New Local’s Stronger Things 2021 in March brought people together virtually to celebrate community power and how to unlock its potential as we start to think beyond the pandemic.
One of its core messages – one that even cut across the political divide and was heard from both Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Conservative MP Danny Kruger – was the need to turn the power system on its head so that, in the words of Mr Kruger, ‘communities are properly in charge’.
Last week a follow-up session, Building Stronger Things, led on from that three-day programme. It provided an opportunity, said chair of the event, Claire Kennedy, to focus on some key questions. These were: ‘What is the community paradigm in practice? How do you translate the ideas of the paradigm into practice locally? And, what does it feel like when it’s working?’
