Democracy day in the Tees Valley

The RSA Tees Valley Network has kickstarted a year of encouraging democratic engagement among young people

by David Cresswell, Jon Elphick and Paul Ingram

@djwcresswell @elphick_jon @ingrampix

The RSA Tees Valley Network came together last summer, a group of Fellows united by a shared commitment to making a difference. Further inspired by Matthew Taylor’s annual lecture on deliberative democracy, we wanted to take up the challenge of democratic participation, starting with local schools. We hoped to develop a mindset for democratic action among young people in our communities and to find a way for students to experience how ideas and thinking can change the world.

We successfully applied for an RSA Catalyst Seed Grant, and spent the best part of this year developing Democracy Day, which took place as part of National Democracy Week in October. Sixth-formers from schools across the region convened at Barnard Castle School. Experts inspired us with models of democracy new and old, and Fellows and teachers helped the students to create 90-second film manifestos for 21st century democracy. The winning video was compelling in the simplicity of its call to action: “The power is in your hands”.

Democracy Day was the launchpad for a year-long programme of democratic action. Students are now working with Fellows to develop School Democracy Action Plans. In November, they will meet in Middlesbrough Council Chamber as the Tees Valley Sixth Form Democracy Council; in March, they will meet again and select who will represent the Council at an event in June at RSA House. We are meeting with RSA Scotland to explore the potential for similar activity there and responding to interest from RSA Academies.

It is much too soon to know if this Fellow-led action is able to have a lasting positive impact on local democratic participation. But we feel we have successfully laid the foundations for a programme that could make a real difference for sixth forms across the north-east, the RSA Tees Valley Network and perhaps the RSA more widely.

The challenge now is to not let the buzz of the day fizzle out. We are helping students to create a manifesto for a new democracy, but also now realise we are in effect experimenting with a fresh manifesto for RSA engagement. The enduring challenge has been delivering something great with such a diverse group of volunteers. We have found it important to be patient and persuasive, and to remain focused on outcomes.

This programme simply would not have happened without the RSA. The diversity, enthusiasm and ambition of the Fellowship is inspiring and we have been stunned by the energy that is generated by a small group of people who simply would not take no for an answer.

Top tips

• Make sure you have enough Fellows on board with enough time between you to stay the course
• Keep listening to each other and have regular chats (we did this weekly on Zoom)
• Do not lose sight of your overall aim and do not get bogged down in other motivations or institutional concerns

David Cresswell is an MFL teacher and Deputy Head at Barnard Castle School. He is passionate about giving students a voice

Jon Elphick is a control systems engineer who has spent 20 years working in the rail industry, and supporting schools as a governor

Paul Ingram grew up with nothing on Teesside and has since worked in education, business, industry and the arts

This article first appeared in the RSA Journal Issue 3 2019