“It’s given me the confidence to become a more active member of my own local community”
Student from Southwark.
Over 1,000 people took part in training to understand how they could influence decisions in their local communities and national policy making. This was through the Train the Take Part Trainers project, aimed at building the confidence, skills, and knowledge of individuals, so they could feel competent to take on an active role in their communities. The project was delivered by the WEA in partnership with the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).
The one-year national project offered one off taster events and short courses based on identified needs, interests and experiences. It also supported the development of both accredited and non-accredited courses from introductory short courses to accredited level 3 City and Guilds courses in Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector in Active citizenship.
The project engaged people with an interest in being active in their communities to develop further their active citizenship skills, and become ‘Take Part’ trainers. These trainers would then deliver Take Part programmes across England, and capture evidence on best practice teaching approaches, while encouraging more people to get involved and promote active citizenship.
The end of project evaluation report, released earlier this year, took into account the views of project participants and organisers through face-to-face interviews and focus groups. The findings revealed that the programme gave participants:
• Increased understanding of political processes and how local and national decision making structures work
• Greater awareness of how to support members of the community
• Greater awareness of how to campaign effectively and how influence policy makers
• Increased confidence in personal ability to bring about change.
“The course has given me great knowledge of our rights and responsibilities as British citizens”
Student from a course in Bridlington.
“I have a much better understanding of how Parliament structures work and how to use them”
Student from a course in Portsmouth.
“I feel more confident to speak out on issues that concern me at a local level”
Participant from Strengthening Democracy event.
The project was part of the Take Part National Support Programme and funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.