The YCW was recently invited to and attended a meeting of the Greater Manchester Citizens member organisations, as part of the Salford Diocese and Caritas Salford delegation.
GM Citizens is part of the Citizens UK network which organises communities to act together for power, social justice and the common good. They are a diverse member organisation and include schools, churches, mosques, synagogues, parents groups, health practice, charities and trade unions.
“Community Organising” is based on the principle that when people work together they have the power to change their neighbourhoods, cities, and ultimately the country for the better. Citizens works with people who want to transform the world, from what it is to what they believe it should be. To do this they listen to their members, asking them about their concerns and developing strategies to improve our communities. They ensure that civil society is at the negotiating table alongside the market and state, so that our communities are included in the decisions that affect them.
Naturally, the YCW Method has a lot in common with this approach and when we were invited we were keen to engage fully.
The focus of the meeting was preparing for the Greater Manchester Mayoral Election in May 2020 and what priorities GM Citizens would focus on. Many of these were issues that the YCW have been involved with over many decades and in more recent times, for example: “Fair Work”, “The Environment” and “Mental Health”.
We therefore pushed for these to be priorities for the GM Citizens to work on and hope to be able to support any actions that they come up with.
