City Council Teams Up Community Councils For Online Training

Glasgow's Community Councils (CCs) will soon be able to hold online meetings following approval by the City Administration Committee (on 28 January, 2021) to provide digital training and support to their members.

Community councils are comprised of local people who care about their community and want to make it a better place to live.  It's a voluntary organisation which exists within a statutory framework and is established by the local authority and run by local residents to act on behalf of their area.

Glasgow has 77 active community councils made up of around 700 individual members.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of CCs have continued to meet remotely via social media.  However, a study by the city council's Community Empowerment Services found that the current level of digital engagement across CCs in Glasgow was low. 

Following a report to the City Administration Committee, approval was granted for the implementation of a Digital Training Programme for community councils on Microsoft Teams.

Cllr Jennifer Layden, City Convener for Community Empowerment, Equalities and Human Rights, said: "Community councils are an important part of civic life - they bring local people together to help make things happen. 

"The ongoing pandemic presents significant challenges for community councils and so the use of online platforms to facilitate their meetings is crucial. Not only will it lead to more effective engagement, it will aid our city's recovery as we work to connect and support more people remotely."

The digital training programme will be rolled out to community councils over the coming weeks.

Further information on the role of community councils is available here 

Further information about Glasgow's Social Recovery Taskforce is available here