Glasgow Community Councillors invited to development day

Published: 5 September 2016

Members of Glasgow's 82 community councils are invited to join a training and development event run by Glasgow City Council.

The session, in the Burgh Court next to the City Chambers, will look at ways that community councillors can effectively represent their communities, influence decision making and services in their local area and is a chance to network with each other.

There will be information stalls run by community councils themselves to showcase examples of where they have brought about change or in some cases stopped things happening for the good of their local area.

As part of the day the Democratic Society will hold a discussion on how community councils, as independent bodies, can find opportunities to work together to influence policy making in terms of public participation.

Workshops in the afternoon will cover a variety of subjects including running a campaign to effect change, making funding applications, organising and promoting community events and making the best use of social media to connect with their communities.

Community councils are the most local tier in statutory representation in Scotland, serving to bridge the gap between local authorities and communities.

Councillor Soryia Siddique, executive member for communities and citizens, who will be speaking at the event, said: "Holding a development day is just one of a number of ways that we support community councils in making a meaningful contribution to life in our city.

"These organisations are independently run bodies made up of elected volunteers but we have a duty to make sure and that they are representative, are well governed and are as effective as they can be in their local areas.

"Community councils are a valuable asset in our city.  They play a key role in helping to articulate the views and needs of a community and we want to offer them opportunities to share best practice, network and reach their full potential."

The event is open to all community councillors in Glasgow. To register please click here.