The event in Dumbarton Burgh Hall on 7th December was attended by 120 local group members, representing 18 community groups and six community organisations. Their work was displayed around the hall, and karaoke entertainment was provided by DJD’s Singing Santa.
“Inspire” Community Training Group is led by West Dunbartonshire Council’s Community Learning and Development (CLD) Section.
The CLD Section already holds a well established annual celebration event for individual learners, however the “Inspire” group identified there was also a need to celebrate the success of community group learning. With this in mind they applied to Learning Connections “Working and Learning Together” Fund for cash to hold a celebration event annually over a three-year period.
The funding bid also included an application for money to develop and pilot an “Introduction to Community Work” Training Course, to help build community work capacity in the area. 11 local residents participated in the course.
The celebration evening commenced with a warm welcome from WDC’s Terry Lanagan, Executive Director of Educational Services. Certificates of Achievement were presented to the students who completed the “Introduction to Community Work” training course by the Leader of WDC, Councillor Ian Robertson.
Sandra Davidson, Section Head of Community Learning and Development said: “All of the groups involved in the evening had a great time and all of the evaluations of the event were really positive. It just shows that there is a real need for this kind of community group networking and celebration in the area. Most of the participants have been asking about the next event, so it seems clear that this is something we need to build on.”
A further group consultation event has been organised to ensure community members are included in developing the future of the “Inspire” group. This will be held in Dumbarton Burgh Hall from 6.30 to 9.00pm on Monday 25
th March 2010. Everyone is welcome.
