Bolton's Future Search 2005

Bolton's Participation Standards

Hello all, as promised here is a link to Bolton's Participation Standards.

One of the splinter groups from Future Search are very interested in pushing Bolton's Participation Standards forward and make it a highly recognised document.

To view a copy click here.

Messages from Ingrid...

Well, after Bolton's Future Search on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of September 2005 I journeyed up to Lancaster Leadership School to talk with other colleagues from Cheshire and Cumbria about their work on community leadership. I was proud to be able to relay, along with Brian and Kelly, a few highlights from our future search conference. I hope others will be inspired to run their own conferences - they seem keen to do so and recognise that this is a "meeting" with a difference!Hope lots of people help to shape our way forward and communicate via this site.....

Just to catch you up with Bolton's Student Council Forum - if you belong to a school in Bolton make sure you know how you can contribute to the forum. Our next meeting is at The Withins School and aims at setting out an agenda that our students want to move forward in the next year. I know that we are not going to be disappointed with the creativity and risk taking our students have, I just hope that the partnership we are trying to develop break down the barriers between adults and students working effectively together. Wednesday 9th November 2005 4pm - 6pm at The Withins School. Refreshments.

It's already started...

Following on from our hugely successful Future Search last week, the cogs are already in motion to deliver the vision of Making Every Child Matter in Bolton. One group had their first meeting as soon as yesterday and e-mails are flying around from stakeholders. Send me an e-mail at n_a_moosa@hotmail.com so that I can tell everyone what work has been taking place, alternatively, post a comment!!

Naeem

Day 3:Naeem's Notions

Bolton's Future Search is over....but the real work has just begun! It's totally down to us whether or not we will make Every Child Matter in Bolton...or we will have attended this event and made empty promises. I have great faith in everyone who came to the conference and I'm sure great things will come of it.

These three brilliant days will live with me forever, and I hope this blog will also live for years to come...this can be a great place to post updates about what you've been up to and use it to communicate with other stakeholders.

It wouldn't work without me, it wouldn't without you, but it has the potential to be great if we work together.

Naeem
e-mail me- n_a_moosa@hotmail.com

1 HOUR TO GO

Hi everyone! Just a quick post...there's only one hour left!!! We're all giving our final reports. Shirin is totally right!!!! This is only the beginning of the start of the future!

Keep logging on to check out the next installment of Naeem's Notions!

This blog does not have to end just because this Future Search conference will...let's take advantage of this valuable resource.

Naeem

The beginning of the start of the future!

The past three days have been absolutely amazing. Young people, children and adults coming together and expressing their views and ideas. The creativity and friendliness brought it all together.The past two days have all led upto today (Friday). Bringing together views, ideas, aspirations for 2020 and its amazing how so many adults want to make every child matter. Today ideas, dreams and views are merging together so an acton plan can be formed for 2020. The days have been fun, enjoyable and very helpful. Im only 15 and i don't think alot of people get a chance to be at something this important so i am very proud to have been involved in it. These three days have only been the beginning of the start of the future for the young kids and i think everybody should go back today and think about what has happend in these 3 days and what as individuals they can do to help. I think this conference has been an absolute success and i loved it..(and Naeem!) Thankyou Sandra,Anne,Ingrid and Kelly for facilitating.. It's been wicked and we would appreciate if people would keep BLOGGING FOR BOLTON!

Day two of Naeem's Notions

Wow! It has been a long and tiring day. Our day began at 9am and ended at 5.30pm with everybody feeling very tired, but as all the adults went home we drove straight to school and changed into our uniform(which were in the boot of the car) and helped out at the Sharples School Open Evening. Although we were all absolutely shattered, we all had a brilliant day. I thought it would be impossible to have a better day than yesterday but we managed it! Some of today's highlights included imagining how we wish that life would be like for children in 2020 and then presenting it in whatever format we wanted...there were some outstanding performances from all teams, we even had some rapping from Nonsi who was representing BEMAS (Bolton Ethnic Minority Achievement Service).
My particular group took inspiration from popular show Jim'll fix it! which we renamed Bolton'll fix it. It's very difficult to put my feelings about the day in words but I'll try my best...it was a day full of enthusuiasm from all, full of amazement at how much everybody was into the conference and a huge feeling of PRIDE, because we were all doing great things.

Tomorrow is the most crucial point of Future Search, because tomorrow we will all leave. I'm sure everyone will agree that the conference is a great success so far...but the overall success of the conference will be in our hands when we leave tommorow at 1pm. We've done a lot of talking, but the question is will we actually put our words into action? I have great faith in Bolton 2020, I had some reservations before the conference but now talking to everybody and getting a geneneral feel from everybody I think great things will happen.

Quotes from today:

"Think outside the box"

"I feel optimistic"

"Please welcome on Margaret...Oh sorry! You're Mary!"

"All work and no play makes us boring"

"I am amazed!"
(Sandra Janoff)

I'd like to thank everybody who has posted some comments, we've even had comments from Ireland and America...and hey! just because the conference will end tomorrow does not mean that this blog has to! Let's keep it alive and it could be a valuable point of communication for all stakeholders!

Finally, I'll finish like I did yesterday. It wouldn't work without me, it wouldn't work without you, but it has the potential to be great if we work together.

Keep Blogging for Bolton!
Naeem

Naeem's Notions
Welcome to the first installment of Naeem's Notions...I'll be typing away at the end of everyday to to tell you what I think.
We left school at 10'o'clock(we had to do lesson 1;physics!!!) and made our way over to the Reebok. We had a great journey over with Amy providing refreshments in the form of Jelly Babies,(#Kids and grown ups love it so....#) We arrived and met Sandra who was really enthusuiastic and we had a great meeting at the beginning of the day. Then came the important business...LUNCH! We wined (on mineral water) and dined and met all the young people and then kicked off the show. The four of us opened the conference and then got underway with the tasks. It was brilliant working in such mixed groups and hearing how adults and children said maybe the same thing but in a totally different way.

Watch out for the next installment of Naeem's Notions and remember...it wouldn't work without me, it wouldn't work without you, but it has the potential to be great if we work together.

Naeem

IF YOU WANT TO POST A MESSAGE PLEASE CLICK ON COMMENTS BELOW

Future Search is underway!

Bolton's Future Search has begun and has got off to an impressive start. Todays's event have included plotting key events from 1975 onwards onto a timeline. All members have been reflecting on personal, local and global issues.

Analysing the timelines has brought to the foreground a number of issues which provided stakeholders with common ground; stakeholders recognised how everybody goes through similar life experiences, from starting school, to doing exams, getting married, having children and experiencing bereavements. Stakeholders have realised that we all go through similar events and we need to use this common ground and our own personal experience to realise the vision of Making Every Child Matter in Bolton.

Quotes from the day:

"We all share the same aspirations."

"All our emotions and experiences will affect the way we all work alongside each other."

"Global issues as well as some local start negatively, we need to change this and have a positive outlook."

"We need to be proud of Bolton and its regeneration, however that does not mean that we have met the task of Every Child Matters."

"Every Child Matters is all about individuality; we need to encourage individuality and cater for the majority and minority."

Naeem

Let's get it started!! Bolton 2020: Making Every Child Matter

Bolton's Future Search will kick off at 12.30pm today at the Reebok Stadium! Bolton 2020 is all about gathering people from all backgrounds and cultures of Boltonian society and working together to Make Every Child Matter.

As four young people from Sharples School this online diary or 'blog' will be our way of communicating with everyone who has a stake in this important vision. We'll be writing our 'blog' throughout the conference and we want you to visit this site and post your own views, anything you want to tell us regarding Future Search just post on here.

Remember....It's for Children. It's happening. It's got a history and you can shape it!

Have a great Future Search,

Naeem, Shirin, Amy and Duncan

We're Blogging for Bolton
Click here to visit the official Future Search website at www.futuresearch.net