News and Events

The Trust is currently recruiting Research Interns to support the Democracy and Civl Society Programme. See candidate pack attached below for further information.

In order to enable discussion about the findings of the Trust's report Power Moves, we are hosting a series of three seminars starting in October 2008. The seminars will be specifically targeted towards civil society associations that have an interest in influencing policy. To find out more please e-mail morven@carnegieuk.org

 Social change isn't won by lone heroes

We all love heroes. I'm thinking of the kind of charismatic individual who takes on the system, who, by virtue of their singular determination and genius, cuts through inertia and bureaucracy to force popular social change. Someone like Jamie Oliver, for instance, the restaurateur and TV chef who, three years ago, through strength of personality (and the help of a top-rating TV series), persuaded the government in a matter of weeks to do what mere civilian campaigners had failed to do for the best part of two decades: make school meals more healthy. Oliver's campaign was a fabulous story and, on the face of it, one of the most successful social campaigns of recent times.

‘Bridging’ Social Capital Seminar Series

Organised by Carnegie UK Trust & NCVO 

Date: 29 September 2008

Time: 4:00pm to 5:30pm

Venue: NCVO, London

This seminar is the third of a series of seminars on ‘bridging’ social capital. It will examine the link between diversity, social capital and social cohesion, and explore the implications for policy and practice.

The speakers will be:

• Nick Johnson (Institute of Community Cohesion) who will present the current policy context and review how debates around social cohesion and multiculturalism have evolved in recent years.
• Nick Acheson (University of Ulster) to summarise what the research evidence says about the relationship between diversity and social cohesion.
• Karl Wilding  (NCVO) who will chair and facilitate the session.
   

To book a place, email bridgingseminars@ncvo-vol.org.uk

As a member of the Woburn Place Collaborative, the Carnegie UK Trust commissioned Steven Burkeman to:

- explore the degree of urgency which trusts and foundations attach to working on the social justice implications of climate change;

- identify the kinds of interventions to which foundations might be willing to contribute; and

The Carnegie UK Trust's latest publication, Power Moves, provides a real-life account of how people have influenced change.  The report contains four case-studies documenting how civil society associations have applied and engaged with power. The case studies relate to school meals, the energy review, the sexual orientation regulation and the availability of english (ESOL) classes.

A series of seminars on Power Moves will take place this autumn.

A copy of the report can be downloaded below. For further information on Power seminars or to order hard copies of this report, please contact morven@carnegieuk.org.

Carnegie UK Trust has championed Community Land Trusts as an effective mechanism for the provision of affordable housing in rural areas. This support has been achieved through funding pilot schemes through the National CLT Demonstration Project.

We are delighted therefore that the Matthew Taylor Review of Rural Economy and Affordable Housing, commissioned by Gordon Brown and published on the 23 July contains the following recommendation:

Recommendation 20:
The Government should anticipate increased interest in Community Land Trusts (CLTs) as a model for affordable housing delivery and draw up guidance on how best to implement the model following the recent review of the CLT pilots, in particular addressing the need for a clear definition of what CLTs are, and broad rules on how they operate, without removing the structural flexibility that they currently enjoy which allows specific arrangements to be responsive to the needs of particular areas.

An influential coalition led by the Carnegie UK Trust has criticised the Empowerment White Paper, published this week (9 July 2008), for ignoring the power of community action. Carnegie, along with four partner organisations, believes that community action is fundamental to empowerment, but that the Government’s White Paper focuses too much on devolving power to individual citizens, bypassing the potential strengths of community groups.

Carnegie joined forces with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC); Urban Forum; Action for Market Towns (AMT) and Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) to urge Government to back ‘Community Led Planning’. Community Led Planning is about local people and community groups coming together to develop a plan for the future of an area, to tackle local problems and influence local services. The group made a detailed submission to the Empowerment White Paper consultation, setting out the case for Community Led Planning. They argue that:

Carnegie UK Trust was pleased to sponsor the ‘Realising Rural Assets Conference’ on 19th June at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells. The event, organised by WCVO welcomed Elin Jones, Rural Affairs Minister and Leighton Andrews, Deputy Minister for Regeneration as guest speakers. Mr Andrews said that the Welsh Assembly Government was taking up the Carnegie challenge about the role of asset building and that community ownership of public buildings can have a positive effect in rural communities. He announced that he was looking to establish a community asset fund to allow communities to take over public buildings.

The Deputy Minister said:

4 July: An online poll was launched today which will give young people across Scotland the chance to determine which global issue Scotland should take action on.  The poll is an advanced part of the process for a Youth Politics event at this year’s Festival of Politics and will lead to guaranteed action at the Scottish Parliament based on the outcomes of the event. 

The entire process is youth-led, beginning with young people involved at the CIVICUS Youth Assembly in mid-June, taking in the online poll and eventually finalised at the one-day event taking place on Saturday 23rd August. 

The poll is hosted at www.syp.org.uk, www.sccyp.org.uk and www.youngscot.org with all results combined to give the Youth Politics Festival its shortlist of 4 topics.  The poll will be live from 4 - 14 July.  

The Youth Politics Festival: Think Global; Speak Local (Saturday 23 August 10:30-16:00) will be a dual-campus event, hosted concurrently in Carnegie College in Dunfermline and in the Scottish Parliament, joined together by video-link technology.  To register an interest in attending the event, young people should contact info@carnegiefestival.com. 

The poll and the event are strongly supported by the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson MSP.  Speaking on Friday as the poll went live, the Presiding Officer said: “This is an exciting opportunity for young people to put the issues that matter to them to the top of the political agenda. Festivals are about new ideas and new experiences and I would encourage as many young people as possible to log on and join in the debate.”