian Gascoyne chairs, and also the efforts of Dominic’s neighbourhood policing teams. Speak Up was also offered some venue space, should they need it for a launch or other similar events.

• The issue of how to encourage Peterborough’s ‘hard-to-reach’ groups to participate in and shape cultural activities in the city.  The group identified two ways to do this: word-of-mouth (which works well but is prohibitively time-consuming) and marketing (which is difficult as there is no publication with a wide enough reach). Several organisations were suggested as models of how to approach engaging people who otherwise aren’t interested in the arts: the fire service, who do a great deal of outreach and education work; the Millfield Health centre; and Peterborough United Football Club.  The most challenging constituency for arts provision are those who claim that ‘nothing ever happens in Peterborough’: in order to reach them there is a need for a way a publicise events that are taking place in the city. (See attached image for the full mindmap).

Following the open space discussion, we heard from John Turner, who talked about the work of Railworld; Richard Astle, who spoke about the Single Delivery Plan and its strategy and key priorities; and from Rod Allerton, who told us a bit more about how the Corporate Social Responsibility Forum is taking shape in the city.

If anybody has any thoughts on the topics discussed, please feel free to use this forum to air your opinions.

Thanks,

Ben