Public legal education :
Improving lives, empowering communities

Welcome to the first issue of Public Legal Education Network newsletter for 2010 - Issue no.8.

Plenet's Legal Empowerment Conference 2010
'How does PLE advance a culture of civil and social justice ?'

REMINDER ! For your place at our conference on 10th February Book now ! (758 KB)

Keynote speaker: Justice Minister, Lord Bach.

Panel Debate: 'How does PLE advances a culture of civil and social justice' chaired by Andrew Phillips (Lord Phillips of Sudbury) OBE, president of the Citizenship Foundation.

Panel Members: Julie Bishop, Law Centres Federation, Dr Theo Gavrielides, Race on the Agenda and Independent Academic Research Studies, Carol Taylor, National Institute of Adult and Continuing Education and from Canada, Sarah McCoubrey from the Ontario Justice Education Network. (See interview)

Further attractions include our performance and workshop with Theatre ADAD, and an exploration of experiential learning methods and how to adapt them. An impressive selection of great workshops take place during the afternoon which will give delegates the opportunity to focus on subjects such as advice and legal services, PLE approaches to poverty and human rights, adult learners and legal capability, youth justice approaches and the latest on evaluation and research.

The conference is chaired by Sir Henry Brooke and takes place at Inmarsat Global, 99 City Road, London EC1. The conference is followed by a drinks and networking reception.

We look forward to meeting you at what promises to be an interesting and fun event !

More about Plenet Conference 2010 including information about our speakers and workshops.

Plenet Legal Empowerment Conference Flyer 2010 (758 KB)

Mock Hearings in Ontario

Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN) organises student mock court trials to build young people's confidence and self-esteem. The trials develop organisation, research and reasoning skills as well as teaching young people about the law and legal systems. OJEN have created many valuable resources for holding the mock hearings including a good practice guide for judges and other members of the justice sector on how to maximize student learning.

More about : Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN)

Link to: Ontario Justice Education Network and access to their resources.

Friends of the Earth’s Rights & Justice Centre

Friends of the Earth’s Rights & Justice team believe that legal empowerment is at the heart of challenging environmental injustice. A 'Powering Up' training conference is held each year to empower disadvantaged communities whose voices are not usually heard in environmental decision-making. As well as legal skill sessions, facilitated conversation circles take place and participation in a mock planning committee. FOE lawyers, planning advisers and empowerment campaigners offer technical support, legal help and advise on community engagement strategies.

More about Friends of the Earth Rights and Justice Centre and Power Up

Environmental Law Foundation (ELF)

ELF launched their sustainable communities project in November 2008. The project aims to raise awareness of how the law can be used by community groups to address local environmental issues such as local planning and environmental concerns. EDF lawyers and technical experts participate in local events and seminars held in the nine English regions.

More about ELF Sustainable Communities Project

Equalities and discrimination awareness-raising project

ASA Advicenow has secured funding from the European Union and the Equality and Human Rights Commission to run an awareness-raising project on equalities and discrimination issues. The project titled, 'Progress towards equality: Reaching out to communities' aims to build awareness and understanding of discrimination issues and give people the confidence and skills to take action.

Advicenow will be working in partnership with AdviceUK, Citizens Advice and Law Centres Federation. The project will produce an 'Equalities PLE' toolkit, tools for evaluating Equalities PLE projects, and a report on good practice.

More about: Equalities and discrimination awareness-raising project and Progress towards equality.

Advicenow's Is that discrimination ? website is the focus for the campaign and will feature new and updated guides and resources.

January 2010

60 second interview

Sarah McCoubrey, Executive Director of Ontario Justice Education Network uses her legal skills, together with her experience in the community to deliver justice education programmes.

Sarah's top tip is to have fun ! She says,

'This may sound obvious, but it has been key to invigorating PLE programmes and to creating programmes that make sense to people who are afraid of the justice system.'

60 second interview with Sarah McCoubrey

2010 International Legal Studies Internship Programme

Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia (BABSEA) is offering a 12 week internship during the summer. Activities include a variety of community based legal education teachings, service projects with local & rural communities and many educational events & cultural experiences. The deadline for applications is 14th February.

Read BABSEA Internship Information Pack (1.5 MB) and visit their website:BABSEA Internship for further information.

New projects on Plenet's website

United Maidens self help group, based in Camden in London is a great example of active community engagement and empowerment. The project is run by and for women so that they can share their experiences of financial difficulties and discuss ways to better manage their money. The group invites guest speakers to answer questions.

Village CAB is a specialist advice service for the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities in the North West of England. This project highlights the value of thorough and ongoing community needs assessment. Village combines specialist legal advice with community education and social policy work to meet the specific legal needs of their client group.

Why not join our Network to receive our latest news.

EU Funding for 'Progress towards Equality: Reaching out to communities' project