Wicklow Communities Networking

Wicklow Communities Networking is holding a number of seminars covering matters of concern to the community and voluntary sector. The network has been in existence for some years but up to now failed to make a significant impact on the community sector.

An intensive drive in recent times saw the network blitz the county with seminars on sustainable energy, leader funding, and suicide. A further seminar on caring will be held on December 2nd. Unlike previous seminars these were exceptionally well attended.

Guest speakers who are leading experts in the topics they addressed and were listened to by an audience with community involvement in these subjects. There was considerable response and interaction from the floor to these issues.

Wicklow Communities Networking is an umbrella organisation for all community and voluntary groups in Wicklow. It acts as a vehicle for the community and voluntary sector, it helps with sourcing funding and works to identify and address local issues in the county.

Core funding for the networks is provided through Wicklow County Council.

Wicklow Communities Networking was set up in 2000. It is open to community and voluntary groups around the county. It is run entirely by volunteers and has the support of over forty organisations. Their activities include; holding public consultation meetings, publishing annual newsletters and sharing information through networking.

The network is represented on the County Development Board, the Housing and Corporate Estate Strategic Policy Committee, The Transport and Roads Infrastructure Strategic Policy Committee, The Wicklow County Childcare Committee, The Regional Drugs Taskforce Committee, The Joint Policing Committee, The County Development Board subcommittees of Urban Shadow and Social Inclusion.

Wicklow Communities Networking is run by an executive board of sixteen members with four or five from the North, South, East and West. The board meet at least once a month. It is supported by a project worker who operates on a contract basis.

Groups supported by Wicklow Communities Networking in recent times include Ashford Development Steering Committee who are concerned with local policing and sewerage, Baltinglass and District Community Group who are organising a recruitment drive to further local interests, Rathnew Community Development Project. Wicklow Communities Networking are also arranging cut price insurance for community groups affiliated to WCN.

WCN is one of two community fora set up under the aegis of the County Development Board . The other forum is Wicklow Community Platform which was established in 1999, is open to all groups dealing with social inclusion. Most of its current members operate in urban areas and along the east coast. Like its sister forum, WCP runs seminars which are focussed on policy formulation, publishes a monthly newsletter; Platform Update and engages in ongoing networking and information sharing. It helps travellers groups, the RAPID programme and matters of social inclusion.

The recent cohesion measures introduced by the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht affairs forced the amalgamation of local Community partnership companies such as Leader plus company Wicklow Rural Partnership and Arklow Community Enterprise whose funding will now be largely from domestic than European sources.

It was feared that the same process would see WCN lose its identity as it was subsumed into a single community forum.

The recent performances by WCN in Glendalough went a long way to dispel those fears.

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