The council has a proven track record of working closely with a range of groups from the community, supporting their vision and working with partners to deliver on these. Some examples of these projects are detailed below.
Over 55s Forum
Basingstoke & Deane “Young at Heart” Over 55’s Forum was established in 2004 as part of the strategy “Promoting Quality of Life for Older People in Basingstoke & Deane”.
It is a voluntary organisation for everyone in the Borough over the age of 55 and aims to:
· Provide a voice for the over 55’s in the Borough, putting their views to authorities and other organisations;
· Work to ensure a better quality of life for the over 55’s;
· Promote health, well-being and good citizenship for the over 55’s;
· Oppose unfair discrimination on grounds of age;
· Provide information on the services and facilities available to the over 55’s.
Youth of Peace
By working with Hampshire Inter-Faith Network it was found that young people from differing faiths and religious backgrounds in the borough were not well represented on existing youth forums. Further discussions with these young people identified a need for a young persons group that acknowledged and celebrated differing faiths. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s BME Community Development Officer supports this group who are now well established and have held several events including regular meetings and a Cultural Youth Exhibition.
Basingstoke and District Disability Forum
The council has supported the development of a Forum for local residents and service users who may have any of a number of disabilities. By awarding community grant funding, and also by supplying officer and admin support, the council has supported the forum in achieving its aims which are:
· To become the independent umbrella organisation of and for disability organisations and disabled people who live and/or work in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane
· To be an expert voice of and for disabled people by lobbying, campaigning and through consultation and partnership with any appropriate body both locally and nationally
· To promote awareness of disability issues
The forum has worked in partnership with the council in several ways over the past couple of years, including advising and assisting in Disability Access Audits for local schools and also assisting in consultations carried out by a variety of organisations including Hampshire County Council, Kingfisher Housing and South West Trains.
Basingstoke and District Learning Partnership
Community Centres and Village Halls play an increasingly important role in bringing local communities together. They offer a focal point for neighbourhood activities and a base for local groups. The Borough Council works in partnership with the volunteers that are responsible for the management of all these facilities, which enables local people to determine and realise the sort of activities they need for themselves.
To ensure that volunteers feel they have the necessary skills to work with the community, the Basingstoke and District Learning Partnership has been developed to provide a variety of learning opportunities. The Partnership consists of all providers of adult education and family learning across the borough, as well as Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Basingstoke Voluntary Services and several Hampshire County Council departments.
The training on offer is publicised in the “purple training booklet” which is available through a variety of outlets, including community centres and libraries - courses on offer include Equality and Diversity which covers how to write equality policies and effectively implement them, and The Diversity Challenge which looks to explain how to translate equality policies into everyday actions, language and attitudes around diversity and what being inclusive really means.
