Local Democracy Campaign
The Local Democracy Campaign is about getting young people
more involved with, and more aware of, their local council.
Raising awareness of what the council does, and how
decisions are made, is very important. Young people are citizens
and will eventually be able to vote, once they reach the age of 18
years. However, most young people do not view local politics as a
dominent force in their daily lives.
Research for the Local Government Association by Ipso MORI shows
that just one in three 11-16 year-olds have ever met a councillor
or MP. This research shows that those who have met a
Councillor or MP are more likely to express feelings of political
engagement and interest in politics.
Allerdale Borough Council fully supports the Local Democracy
Campaign. Each year the council organises events which
aim to get school children of all ages more involved
in what goes on in the council. This could involve
a visit from the Mayor or their local ward councillors to
talk to pupils about their roles.
In previous years the Council has also
organised competitions to get pupils thinking about what
democracy means to them. Details of some of the these
events can be found below.
Mayor for a Day - Local Democracy
Week 2007
In October 2007 we launched a competition asking primary
school children to think about what the Mayor does, why they
thought they would make a good Mayor and what they would like to do
if they got the chance to be 'Mayor for a Day'.
Schools from all across the borough took part in the competition
and the Mayor and Mayoress were so impressed with the
high standard of entries they found it a very difficult task
to choose the winners.
The winners of the competition were, Emily from Fairfield Junior
School at Cockermouth, and Laura from Beckstone Primary School at
Harrington. The Mayor was delighted to take a step back for the day
and to let the two winners take on the role of Mayor.
Emily and Laura, along with their Mums, were
chauffeur driven in the Mayor's car. They enjoyed a tour
around the Council offices at Allerdale House and light
refreshments in the Mayor's Parlour, before visiting Allerdale
residents at the Good Companions Residential Home in Silloth.
The Mayor, Cllr Ron Munby, MBE, was very
impressed with way in which the new 'Mayors' carried out their
duties. He said, "Emily and
Laura were a tribute to their schools and it was a pleasure to
have their company for the day. They carried out their duties very
responsibly and were well received both at Allerdale House and The
Good Companions residential home at Silloth. Both said that they
had really enjoyed their day and would return to school to share
their experiences with other pupils".
Mousemat Competition- Local Democracy
Week 2008
In October 2008 we held a competition for school
children of all ages to design a computer mouse mat which
would encourage democratic engagement. We
wanted everybody to really think about what democracy
means to them, and why it is important to get involved.
Two winning designs were chosen by the Mayor, Cllr Allan Caine.
One from the age group 4 to 10 years, and one from
the age group 11 to 18 years. Schools from across the
whole of the borough entered the competition and the Mayor was
very impressed with all of the entries.
These
two designs have been made into real mouse mats which have now
been distributed to all schools and youth organisations across the
borough. So the winners will get their message across
to everyone in the whole borough!
Left: The winner of the 4 to 10 age group, Ellie
Jane Moore from Maryport C of E Junior School with
Councillor Allan Caine.
Right: The winner of the 11 to 18 age group, Catherine O'Neil
from Lakes College West Cumbria with Mr Cyril Wheat, Deputy
Principle at Lakes College, Councillor Allan Caine and
Mrs Elsie Caine.
'If I Ruled the Council....' Competition- Local Democracy Week
2010
In October 2010 the Mayor invited all junior schools within
the borough to take part in our 'If I Ruled the
Council...' Competition.
The aim of the competition was to get children to think about
what the Council does, the decisions they make, and what they would
do if they were in charge of the Council.
Interested in getting involved?
If you would like to invite the Mayor of
Allerdale or your local Councillors to come to your school,
then we would like to hear from you.
Maybe you would like to hear more about how
decisions in the Council are made, or maybe you would
like some help or advice about running your own school
elections. Whatever your requirements, the Mayor of Allerdale
and your local Councillors would be interested to
meet young people of all ages to discuss their views about local
democracy.
Contact Information
If you would like to get involved then
please contact Democratic Services.
01900 702550