#notwestminster
Got something to say about local democracy?
PechaKucha speakers wanted
We’re hosting a special PechaKucha Night in Huddersfield on Friday 16th February 2018 – and we’re looking for some speakers.
A PechaKucha Night is a fast-paced evening full of exciting speakers and topics. As usual, ours will have a distinctly democratic flavour. It’s a fringe event of Notwestminster 2018, a two day event bringing together people who have something positive to say about local democracy and who are up for the challenge of making it work better.
So if you’ve got something to say about local democracy, if you’ve a story to tell, or if you’ve got an idea to share, you might like to be one of our speakers on the night.
Each speaker will talk for 6 minutes 40 seconds on a theme of their choosing, following a “20 slides for 20 seconds” format. The slides advance automatically, so everyone gets exactly the same amount of time to speak – and you should be prepared to keep going!
Some of our previous talks have included: a conversation between dad and daughter about democracy, votes for women, the ‘joy’ of being a councillor, how Sheffield’s tech community responded to the refugee crisis, regional democracy compared to the Galactic Empire, and “The total and utter history of local government” (which turned out to be quite ambitious in less than 7 minutes).
We welcome talks on any aspect of local democracy, community life and other stuff you’re interested in.
Want to be a speaker?
Please contact us now if you’re interested in taking part. We’d love to hear your ideas.
Contact us if you’d like to be a speaker
Want to listen to the talks?
The event will be in Cafe Ollo at the Media Centre on Northumberland Street, from 7pm on Friday 16th February. Please come along to learn something new and be entertained. It’s a fun way to find out what inspires some of our local democracy advocates and to hear about people’s passions and interests. There are always a few surprises.
PechaKucha Night – register now
The Notwestminster PechaKucha Night is organised by the Media Centre in Huddersfield and the Notwestminster network.
What is democracy for?
You can try out mobile messaging before, during and after this year’s Notwestminster.
Have a think about this question:
“What is democracy for?”
Send a text starting with NOTWM
then your thoughts
to 07786 205 227
(it only costs the same as texting your friend’s phone)
You’ll get a reply with a link to read other people’s answers.
It’s public but anonymous, so you can be as honest as you like.
Help us to share our text experiment
Please print out a few copies of these instructions and leave them in a cafe, a pub or anywhere else where you live.
Print these instructions on A5 paper (PDF)
Print these instructions on A4 paper, two copies per sheet (PDF)
Where did the question come from?
Our question was asked by Anthony Zacharzewski,
as part of the evidence he gave to the Kirklees Democracy Commission.
Why use mobile messaging?
Participation using mobile messaging has a different feel to participation using social media. On social media we are performing and managing our identities for an audience, often a complicated mix of work, interest-group and personal contacts.
Mobile messaging is often for an audience of one, and we only communicate with a small group of contacts by messaging. This means that when mobile messaging is used as a way for people to take part in civic conversations, it feels anonymous.
This can be very helpful for encouraging heartfelt contributions and for welcoming people who are less confident about speaking up in meetings.
Two councillors in Camden used text messages to try and involve more people in a participatory budgeting process as long ago as 2008.
This is one of the messages they received:
“We are 6 mums and we’d like to plead with you about giving the Winch Project funds so it could carry on the wonderful activities for the children. Please as it is the only chance for all low income families. Please.”
One of the councillors involved said afterwards:
“Using texting definitely led to a net increase in participation in the democratic process. It probably almost doubled the participation in the local area forum vote.”
Thumbprint Camden
Speak up for local democracy – in less than seven minutes
PechaKucha speakers wanted
We’re hosting a special PechaKucha Night in Huddersfield on Friday 10th February 2017 – and we’re looking for some speakers.
A PechaKucha Night is a fast-paced evening full of exciting speakers and topics. Ours will have a distinctly democratic flavour, as it’s a fringe event of Notwestminster 2017, a two day event bringing together people who have something positive to say about local democracy and who are up for the challenge of making it work better.
So if you’ve got something to say about local democracy, if you’ve a story to tell, or if you’ve got an idea to share, you might like to be one of our speakers on the night.
Each speaker will talk for 6 minutes 40 seconds on a theme of their choosing, following a “20 slides for 20 seconds” format. The slides advance automatically, so everyone gets exactly the same amount of time to speak – and you should be prepared to keep going!
The event will be in Cafe Ollo at the Media Centre on Northumberland Street in Huddersfield, from 7pm.
Our previous PechaKucha talks have included everything from whether public servants are human beings and why technology can’t save democracy, to the ‘joy’ of being a councillor and how regional democracy in England measures up to the Galactic Empire. As you can see, it’s a mixed bag, and sometimes challenging.
We’d love to hear your suggestions.
Want to be a speaker?
Please contact us if you’re interested in taking part. Get in touch by Friday 20th January if you can.
Want to listen to the talks?
Please come along to learn something new and be entertained. It’s a fun way to find out what inspires some of our local democracy advocates and to hear about people’s passions and interests. There are always a few surprises.
PechaKucha Night – register now
The Notwestminster PechaKucha Night is organised by the Media Centre in Huddersfield and the Notwestminster local democracy network.
