Citizenship

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate communication as a human right for Declan. This commentary paper is co-written by Declan, his sister who is a speech-language pathologist (SLP) with an advocacy role, his SLP, and academics. Declan discusses, in his own words, what makes communication hard, what helps communication, his experiences of speech-language pathology, and what he knows about human rights. He also discusses his passion for politics, his right to be an active citizen and participate in the political process.

This paper has been developed in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic which started to take effect in the UK around February 2020, and has been published as part of Citizen Network’s ongoing work to build a world where everyone matters, and to explore ways that we can maintain the strength of community. Valuing all people as equal and recognising that being able to contribute to society promotes a sense of purpose, identity and shared responsibility.

At a National Leaders seminar key public sector leaders and people with lived experience came together with a purpose which was to develop a ‘shared narrative’. This document describes the conditions that are needed to create strong and inclusive communities and offers a shared narrative, agreed by leaders including people who use services, professionals and carers.

Engaging and Empowering Communities: our shared commitment and call to action1 underlines the sectors’ commitment as national bodies to develop strong and inclusive communities. This briefing, which has been written by Alex Fox CEO of Shared Lives Plus and chair of TLAP Building Community Capacity network, sets out ten key features of an asset-based area. It also suggests a number of planning and support models that can help areas to make progress.

Over a period of six years, public services in Wigan have been through a major process of transformation, based on the idea of building a different relationship with local people. NHS organisations have the opportunity to forge a new relationship with the public that harnesses the strengths and capabilities of individuals and communities.  The new approach to delivering services has become known as the ‘Wigan Deal’. This report provides an independent critique of the Wigan Deal drawing on in-depth research, including interviews with key stakeholders, focus groups with members of the public and evidence from data analysis. It explores what local authorities, NHS organisations and others can learn from Wigan’s journey of transformation. The relationship between public services and the people who use them needs to be transformed to allow people to take greater control of their health and wellbeing.

This paper was written as an exploration of how innovation in social services can advance citizenship for all in Scotland, and it begins with a moral framework – a source of inspiration for our actions. It suggests that the idea of active citizenship should play a much greater part in our future where there is a strong sense of responsibility and where citizens, families, community and the state can each find their proper roles.

The paper is written as a commentary  about the development of Independent Support Brokerage in the UK and also examines some of the practices, challenges and restrictions which have held people back and prevented them from realising their hopes and aspirations for a good life; and provides a simple lens which could be used as a basis for reviewing changes to policy and practice – enabling a real shift towards citizenship for all.

iDirect is a member of Citizen Network, which is a global movement for a world where everyone, every single person, matters. Citizenship means treating everyone as an equal, treating everyone as if they belong and working together so everyone can have the best life possible. This report is the first outcome from the new Governance arrangement that iDirect is developing.