Learning Revolution Third Sector Forum meeting
On Tuesday I was in London for the second meeting of the Learning Revolution Third Sector Forum. We looked in detail at the specific role of third sector organisations in providing informal adult learning opportunities, suggesting that the third sector offers a way of connecting with local people (particularly ‘hard to reach’ groups), value for money, networking & partnerships and creativity & innovation. Jerry O’Shea from the Learning & Skills Council gave us a presentation on the plans for transition from the LSC to the new Skills Funding Agency. Jerry thought that, for the third sector, the changes would be neither big nor negative. The Government wants local authorities to become the ‘lead accountable bodies’ for informal adult learning but it will be the collaborative delivery plans they draw up which will be funded in each case, rather than the authority itself, and there should be opportunities for third sector organisations to be involved in the development of these delivery plans. 2010-11 will be a ‘shadow year’ with the new arrangements starting from 2011-12.
Robin Simpson.
Arts Council England Amateur Arts Partnership Development Programme steering group
On Tuesday afternoon I took part in a meeting of the Arts Council England Amateur Arts Partnership Development Programme steering group. With new representatives from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Local Government Association attending for the first time this felt like a fresh start for the steering group. We took the opportunity to look at each of the actions that emerged from the ‘Our Creative Talent’ research in detail and to clarify and confirm in each case exactly what we are trying to achieve, what has been done so far and what the next steps should be. This was an extremely helpful process and reinvigorated the programme.
Robin Simpson.
Catching up with the National Campaign for the Arts
On Tuesday I was in London for my regular meeting with Louise de Winter at the National Campaign for the Arts. I reported back to Louise about the launch of the Participation Manifesto at last week’s NALGAO conference in Swindon and Louise formally pledged NCA’s support for the manifesto on the Participation in the Arts website. (If you haven’t already done so, please do register and pledge your support for the Participation Manifesto at http://www.participationinthearts.net ) We also discussed the NCA’s forthcoming workforce survey and agreed the inclusion of a question about volunteers. Finally, Louise gave me advance notice of an NCA debate at Kings Place in London (as part of the ‘Words on Monday’ series) on 1 March 2010 which will address the motion “this country can no longer afford to subsidise the arts”.
Robin Simpson.
NALGAO Conference 2009
On Wednesday and Thursday I have been at the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers conference in Swindon where I formally launched the Participation Manifesto with NALGAO Chair Lorna Brown completing NALGAO’s pledge of support for the manifesto live on the website at the end of my presentation. I urge you all to visit http://www.participationinthearts.net, register and pledge your support for the manifesto and use the website as a forum to continue the discussions about how we best encourage, increase and diversify participation in the arts. I also ran two breakout sessions about volunteering and the voluntary arts which generated some really interesting discussion. The NALGAO conference is always a great event – a credit to Pete Bryan, Helen Miah and all those involved. There were some brilliant performances by local young people and lots of enthusiastic and constructive debate. And it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces. Many thanks to Ginny and Rosemary for running our information stand – it was great to have a substantial presence at the conference.
Robin Simpson.
DCMS Opportunity & Excellence Programme Board
October 8, 2009, 2:24 pm
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volartsOn Monday I was in London to attend a meeting of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Opportunity & Excellence Programme Board. This Board brings together Arts Council England, Sport England, English Heritage, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the National Museum Directors’ Council, the Voluntary Arts Network and the Local Government Association with DCMS Directors to oversee progress against two of the Department’s four Departmental Strategic Objectives (DSOs). DSO1 relates to the levels of public engagement in the DCMS sectors – including arts attendance, arts participation, sports participation, visitors to museums etc. We had an interesting discussion on Monday about the effects of the recession on engagement. The DSO1 target focuses on raising the proportion of the population that engages with the various sectors rather than the total number of people participating (which would include foreign tourists and repeat visitors). We also did some further work on an initial basket of indicators to track progress against DSO2 which seeks to increase ‘excellence’ across the DCMS sectors.
Robin Simpson.
World Culture Clubs Forum, Seongnam, South Korea
Last week I was in South Korea to speak at the World Culture Clubs Forum conference. Seongnam City is a new city with a population of 1 million people on the outskirts of Seoul. The Seongnam Cultural Foundation has been working to make Seongnam a ‘cultural city’ by developing a voluntary arts network organised by amateur or citizen-led art groups (culture clubs). These groups are involved in both making policy and delivering policy, and are helping to establish the new identity of the city. The Department of Arts & Cultural Management at Kyunghee Cyber University in Seoul has been studying the development of this voluntary arts network and the World Culture Clubs Forum conference was a platform to discuss the results of their research and to compare this with other models of amateur arts practice from around the world. I was one of five guest speakers, along with representatives of the European Network of Cultural Centres, the International Council for Cultural Centres, the National Cultural Festival in Shizuoka, Japan, and the Mid-America Arts Alliance. The conference delegates came from across South Korea and included politicians, local government officers and civil servants from the Ministry of Culture. I was amazed and delighted to discover that almost everyone at the conference was familiar with ‘Our Creative Talent’ – the study of the voluntary and amateur arts in England commissioned by DCMS and Arts Council England in 2008. I was even more surprised when someone approached me after my presentation to say he had recognised my voice from the podcast of a speech I had given to a NALGAO seminar in Bristol in 2007!
World Culture Clubs Forum conference
It was a fascinating conference and we identified lots of ways in which our organisations might be able to work together. There was some discussion about the idea of developing a Global Network for the Voluntary Arts, though we agreed not to rush into anything.
World Culture Clubs Forum speakers
Korea is a fascinating place: everything seems very modern – on our way to the conference we drove through the ‘old town’ which dates from 1990! But there is more greenery than I expected – lots of trees and lush green grass. The Han river which runs through Seoul is huge – much wider than the Thames. But in terms of buildings it’s just masses of skyscrapers and neon signs. Everyone is exceptionally polite and helpful: I’m very glad I read the bit in my guide book about the reverence which is attached to the exchanging of business cards and brought a big supply with me. Everyone you meet in any vaguely business-related context hands you a business card and expects you to hold it in both hands and study it carefully for at least a minute before carefully filing it away. And still, a week later, I am finding myself naturally bowing to everyone!
Korean meal
We had several enormous meals in traditional Korean restaurants – very hot and spicy food, sitting cross-legged on cushions at low tables. We attended the opening of an exhibition of amateur art works – including a performance by a local amateur guitar group – and an opera gala concert featuring two Korean singers who are now regular performers at La Scala, Milan.
It was wonderful to have the chance to meet up with Debbie Brooks who left VAN at the beginning of this year to take up a job in Seoul teaching English as a foreign language. She is really enjoying teaching and is considering whether to sign up for another year in South Korea.
Robin Simpson.
Voluntary cultural sector meeting
Today I have been in London for my regular meeting with our voluntary cultural sector partners, the Central Council for Physical Recreation and Heritage Link. It was interesting to hear the latest about the Physical Activity Alliance, plans for the Olympic Torch Relay, the Equality Bill and the Mayor of London’s Cultural Strategy Group. We also talked in detail about the relationship between our sectors and the Department for Communities and Local Government and how this might be developed.
Robin Simpson.
Meeting Steve Skelton at the Local Government Association
I was back in London on Thursday to meet Steve Skelton at the Local Government Association. Steve is going to represent the LGA on the Arts Council England Amateur Arts Partnership Development Programme steering group. I briefed Steve on the background to ‘Our Creative Talent’ and the development of the Amateur Arts Partnership Development Programme which was established to follow-up the recommendations and conclusions of the 2008 research. We talked in particular about the role the LGA might be able to play in improving support and links from local authorities to voluntary arts groups.
Robin Simpson.
NALGAO Trustees Committee meeting
On Wednesday afternoon I made a brief appearance at the National Association of Local Government Officers Trustees Committee meeting where we had a worrying discussion about the effects of the Association of Chief Police Officers guidance on charging for the policing of outdoor events. We also talked about the Participation Manifesto which we now hope to be able to launch at the NALGAO Conference in Swindon in October.
Robin Simpson.
NCVO breakfast seminar
I was in London on Wednesday for a series of five meetings, starting with a breakfast seminar organised by NCVO at the headquarters of The Guardian at Kings Place. Like most of the attendees, I was looking forward to hearing the new Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham, and very disappointed when he pulled out of the event at the last minute. In his place we heard from Stuart Hoggan, Director for Local Democracy & Participation at the Department for Communities and Local Government. Stuart talked about the strengths of civil society but how social capital is being critically impacted by the recession. He spoke in detail about the DCLG empowerment agenda and stressed that John Denham has strongly endorsed the programme of work he inherited. Stuart also addressed the role of the Third Sector and explained that DCLG was reviving its Third Sector Partnership Board. He said the interface between central and local government would be a key debate in the forthcoming general election. The discussion following Stuart’s presentation demonstrated a contradiction between the Third Sector telling central government to get out of the way of local government and then saying that local government is not doing what it should and asking central government to make it do so. It was an interesting session but I didn’t feel we learned anything new and it was a shame not to have been able to hear the Secretary of State himself on these matters.
Robin Simpson.
