Working together for better lives
Our mission is to help people with fewer chances to use their abilities and work together for better lives and stronger communities
The Third Scarman Lecture
and panel discussion
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People Can hosted the 30th Anniversary Scarman lecture with the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at 9.50 am on 24th November in Brixton.
The purpose of the event was to:
- Reflect on the legacy and lessons of the Scarman Report (1981) in the context of riots in some English cities this summer
- To draw lessons for the future as we enter another period of austerity and show how Government policies are taking account of recent events
- To highlight opportunities for people to make a positive difference, and what central and local Government can do to support them
The lecture and panel discussion was streamed live on
the day and it can be viewed in the above feed of the People Can TV
library.
Panel Discussion
The lecture was followed by a panel discussion chaired by
Julia Unwin, Director, Joseph Rowntree Foundation,
with:
- Sir Philip Mawer, Secretary to the Scarman Report
- Professor Ted Cantle, Chair of the Independent Community Cohesion Review Team which conducted a review of the riots in 2001 and currently Chair of iCoCo
- Professor Gus John, educator and researcher on guns and gangs
- Ros Griffiths, Lambeth Resident, Co-founder of the Brixton Slash and Director of the Employment Cafe
The event will concluded at 12.15, followed by a buffet lunch
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People Can and the legacy of Lord Scarman
People Can is the successor organisation to The Scarman Trust,
which organised the first two Scarman lectures were given by David
Miliband and David Cameron. The Scarman Trust was originally the
Charter 88 Trust and changed its name in 1991 in honour of its
patron, Lord Scarman, to give practical expression to the parts of
his report about social conditions underlying the 1981 riots. The
Scarman Trust enabled people in disadvantaged communities to
contribute to society by listening and providing small grants for
"Can Doers" to take practical action to improve their community.
The Scarman Trust pioneered small grants for individuals with You
& Your Community and the Community Champions programme from
2001 to 2007. The ending of the programme was a major blow to the
Scarman Trust, which merged with Novas to form Novas Scarman in
2008.
Since the appointment of a new Board of Trustees under Andrew
Barnett, Director of the Gulbenkian Foundation, and the appointment
of Maff Potts as CEO from October 2010, we have refocused on
listening to people with greatest needs and fewest chances, on
recognising their abilities and helping them to gain a sense of
self-worth, belonging and connection with society by making a
contribution - hence our name, People Can.
For us this is a timely occasion to host the Third Scarman
lecture, as we are going through far-reaching organisational change
to put people at the centre of what we do, asking what they can do
to help others as well as themselves, enabling people who are
marginalised and excluded to be part of the solution. This
message has a particular resonance after the riots in the summer,
which were a reminder that although much has changed since the
Scarman Report, sections of society are still deeply disconnected
and excluded.
People Can aims to create "Can Do Awards" to recognise and support
people taking action to create social inclusion and create a better
world...
David Cameron's Scarman Lecture 2006
The first two Scarman lectures were given by David
Miliband and David Cameron respectively
in January and November of 2006.
David Cameron's Scarman lecture on 'Tackling poverty is a social
responsibility' was an important statement on his approach to
tackling poverty, the role of the state and society. For the full
text click here
Who is doing what following the summer riots of 2011
The Government, local authorities and many others are analysing
what happened in many English inner cities this August, why it
happened and what to do about it.
The following lists some of these inititatives:
- David Cameron promised an internal review
"every aspect of our work to mend our broken society... and
consider whether our plans and programmes are big enough and bold
enough". Read more...
- The Government set up a 'riot communities and victims panel' to investigate causes and listen to communities affected, chaired by the head of Job Centre Plus and former council CEO, Darra Singh (who also chaired the Commission on Integration and Cohesion in 2007), due to report to party leaders in March 2012.
- The Guardian, LSE, Open Society Foundations and Joseph
Rowntree Foundation have set up a Reading the Riots
project led by Professor Tim Newburn (click here to read more); Data
analysis: UK riots aftermath - Sunday 14 August 2011
Riots broken down: who was in court and what's happened to them?
Sociologist look at each area: Behind the riots
Researchers wanted to conduct interviews: England riots: researchers wanted
- JRF has drawn on 20 years of its research to
analyse causes and also the 'community assets' that can enable
communities to develop. Read more...
- North London Citizens (NLC) is organising a Citizens' Inquiry into the Tottenham Riots as a long-term response by community leaders to shape the way civil society rebuilds the area. For BBC coverage of the launch click here.
- Unltd did a survey of social entrepreneurs on
their view of the causes & how to respond. Read more...
- The youth charity Catch 22 has done a survey of young people's views on what can be done to prevent incidents like these happening again, move young people away from getting involved in such negative behaviours and rebuild communities affected by the disturbances.
- Urban forum published reports from local responses: Young people from Croydon's Xpress project debate: about 100 residents questioned a panel including MP Malcolm Wicks, Councillor Sara Bashford and Chief Inspector, Mark Nanji. The consensus that there has been a communication failure between young people and authorities including the police and council. Participants suggested that to move forward, authorities would have to listen to young people and provide more for them to do.
- Hackney CVS called an emergency meeting of over 60 community leaders, faith leaders, young people, youth workers and frontline staff. They felt the focus in Hackney was more political than opportunist and the disturbances were symptomatic of the breakdown in trust between local people and the state. Their immediate priority was to open a dialogue with communities, especially the young people involved in the disorder. The Council is offering grants of up to £3,000 for community groups to get involved in information gathering and solution finding. Hackney Council has established a taskforce to review available information, feedback from community meetings and government policy responses to identify shifts in local policy or service delivery required. A partnership event is being planned for October bringing together council officers, councillors, community networks, young people and other partners to feed into a refreshed Sustainable Community Strategy.
- Prof Gus John (former Chief Education Officer, Hackney) wrote an Open Letter to the Prime Minister. Read more...See Also..
- BBC Analysis can be found here.
- Wikipedia summary of what happened and consequences can be found here, and also here.
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