Following the news yesterday "SCHOOL OPENING DATE IS PUT BACK" http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=18446726 I'm hoping this might spark some discussion on this site. Could we see the same success as The City Academy? The City Academy, Bristol which I have been round is very impressive. I started mentoring there just before the new Academy was opened. The City Academy, Bristol, which opened in 2003 specialising in Sport, is sponsored jointly by John Laycock and the University of the West of England. In 2001, the predecessor school had only 22% of its pupils achieving five or more good GCSE passes. For the past two years, the City Academy, Bristol has raised this proportion to more than 50%. The numbers of students staying on post-16 has also increased significantly, from 76% in 2004 to 93% in 2006, with successful higher education applications trebled in the same period (from 7 to 21). This year, 42 6th formers have applied to university – three times the number ever achieved by the predecessor school. The Academy delivers a range of vocational options taken by all students across the 14 – 19 age range. 153 businesses are working alongside the Academy in delivering programmes that are based on “real life contexts”. This support includes mentoring support for every Key Stage 4 student. The University of West of England provide two governors who together support the Academy with its self evaluation processes and ensure that practice is rigorously monitored at every stage of delivery.
Below is a summary of Citizens Online. I found out about this through Microsoft's (The guys with all the money) Community Learning Awards. I sent an email last year (response below).
Thanks for the plug Andy. Apart from running the consultation on what people think are the best and worst things about Bristol, we have also just launched a consultation on waste and recycling and would love to hear your views on this too. As you probably know, the new waste and recycling system has now been in place for a year and although recycling has doubled, the council is aware that there are still some improvements that could be made. Log on to http://www.askbristol.com and tell us what you think So far, people comments on the best and worst things about Bristol include pubs, parks, the Severn Beach trainline as some of the best things and city centre drinking, public transport and expensive houses as some of the worst.
Sorry. The Link : http://www.askbristol.com/theme.php?id=4
What do you think are the best and worst things about Bristol? This is a massive opportunity to shape the future of Bristol if enough people make their voice heard. DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY. Why not let Bristol City Council know what you think about the city? Simply tell them what you think is good and what is bad about Bristol. Put your views on the city on Viewfinder - you can write an entry in their on-line discussions, send a photo or image to make your point or use a sound or video clips to put forward your ideas, all direct from your computer or mobile phone. Your views, opinions and ideas will be used to guide the future polices and decisions that shape the future of Bristol. you need to log in to post a comment
Does anyone have any knowledge of Muriel Turner who lived in Knowle West during the 1950s and originally lived in Richmond St., Barton Hill. If still around, would be about 79 years old. Please pass any information to my email address. Jim Best
Didn't like the signup process. I don't have a favourite car so I am unlikely to remember it. You can tell this was designed by a man. Not sure what you mean by majority opinion. We need to tackle the digital divide before we can establish what is majority opinion. Whilst it is a great resource for the less abled (if they have internet access), it cannot put itself forward as majority if it excludes sections of society. Bear in mind that if you intend to use it for local issues, there are other resources that are run by local councils. Great idea though.
http://www.myverdict.net is free, anonymous, carries no advertising and does not sell anything. It is a community website for every community, covering over 25,000 administrative divisions in all 244 inhabited countries. It seeks the majority opinion on every issue, from local level to international. That Bush and Blair used the Wizard's First Rule to fool us all. That Hawaii should be recognised as a sovereign nation rather than a US state. That there should be a Universal Declaration of Fundamental Human Rights. Why not turn to Electric Cars? Mike Gravel's National Initiative are you for it or against it??? Should it be required that the United States have only one language? Scotland should achieve independence
Please answer the survey by Friday to make sure your community is represented strongly: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2ffDW4KGNt_2byHDSArZ91jTg_3d_3d Steven Clift E-Democracy.Org
Hello quiet Knowle West! (If you want ideas on how to stoke conversation or establish discussion starter roles, drop us a note - email obscured - your forum is still a tad larger that Greater Bedminister, but folks there seem to be chatting up a storm. Steal :-) their conversation ideas from: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/bemmy-forum/messages/topics.html ) Have your say on the future of this forum and the E-Democracy.Org network that supports it. Answer our short survey today: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2ffDW4KGNt_2byHDSArZ91jTg_3d_3d E-Democracy.Org needs your thoughts and energy to guide our strategic priorities. Since our founding in 1994, we've transitioned from an all-volunteer effort with a few forums to one that now extends to a network of ten communities across three countries. As more communities ask to join us, we seek the best path to strengthen our local Issues Forums. We seek to add useful and innovative democracy and community building features. All while remaining proudly volunteer-based and sustainable with a core staff providing essential support for your community. By taking a few minutes to answer our survey - whether you've been on an E-Democracy.Org forum for one week, one year, or one decade - you will help the E-Democracy.Org Board set our strategic direction. You will help secure a strong foundation for your local forum and contribute to an expanding network so people across thousands of communities will gain a greater voice in their local democracy and access to the online tools they need to make their community a better place. Please click through now. The final deadline for survey responses is Friday, June 22, 2007. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2ffDW4KGNt_2byHDSArZ91jTg_3d_3d Sincerely, Steven Clift Board Chair, E-Democracy.Org P.S. After you answer the survey, we welcome further comments on the full draft strategic plan. Download from: http://e-democracy.org/edemstratAPR2007draft.pdf
Folks over in Greater Bedminster are talking it up about the smoking ban and local pubs: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/bemmy-forum What's new in your neighbourhood? Steven Clift E-Democracy.Org Board Chair Virtual Guest :-)
Hello! My name is Yana Breindl and I'm studying Information and Communication at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Brussel). As part of my studies , I am working on an essay on e-democracy also known as cyberdemocracy, digital democracy or online democracy. E-democracy can be defined as the use of information and communication technologies, above all the Internet, in the policy-making process and the State-citizen relations in order to encourage a direct and more active citizen participation in public life and the decision-making process. The questionnaire aims to measure the attitude of Internet users concerning this issue. I would be most grateful if you would take around 10 minutes of your time to answer these questions. Here is the link to the questionnaire about e-democracy : http://www.ulb.ac.be/intranet/e-democratie Thanks in advance for your participation that will enrich my research. This survey is anonymous and the results will only be used in the framework of my essay. If the subject interests you, you may leave your email address in order to obtain the survey’s statistical results and conclusions. In this case, your email address will only be used for this purpose and will not be made public at any stage of the research. Yana Breindl student of information and communication, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Brussel) email obscured
Hi all Do you live or work in Knowle West and have a website or weblog related to the area? Do you have a message or publicity you want to share in Knowle West but just feel you havent got the resources to do this properly, or feel its not reaching your audience? If the answer is yes, you may like to know that Knowle West Media Centre and Knowle West Web are arranging a meeting with the aim of developing a Knowle West community website that will draw all the various activities together and help improve communications. The meeting will be held at The Park in Daventry Road on Thursday 8th February at 10.00 am. If you're interested in coming along, please reply by Monday 5th February or for more information please contact Katie at Knowle West Media Centre on email obscured or call 0117 9030444. Cheers Steve Woods
If you're interested in community broadband, there's Knowle West Web, which is based The Park in Daventry Road. Visit the KWW website at http://www.knowlewestweb.net/ Do you need any spare parts for your computer? If so, you may like to visit http://www.kwwcomputers.co.uk/. Parts start from 1 upwards, so are very easy on your pocket.
Bristol Blogger never did reply, did he? Nor just by searching does he even have a blog...
I'm not sure where I read this I think something was mentioned about using PDAs for developing ideas for youth inclusion. I think that we need to make other technology available, from the people that are developing in Bristol. HP Labs springs to mind. My view is that if the powers that be are talking about this, then lets test their resolve to put the money where their mouths are. Talk is no good without action. Why not teach a generation new skills that take technology to another place but still hold the values of community, social inclusion and restorative justice. The internet itself doesn't hold all the keys but certainly this is the right vehicle for allowing the change to occur. I could go on but I think I'll let my thoughts brew a bit more first.
Thought it'd be wise to start a whole thread for this purpose, rather than clog up the Introductions thread. Bristol Blogger said: 'Hi, I'm the Bristol Blogger. I'm currently taking an interest in the Connecting Bristol initiative and its extraordinary claim that its model of 'e-participation' is a solution to long-term social and economic deprivation. Quiet in here, innit?' Carolyn Hassan said: 'I don't think anyone would claim its the only solution, or that there is one solution. I think the issue is more that, people living in communities identified by others as being "deprived" are better able to find solutions if they have access to information, decision making processes and the opportunity to participate.' I think the problem with e-participation is that you have to test things out and find out what works. Also, for anything like this to be successful people have to know where it is and what you can do with it. As for it being a solution to long term social and economic deprivation, Bristol Blogger- give it a chance, this thing has only been online since October!! I'm sure as the Media Centre gets going and they start building their new building (Urban 2 funding was approved last night, so hopefully that'll be soon!) then we can promote tools like this and people will be using it fully. We've already started seeing the City Council's E-Petition facility being used for a range of purposes from keeping the Banksy artwork on Park Street to recycling plastic(which annoyingly Gary Hopkins made excuses for not doing it), so who's to say Knowle West's forum can't work as a tool for the community to make things better? There's my two cents...
Hi Carolyn and the Bristol Blogger, I think a LITTLE knowledge is a dangerous thing. I come from a 'deprived' area. People need MORE knowledge to help them. e-participation could be one way to get it to them. I'm about to start work on it - tomorrow Knowle West, next week - who knows! Cheers!
I don't think anyone would claim its the only solution, or that there is one solution. I think the issue is more that, people living in communities identified by others as being "deprived" are better able to find solutions if they have access to information, decision making processes and the opportunity to participate. Wonder if your observaion will liven things up.
Hi, I'm the Bristol Blogger. I'm currently taking an interest in the Connecting Bristol initiative and its extraordinary claim that its model of 'e-participation' is a solution to long-term social and economic deprivation. Quiet in here, innit?