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Active Citizenship
‘Active citizenship’ is seen as the cement that binds communities together and has therefore become a very important agenda item for the Docklands Authority, which looks to instil a strong sense of community among Docklanders both old and new.
To this end, the Authority has run an Active Citizenship course for the past several years, covering aspects such as housing, policing, youth development and parenting.
Active Citizenship Certificate Course
The Project
This is a relatively recent, but extremely important element of the
Docklands Authority’s social regeneration programme in the community. The
Active Citizenship Course is designed to ensure that the local community will
take ownership of the regeneration of the area so that it will be sustained
into the future, well after the Authority’s remit has ended.
How it Works
Sponsored by the Docklands Authority the Active Citizenship Course
is run by the National College of Ireland and is particularly focussed on
people who are already directly involved in community representation and
organisation.
The programme aims to provide participants with the skills and knowledge required to work in partnership with the statutory sector towards sustainable local development.
Classes cover a range of highly relevant subjects including Understanding Community Development; Project Management and Local Development; Community Planning and Sustainability; Participatory Democracy and Community Work Skills.
The Right Result
In its first year, 22 local Docklands participants completed the
Active Citizenship course. An independent evaluation reported a very positive
reaction of the participants to the programme.
They found that it made a significant difference to the effectiveness of their role in the community and empowered them to work to change things for the better. Since completing the programme all participants have taken a more proactive role in helping to develop their communities.
In May 2006 the Dublin Docklands Development Authority won a major award for its ‘Active Citizenship’ programme at the Business in the Community (BITC) All Ireland conference on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Conference delegates were invited to vote for the most innovative example of corporate responsibility best practice and the Docklands project emerged as the overall winner from the 65 CSR projects represented. The award was presented by President Mary McAleese to Gerry Kelly, Director of Social Regeneration, Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
