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Training Resources

Projects:
- Every Action Counts
- BME Research
- Improving Reach

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Places available: please book as soon as possible
New reduced fees for members: see booking form

Following on from the success of last year's FCDL conference and AGM we are delighted to extend our invitation to this year's exciting and participative conference, which will take place at our new offices.

The theme of this year's conference reflects current issues important to our members and others in the voluntary and community sector promoting the benefits and impacts of community development learning.

As with all our events, we are keen to reflect the specific interests of our members and welcome additional themes for discussion during the day.

Community Empowerment - Themes and Perspectives
The role and contribution of community development learning

Effective and inclusive community empowerment needs to be underpinned by community development learning and practice. This event will give us the opportunity to:

• share and record evidence of how community development learning and practice promotes a more inclusive approach to empowerment;
• explore how community development learning can bring forward the themes and perspectives that are important to communities;
• discuss how to identify and address the learning and support needs of all stakeholders involved in community engagement strategies.

Programme

10.30 Registration and coffee
11.00 Welcome and introduction to the day
11.15 AGM including discussion on direction and strategies for FCDL
12.30 Lunch
13.15 Workshops
14.45 Break
15.00 Plenary
15.45 End

Workshops

1. Community Empowerment Policies & Community Development Learning

Community Empowerment is much talked about at present by Government and is becoming increasingly enshrined in policy and strategies such as the 'Duty To Involve' being required from local authorities from 2009.

This workshop looks at current government policy and seeks to identify opportunities for promoting community development learning, routes to empowerment.

The workshop will:
- explore an overview of current and emerging policy relating to empowerment.
- critically assess challenges and opportunities for community-led learning and development within such initiatives.
- discuss ways of influencing decision and policy makers to incorporate CDL practice based on the values and practice principles of community development work.


2. Informal Adult Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead NEW WORKSHOP

This workshop will discuss the above consultation paper and identify the key points that FCDL members want to make in our response.

- The contribution of community development learning and practice to informal learning
- The obstacles that exist, both historical and due to current government policy
- Needs and opportunities for resourcing community development learning
- The link between individual learning from experience and collective action

3. Listening and Learning from Practice - Capacity Building with Black and Minority Ethnic Organisations

This workshop will share the experiences of some of the work done during the last year by the Federation and partners such as TWICS as part of the Improving Reach project.

This project was driven by a bottom-up approach to identify and meet learning and development needs within black and minority ethnic communities across four regions in England.

This workshop aims to:
- Share the lessons, experiences & challenges from this work.
- Offering insights and reflections from groups and individuals who contributed to this work.
- Explore the challenges andopportunities for embedding this approach in empowering communities.