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What's new at CTDU?
November 2006!

Learning Network events

CTDU Winners!

Participatory Action Research - update

Getting Heard

Volunteers Mentoring Support - project review -
CTDU: It Does What It Says On The Tin

CTDU Annual General Meeting

YOU ARE INVITED TO CTDU's CELEBRATION & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Thursday, 30th November 2006

12 noon - 3.00pm

Falkirk Town Hall (Lesser Hall)

Please join us to remember and celebrate the work we've done together this year and to hear our plans for the year to come.

Lunch from 12 noon

Presentations - Getting Our Voices Heard

AGM Business 1.30p.m. - 2.00p.m.

Talks & Turns 2.00p.m. - 3.00p.m.

Download full programme for our AGM here

('Voices' Menu)

Free training events

funded by

Falkirk Community Planning Partnership

Two free training events for volunteers and community activists in Falkirk regeneration areas

Thursday 30th November 2006
from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.
includes free lunch and invitation to our AGM.

The free workshops are

Introduction to the
National Standards for Community Engagement

with Iyaah Warren

and

Download event information here.

('Voices' Menu)

CTDU Winners! CTDU has won the Volunteer Engaging Organisation of the Year Award 2006/7 at an award ceremony organised by Falkirk Volunteer Centre. We are very proud of our new cup as it recognises CTDU’s commitment to grassroots communities and equality of opportunity. CTDU was runner up Volunteer Organisation in 2005. The cup is the second won by CTDU, as volunteer Finlay Currie won the Volunteer of the Year Award for Falkirk in 2005. ('Voices' Menu)
Learning Network events The purpose of CTDU's Learning Network is -
to support and encourage people who are active in community groups in Regeneration areas	to enable communities to network, work together and strengthen their voice	to create a forum for learning, exchanging information and ideas

a bite and a blether, get to meet new people	get your voice heard	share ideas, get useful information

In Clackmannanshire

'Equality Matters' is funded by

On 3rd November we held our first 'Learning Network' event in St Mungo's RC Church Hall, Alloa. In the mornng people had a chance to speak about what is happening in their communties. Clackmannanshire members of the CTDU Action Research Project used a banner to speak about their recent research into a new service for mental health service users called the Intensive Home Treatment Team. The banner describes the views of people who took part in the research in symbols. At lunch time we tucked into some lovely healthy, cheap and tasty tortilla wraps, all prepared by a CTDU student. Well done Ann! In the afternoon Tansy Lee Moir, who is an artist and community educator taught us how to use arts to engage with communities.

Creative community engagement Tansy said that arts are really useful for consulting local people about what issues concern them; gathering ideas and information to inform a decision making process; publicising what your organisation does, or is planning to do; building the skills and capacity of groups to enable them to participate in their community; and for developing networks of individuals or organistions. Everyone got a chance to learn through making their own 'mushroom' decorated with words that descibe their big aims, and then wrote what they needed to help them make that happen on 'roots'. The collection of mushrooms and roots showed how networks can help us acheive or goals. Download our Clackmannanshire Equality Matters leaflet

*In Falkirk* Equality Matters is funded by -
We have had 2 Learning Network events for Falkirk communities. In our first event in February participants enjoyed a workshop on Forum Theatre with Morven Gregor of the Birds of Paradise Theatre Company; and at the second event in August Liz Law from the Scottish Centre for Non-violence led participants in a workshop entitled 'Dealing Creatively with Conflict'.

Download our Falkirk Equality Matters leaflet What happens at Learning Network events? The programme for each event includes: an opportunity for community members to talk about what they have been doing; an opportunity for other agencies to pass on useful information to community groups; lunch and a chance to chat and get to know one another; and a participatory workshop Network meetings are designed to be sociable gatherings where you can make new friends as well as get information and ideas that will help your community. We will have Learning Network events in Falkirk and Clackmannanshire in February 2007. So if we don't have your contact details and you'd like to come along, or for more information about our Equality Matters projects: see Equality Matters on our projects page on this website or contact Fiona or Rosemary at CTDU 01324 832040 or email Fiona or Rosemary
('Voices' Menu) Participatory Action Research *CTDU members with a history of mental health problems have funding to progress their Participatory Action Research project.* The group worked with research mentor Joette Thomas to design, research and prepare the application for funding and were successful in an application to progress the Participatory Action Research project. The group put together their own drama, which they called 'Amy's Story', and it's about the new intensive home treatment team service offered to people in the Forth Valley who have mental health problems. The group went' 'on the road' performing 'Amy's Story' and collecting the views of mental health service users. The main questions the group asked were: How can professionals (GPs, CPNs, nurses, psychiatrists, volunteers etc) support us better? What helps us to support ourselves? The responses from people in the Forth Valley were then collated and the findings have informed a banner the group made. At the end of the project the group are going to have a conference and invite service users,policy makers and mental health professionals, to share the findings of their research and to discuss the actions that need to be taken to improve services.

A written report of the research findings and recommendations is available.
The aim of the work is to create awareness of the needs of people with mental health problems, so that their experiences can be considered in policy making, to improve services at a local level and build working relationships with local services.

If your group would like to hear more about the research, please email Fiona or telephone her on 01324 832040
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Voluntary Action Fund Review of our 3 year 'Mentoring and Support' project
It hardly seems possible that our Volunteers Mentoring and Support project, funded by the Voluntary Action Fund, has now come to an end. The project ran for 3 years from 2003 - 2006. During this year, volunteers who took part in the project have been working hard alongside CTDU Associate workers to review and find out in what ways volunteers have benefitted from this project, and also how CTDU can best support volunteers in the Forth Valley in the future, and write a funding application for a new project. Six volunteers undertook an intensive training programme including: Listening and note taking skills Interview techniques and setting interview questions How to engage with hard to reach groups, group work skills and techniques in facilitating groups Mapping exercise for real Using different methods to collect stories and deciding how to show these stories Report writing, looking at different ways to write a report, deciding on the best way for this group
Volunteers set up meetings with the various community groups/organisations, organised transport for volunteers to visit these groups, prepared questions, decided who will do what - ask questions, take notes or record responses on video and visited 7 community groups/organizations and filmed their interviews 'on location'. Then they researched funders, learned how to plan for funding applications and wrote a funding application. Through the outreach work volunteers made contact with 7 new community groups and organisations that we will work with under Equality Matters. CTDU will provide a practical and comprehensive package of training and development support to ensure that small organisations have the capacity to participate in regeneration and community planning initiatives.
"CTDU: It does what it says on the tin" The DVD review the volunteers made "CTDU: It does what it says on the tin" is currently being copied. A volunteer has also made a review booklet. Copies are available. Phone 01324 832040, or email Fiona or Rosemary.

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Getting heard!

In 2005 CTDU students participated at the Glasgow 'Get Heard' event organised by the Poverty Alliance. Our students also presented their G8 banner.

Students talking about the G8

Following on from the Glasgow 'Get Heard' we were invited to particpate at a 'Get Heard' event in London on 31st January. This event was organised to bring people experiencing poverty and social exclusion into the government's debate about tackling poverty.The Scottish contingent of 6 participants included our Ann and Fiona.

The event was part of a consultation by the UK Government, and the input of the participants will assist the the government to produce a National Action Plan on social exclusion, which will outline the key problems and approaches to tackling povery and social exclusion.

In the pink ... Ann
(Not to be outdone) Lorraine participated at a conference in London on 7th February 2006 which was about people who work and are still living in poverty.

Cathy, Lorraine and Jim

On 8th August 2006 Lorraine and Ann went back down to London for final Getting Heard meeting and launch of the Getting Heard report. They have made new friends at the events from grassroots organisations all over the UK and are planning to keep in touch with them. Ann and Lorraine have also been asked to organise and run a bannermaking workshop with the Poverty Alliance.

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Participatory Video Training for Trainers
Participatory Video empowers individuals and communities to use film in order to share ideas and experiences. With simple techniques and in a short time, people and communities can be trained in basic film-making skills to identify and analyse important issues in their community and/or personal life. Replaying and editing their experiences opens up safe and structured spaces for people to explore these issues. Finally, screening finished works creates space for voices to be heard of people and communities that have previously been misunderstood or ignored. Students took part in a short course to train in the use of filmmaking equipment and then learn methods and techniques for training others, particularly people in marginalised communities. At the end of this training students: gained basic filmmaking skills learned the use of PV techniques to train others to use film made a short film using these techniques met many like-minded people committed to working with these methods on project

PV project in Grangemouth: Students have used their new skills to join in with a PV project with communities living around the Grangemouth industrial complex. The project used PV methods to enable community members to explore their experience of living with the local pollution from the Grangemouth facilities. The project began with the screening of video letters from a Brazilian community where the pollution from the Grangemouth plants are theoretically being 'soaked up' by planting trees there. However the planting of trees in the Brazilian community is in the form of huge monoculture eucalyptus plantations that are devastating local people's health and livelihoods. Therefore the two communities, separated by distance, language and culture are inextricably linked by global industrial pollution. The Grangemouth participants have created their own video letters in response the Brazilian films. Both films had their first public screening in January 2006 at Falkirk Town Hall. Around 40 people attended the viewing and participated in a discussion about the films afterwards. Contacts: Forth Valley co-organisers: Fiona McKeown - email Fiona or telephone Fiona at CTDU on 01324 832040Norman Philip - email Norman from the Living within the Glow project Trainers: Heidi Bachram at heidi@tni.org or telephone on 01865 240644 The course is run by Heidi Bachram and Ell Southern from the Participatory Action Centre, based in Oxford and co-organised by the Community Training and Development Unit (CTDU). NEW!! download Guide to Video Letters - it's in Adobe Acrobat Reader format. (Click on Acrobat Reader format if you don't have that free programme installed on your computer already.) A big THANK YOU to Norman for creating this great document. Read people's reactions to the Video Screening in Falkirk 19th January 2006 - download report here.

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CTDU's Board of Directors

The next meeting of CTDU's board of directors will be held at Bothkennar Centre for Citizen Education. The date for the meeting will be agreed at our AGM in November.

Disability Awareness Group - Training

The Disability Awareness Group (DAG) recently led a training session attended by 35 people where they showed the 'Wheelchair Challenge' video and led some practical exercises. Download a full report of the event (Acrobat Reader format) including the case studies and the discussions of the groups by clicking on the link below.

Contact Fiona if you'd like more information.

If you already have Adobe's Acrobat Reader on your computer you can just click the link below to get the report

Click here to download report

But you'll need to download Adobe's Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website if you aren't able to open the report. Just click on the link below.

Click here to download Acrobat Reader

('Voices' Menu)

The Bothkennar Centre for Citizen Education

We are very fortunate to be based in the beautiful setting of the RSPB Bothkennar reserve, a peaceful and interesting environment for our members to learn from and enjoy. RSPB are particularly interested in protecting the coastline and birds whose numbers have been falling rapidly. Tree sparrows and yellow hammers frequent our newly developed garden, and grey partridges and skylarks inhabit the fields behind the centre. Many other birds can be seen, particularly in autumn and winter.

The Bothkennar Garden Project

In 2003, community artist Tansy Lee Moir developed an ambitious plan for the garden at Bothkennar. The design is inspired by the work of artist Derek Jarman who lived in conditions similar to Bothkennar in Kent. In 2004, the student association, supported by Fiona,carried out the first stages of the plan.

With funding from Falkirk Enterprise Trust, Forth Valley Food Links, B.P. Grangemouth and the Co-op, our students have created raised beds with plants which attract wildlife, and added a bird table, feeders and a bath. In March 2005 students also built a willow windbreaker, drystane dykes, and a beach scene with gravel, slate, sand and a boat! Students are delighted that we have won a Newcomer Garden award in a competition organised by Falkirk Council community services and supported by the new Torwood Garden Centre! Well done everyone who's been involved in the garden project.