Locality... or not

I saw this, I got really really excited, I saw the price, added that to travel to London, staying over in London, travel round London, and saw that it was impossible to go. I reflected on the feeling of disappointment, (especially following the news that Locality are facilitating the spending of £17 MILLION on supporting community purchase bids / take-overs/ builds) - and came to the conclusion that if they can't even make the tickets free, it must just be a scene for do-good weathy people that misses the point about voluntary work and public activism. Is that a bit harsh? Maybe....    

'Community' is a interesting word- I guess there are as many applications as there are individuals - but in this instance, and with that amount of public money to spend, I really worry about the propagation of a society that invests repeatedly in the social fabric /movers and shakers/ rights and power being only in the domain of people with the money to forward their (community minded, socially spirited) voices and agendas (ooooo yes- maybe have a consultation later in the process! people love that! But the planning and vision belongs to the management- same as it ever was...- most other people want to stay home and watch Eastenders, and its not like the meetings are very interesting anyway....

so there, I 've had a little moan- I guess I'm sore about feeling 'doing' is so attached to 'having'. Locality- you made me feel sad, dejected, and hopeless.  Maybe the venue should have given me a clue? Maybe I should have got in contact to blag myself a concessionary bursary ticket? Maybe I should have mugged a granny and used her pension to ensure at least one unexpected attendee attended, at the very least to raise the question about who and how it manages itself regarding Making Localism Work in the first place.

Its hard to write about these things- there is a lot of shame in admitting you cannot do what it is you wish you could, and that your own 'value' is not equal to admittance to discussion on issues that concern us all.

Making Localism Work

Symposium: 12 June 2012, 2pm - 5pm

Drinks reception from 5pm
Venue: The Auditorium, Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, 280 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4RB

Visit our website to book your place.

How can we make Loalism work in practice?
How can government, local authorities, community groups – and others – stimulate more self-help and community-led action?

This symposium will exchange practical ideas and experiences about:

How we can make the new Community Rights to Bid, Build and Challenge work best
Collaborative consumption (e.g. lending and re-use, time-banking, local currencies)
Better buying (e.g. community purchasing, local food schemes)
Widening our horizons – thinking big and being more ambitious

Ticket prices
£50 for non-members and £25 for Locality members
Find out more and book your place online at: locality.org.uk/symposium

Making Localism Work « Locality

locality.org.uk

In these difficult times, how can government, local authorities, community groups stimulate more self-help and community-led action?

I posted this to facebook and had a few comments worth passing on -

Quite agree Jenster - another indication that the time of relying on outside agencies is OVER. Even ones that have perfectly tailored pitch suited to the collective orthodoxies of the day. If one wants community, be community minded. Clue is in the word Localism - the last three letters.    KD

The biggest problem that good ideas run up against is the way they are soon subject to networks organised by CEOs, enterprise people, national associations full of pushy people, and the jargon of funding gobbledygook.    SR

‎I had hoped Locality might assist with Rushbrook http://tq9.tv/services/workspacenetwork/rushbrook/ ... I'll go play with the estate kids down in the car park for a hour, clam down, and maybe consider if there is use in pursuing it further.
 

As the kids outside often say 'do you want to play?' testing water, getting involved, - this is all good...

there is always the Locality annual get-together:

Who should attend?

Locality ‘12 is a ‘must go’ event for all Locality members and anyone else who is transforming, or looking to transform, their local area through community enterprise, social action and community asset ownership and development.

Whole convention delegate fees
Locality full members £150 + VAT Locality full members £150 + VAT
Locality associate members: not-for-profit and individual categories £175 + VAT Locality associate members: not-for-profit and individual categories £175 + VAT
Locality associate members: business, statutory and consultant categories £320 + VAT Locality associate members: business, statutory and consultant categories £320 + VAT
Non-members: not-for-profit bodies £320 + VAT Non-members: not-for-profit bodies £320 + VAT
Non-members: business and statutory bodies £420 + VAT Non-members: business and statutory bodies £420 + VAT 

I mean please don't get me wrong, 'community' is only a word, and those people with the money to go to this kind of thing are only able to go because they've invested what ever it is they have have had, and they probably know and even represent some poor people... but the fact that it is an expensive event menas that it is a exclusive event. Which when using the word 'community' is a bit worrying.