Big Local Connects 2022
The theme for Big Local Connects 2022 was celebrating local.
2022 has been a year of national celebration and one full of Big Local milestones including: CELL Big Local becoming the first area to complete the programme, the graduation of Wave 2 of the Community Leadership Programme and the completion of our sister programme Creative Civic Change later this year.
That’s why last year’s theme was Celebrating Local, with the main focus of the event being the successes and achievements of Big Local areas. Lots of Big Local areas joined us to run sessions and stalls, as well as our partners and some exciting plenary speakers.
Resources
Explore, download and share presentations from Big Local Connects 2022 below.
Schedule
Big Local Buddies - sharing community engagement and volunteering experience and ideas during Connects
Help shape a community engagement buddying/mentoring programme for Big Local areas. This workshop will support Big Local areas to share and celebrate positive community engagement and volunteering experiences with each other whilst supporting areas who are looking for inspiration.
Community asset sustainability; navigating the storm
Join Locality and Little Hulton Big Local to hear about the strengths of the community enterprise model, what the key risks are on the horizon and how to navigate through them.
Creating happy memories
Find out how to set up a Community Kitchen which makes refugees feel welcome.
How to create and share stories of change
Learn how to use stories to change perceptions of Big Local places and projects. In this workshop, you will learn about the powerful method of Most Significant Change and put it to practice by sharing a story, collecting them from others, and learning how to use them to influence change.
Radical Welcome: Building a place of safety in a hostile environment
Listen to the story of The Sanctuary: “a place of physical, mental, and emotional safety for asylum seekers and refugees”. You’ll then have time to consider the spaces you run, from offices to community centres, and how they could evolve to become safer and more welcoming for your communities.
The show must go on!
Learn about how community theatre can have an incredible ripple effect on a community, and how using the passions, gifts and skills of local people can make a massive impact.
Big Locals spending-out – reflecting on the Big Local journey and considering what next
Reflect on your journey as you move towards the end of the Big Local programme and consider your next steps beyond the programme. You’ll hear from the Chair of the Growing Together Big Local partnership about their achievements and learnings as they approach spend-out, as well as the peer network ‘Neighbourhood Democracy Movement’ on the topic of networking beyond Big Local.
Download the presentation – Neighbourhood Democracy Movement
Download the presentation – reflecting on the Big Local journey and considering what next
Extraordinary Big Locals Together
Hear about the Big Locals Together programme and nominate members onto the board at this Extraordinary General Meeting. This will also be the first opportunity to hear about the group’s business plan and to give your feedback.
Community asset sustainability; navigating the storm
Join Locality and Whitley Bay Big Local to hear about the strengths of the community enterprise model, what the key risks are on the horizon and how to navigate through them.
Creating a resident-led legacy
Do residents flow through your Big Local ‘door’? Does your project ‘survive’ on a handful of folk? How is your project preparing for ‘the end’? Find the Mozarts and avoid the cliff edge by joining an interactive discussion led by Grassland Hasmoor Big Local (GHBL).
Creating happy memories
Find out how to set up a Community Kitchen which makes refugees feel welcome.
Creating inclusive spaces
Join Collaborative Future to explore different perspectives of what makes a safe and accessible space, and what barriers to this look like for others. This session will spark ideas for you to take into your own spaces, be it team meetings, community workshops or informal gettogethers. Come with an open mind, ready to delve into a conversation.
Inspire 2022: a youth-led programme of change in our communities
Learn about Inspire 2022: a programme designed to train, support and provide resources for youth-led initiatives in our communities and link these back to a year of national achievements. This session will focus on how these initiatives are working in different areas, the role youth hubs play and how you can implement Inspire in your Big Local area.
Inspiring youth experiences
Be inspired by young people who’ve achieved brilliant things across Big Local. You’ll have a chance to speak directly to young people from Whitleigh Big Local about the creative ways they’ve been involved and led in their areas, and learn from each other about how to support youth leadership locally.
The art of fundraising and income generation
Pick up some top tips for thinking about and getting started in fundraising, including what it takes to start building your own fundraising strategy.
Download evaluating your project handout
Download the storytelling canvas handout
Download Trusts Foundations – an example list
The climate crisis and cost-of-energy crisis – building resilience in your community to face these twin challenges
Explore what can be done to build the resilience of people and buildings in your community during a climate and a cost of living crisis, which is creating soaring energy costs. You will hear about the work we have been doing with Big Local communities – from improving the energy performance of their community buildings, to responding to rising fuel costs, and how best to engage young people on the climate crisis.
The Community Wealth Fund campaign & dormant assets consultation: a briefing
Join us at this session to learn more about the campaign for a Community Wealth Fund and how you can participate in the dormant assets consultation, which will help determine how nearly £740m worth of new money for good causes is to be spent, including considering community wealth funds as an option.
What does community leadership look like?
Join the team from the Community Leadership Academy to explore different ‘community leadership’ styles and how they might play out in your community work.