Inspirational Human Services

As some of you may know, I am currently doing a Masters Degree with the University of Ulster - an MSc in 'Innovation Management in the Public Sector'. I know the title is somewhat oxymoronic, but it is a very interesting course, particularly as I am the only non 'public-servant' on the course! We have 3 day intensive residentials every couple of month, and have to submit an assignment in the intervening period. The students are half from Northern Ireland and half from the Irish Republic.

Anyway, on our latest course we had a presentation from folks at Oldham Council in England, who have revolutionised the provision of services for people with support needs due to issues related to their health or disability. In their old system, social workers and others would do an assessment of the needs of an individual and then offer support based on available services. This model is problematic as there is often a mis-match between the services available and the needs of the individual, or certain services may not be available when needed. For example, one person talked about being given 3 wheelchairs by different parts of the system, each to be used for particular activities - when what they needed was one good chair that met their needs.

The solution was simple, but radical. They put the patient in the driving seat, and each one designs their own support plan, based on their own needs. For example, Gavin - who was diagnosed with MS - was able to get funding for a season ticket for someone to accompany him to football matches to see his beloved local team. As his vision is affected by his condition, his escort not only helps him to get to the matches, but can provide commentary when he is having problems seeing the action. They have a stack of examples of these plans on a website Gavin - a former social worker - has put together to tell the stories of this new service. Check it out here.

In addition to the obvious benefits to clients, the new approach has had an enormous impact on the staff involved - developing amongst them a strong sense of civic purpose, and re-energising workers who were burnt out and cynical. I found it truly inspiring and challenging - there is so much others can learn from the approach adopted in Oldham.

Bahrain Conference Part Two

Reflecting back on the Kiev 'World Movement for Democracy' conference and the UNESCO one I am currently attending, I've come to the conclusion that one of the facets of such conferences is the issues of status. They have well defined pecking orders, and are in many ways an opportunity for people to demonstrate their status to others. The declared purpose of these conferences (building democracy in the case of Kiev and reducing the violent radicalisation of youth in terms of Bahrain) is in some senses secondary to this status agenda - and creates problems of congruence - conferences on democracy that are not run democratically and conferences on youth where young people and their voices are absent (even when they are physically present).

This latter point is interesting - as the youth who attend these events are already the elite - and exceptional also in the sense that most young people would not put attending conferences very high on their list of priorities! Even still, this group is nonetheless marginalised and somewhat patronised at the conference. For example on the programme, the names of all the auspicious presidents and sheiks are highlighted. The youth contributions are only labeled as 'youth testimonies' - and when the programme got tight, it was these that were sacrificed.

So the key to attending such events is to be aware of these dynamics and to make them work for you. The best moments are generally the meetings between people outside of the formal sessions, and the contacts made and developed. It is also (given the status issue) a great way to get your work into the sigh-line of influential people - or at least into their peripheral vision.

Another interesting tension in Bahrain (and Kiev) is the relationship between the local and the global. One young Bahraini activist complained articulately that local organisations were largely absent from the event - apart from the local iterations of global franchises (Young Enterprise/Injaz, AIESEC, YAL and so on). On the one hand, such high level meetings have to filter, and cannot possibly include every organisation (either local or otherwise), and so will move to what is familiar and what has 'global' reach. As a global conference, in some senses the local context is less important, and for the global 'brands' the local factors are minimised in favour of shared elements. However, again in terms of the espoused theme, local knowledge - particularly in terms of the realities and norms of young people's lives, is essential to the reduction of extremism or the engagement of youth.

In Bahrain Contemplating Conferences...

I'm in Manama, Bahrain - a place I knew nothing of until a few weeks back, for an international conference, hosted by UNESCO and entitled 'Youth at the Crossroads - a Future Without Violent Radicalisation'. Manama is hot and dusty, but otherwise could be anywhere as the delegates are from all over the world, the courteous and friendly hotel staff are mostly from the Philippines and the hotel is a fairly standard 4 star with rooms much like hotel rooms anywhere else I've been to (thought better than Kiev!)..

I'm not ungrateful for the opportunity - UNESCO are picking up the tab, and have asked me to present for 10 minutes (which just got cut back to 8!) on our work at a session with 4 other groups (more on this tomorrow).

Still, I have been doing a lot of thinking recently - about the amount of time people like me spend traveling around the world (HUGE carbon BOOTPRINT - I know!) attending these events. I can't help thinking it is an enormous waste. The most useful things that come out of them in my experience are (in order of impact) - meeting other people with whom you want to work (somewhat random in terms of who you actually meet), the occasional speech or workshop that give you new ideas or perspectives, and the chance to understand other cultures and perspectives better.

I suppose the experience of our 'Contested Spaces' events over the past few years have left me impatient. There are better ways to achieve the outcomes that most people value these events for. A lot of the time you are waiting, bored or listening to poor translation (or good translation of poor stuff!). Why not focus on the meeting of people, the development of ideas and maybe even putting some of the huge resource expended on flights and hotels into collaborative projects and work on the ground?

Anyway, got to get dolled up to meet His Excellency Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa - the Minister of Foreign Affairs! I'll continue the rant tomorrow...

De-mock-racy

I am somewhat bewildered by Arlene Foster's decision today not to have an independent Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland. It's up there with her decision to be 'minded' to support the Paisley's mucker in his plans to ruin the Giant's Causeway. She should form a club with Caitriona Ruane, the Education Minister, to put the mock back into 'demockracy'! It seems Ministers are much more concerned about their chances of winning Westminster seats than they are of making decisions that are in the interests of citizens.

The new dispensation is an increasingly poor iteration of democracy - with much dithering and little in the way of legislation, decisions or social progress. The unholy alliance of Sinn Fein and the DUP is an unhealthy mixture for a coalition government. Neither poses any threat to the other electorally (in the sense that neithers voters are going to vote for the other - though tribal maths is an issue in several constituencies), and there is no natural 'opposition' - a healthy irritant in so many democracies. The more 'moderate' Unionists and the SDLP seem to be fading away. Is this the time for new forms of politics? I've never been involved in Party politics here - no natural home for my left-of-centre non-tribal tendencies in spite of the way some in the Alliance Party would like me to see them. I am still not convinced that I want to join a party, but I am sure that we cannot create the kind of Northern Ireland we and our children deserve out of the current cadre of ex-warlords!

WIMPS do Stockholm

I am hoping you know by now about Public Achievement's WIMPS (Where Is My Public Servant?) project. If you don't, then check it out, because it is the best youth participation tool on the net. Don't just take my opinion about that, it won one of 3 'Young Active Citizens Awards' from the Council of Europe in 2005, and is currently a finalist in the education category of the biannual Stockholm Challenge Awards 2008. You can read about our entry here.

The Awards highlight good use of ICT in development projects across the globe - so even being a finalist is a huge honour. Being a finalist also means we get to attend 'Challenge Week' which gets underway today. To that end Ben Preston the new WIMPS Co-ordinator is attending the event with Christopher Madden and Nathan Shivers from the WIMPS crew. You can read all about their adventures on their own blog.

Good luck guys! It would be great if you can bring back the award, but make the most of the experience, and network like crazy!!

Kicking Off

Not really sure if I should do this blog thing, but at work at Public Achievement, we're all into new media these days - particularly through WIMPS which is a finalist in the 2008 Stockholm Challenge Awards. Even our olde worlde PA website has been getting some significant hits - I suspect via the WIMPS traffic. Anyway, I encouraged by David Wilcox and his encouragement for the 'Blogging Boss' - so here goes!

I have a significant worry about our new Executive, and its capacity to deliver real change in Northern Ireland, and I have felt this worry as a citizen, as a voluntary sector leader and also as a relative of a dying man. As a citizen (and parent) I am particularly dismayed by Caitriona Ruane and her complete failure to deliver any kind of vision or leadership on replacing the atrocious 11 plus academic selection process. One of my kids has just been through it (she's done well and will be going to a Catholic Grammar School - that's a whole other story for a guy from the Woodvale in a ' Mixed Marriage'), the other was supposed to be the first year group into the new system but it seems today that the new system is a long-way off. According to the BBC the new vision of the Minister appears to be a watering down of the existing system in a weak sop to the vociferous Grammar School lobby. My main problem with her however is not her lack of ideas - but rather her apparent inability to do deals - to do politics - real politics.

True - tennis playing and wandering around the jungles of Colombia are probably not the best preparation for political office, but I am shocked by her lack of sophistication and that of most of her colleagues. Maguinness impressed me when he had the education portfolio - he really seemed to be able to work with people - all kinds of people - and his preparation of alternatively hiding from the Brits and then killing them, was probably not the best foundation either, but he has something that she clearly lacks.

As the head of an NGO then, my worry is about the collective lack of vision on the part of the Executive. The Programme For Government may well have been a work of compromise of which the parties are in large-part proud, but there is a significant amount of baby being thrown out with the bath water in the desire to focus on economic development. I wonder if the Comptroller of New York who stressed the importance of peace walls coming down got the chance to read the Deloitte report into the cost of division in Northern Ireland? Deloitte (not renown for its left-wing leanings or wild exaggerations) estimated that 1.5 Billion Quid is poured into the cost of keeping this society segregated annually. When we phoned up to get a copy last summer, we were interrogated as to who we were and why we wanted it! From where I am sitting, the poor will be ignored in pursuit of a little piece of the Celtic Tiger for the 'six counties'. As with the 11 plus, the poor are sacrificed in the interests of the middle classes. The advantaged have more advantages heaped upon them.

And the third part of my sad trilogy is the most personal and difficult. My father-in-law is dying - and there is little the system can do to stop the inevitable - but there is much more that could be done for him and his family in the short term were the health system not so delapidated, demoralised and decayed. His family are constantly ignored and kept in the dark, and no part of the system seems to talk to any other part. I had the same experience over years with my mother - who spent weeks in a filthy ward in the Ulster Hospital, run by embittered and disillusioned staff. I am not unexpert in these matters - I have spent the greater part of my life dipping into the health system through a growing complex of complaints, and the more time goes on, the more dismayed I become. The new part of the RVH is beautiful, has great art and landscaping (things I approve of as part of a health promoting environment), but something fundamental is wrong, and perhaps it is the same thing that is fundamentally wrong with our whole society.

I was recently at an event where some journalists were speaking about community relations. They were unanimously agreed that it was not their role to bring peace to Northern Ireland or to improve community relations. On one level I think they are right, but on another thoroughly wrong. What I mean is, we can all say that - it wasn't us - it was THEM. It is too easy, and it ignores the fact that we all were and are responsible for the mess - and individually and collectively, we need to take responsibility for building better solutions.

All this dismay brings me back to the importance of the kind of work that I do - because it suspends cynicism, and encourages people to take responsibility for the things they want to change. The challenge it to amplify the voice of hope and of reason, and to turn politics back into the art of the possible.

Rant over for now - let me know what you think, and whether I should spend my time more usefully!