Local Democracy Campaign
Democracy affects all of us everyday - whether we realise it or not! At North Devon Council we provide a range of services including cleaning roads and streets, looking after our parks, emptying bins, granting licenses to taxi firms and distributing grants.
There are 43 councillors here in North Devon who make decisions about the district. Each councillor is elected by people who live in a specific area, called a ward, to represent them and their needs.
To find out which ward you live in and who your local councillor is click on the wards page of this website.
Local Democracy Week
This year Local Democracy Week (LDW) was between 13 – 17 October
We’ve teamed up with several secondary schools to take democracy out to the classroom and help get teenagers thinking about how they can influence political decisions.
Political Speed Dating
Pupils from Park Community School, Chulmleigh, and Braunton Community Colleges took part in two Political Speed Dating events. Ten councillors were quizzed by pairs of students, for three–minute periods each, to see how sharp their answers are on key issues.
The pupils could ask anything from how the councillor first became interested in politics, to who they thought was going win X-Factor and what they'd do if they were invisible for a day! This was an opportunity for both councillors and teenagers to breakdown barriers and stereotypes.
Budget Game
If you were in charge of the Council’s budget, how would you spend the money? Using Monopoly-style money pupils from Park Community School, Chulmleigh, and Braunton Community Colleges spent £155 (the average amount of money North Devon Council receives per year from householders through Council Tax ) on Council services.
Not surprisingly the teenagers said they would spend proportionally more Council Tax money on sports than the Council currently does. Interestingly, they would spend the largest proportion of the budget on recycling.
A more detailed breakdown of how they chose to spend the Council's budget is now available on the web with a comparison showing how the authority currently spends its budget.
Park and Braunton Schools Chulmleigh School All schools combined
The Big Debate
In November, pupils from Park Community School, Chulmleigh and Braunton Community Colleges met in the Council Chamber in the Civic Centre to debate key planning issues. They were asked for their views on how they’d like North Devon to look in the future, where they think new houses should go and what sort of renewable energy schemes we should run in North Devon. Their feedback will be used to help us prepare a strategy, which will outline how North Devon will develop over the next 19 years.
Last year
Democracy affects all of us everyday - whether we realise it or not! At North Devon Council we provide a range of services including cleaning roads and streets, looking after our parks, emptying bins, granting licenses to taxi firms and distributing grants.
There are 43 councillors here in North Devon who make decisions about the district. Each councillor is elected by people who live in a specific area, called a ward, to represent them and their needs.
To find out which ward you live in and who your local councillor is click on the wards page of this website.
Local Democracy Week
This year Local Democracy Week (LDW) was between 13 – 17 October
We’ve teamed up with several secondary schools to take democracy out to the classroom and help get teenagers thinking about how they can influence political decisions.
Political Speed Dating
Pupils from Park Community School, Chulmleigh, and Braunton Community Colleges took part in two Political Speed Dating events. Ten councillors were quizzed by pairs of students, for three–minute periods each, to see how sharp their answers are on key issues.
The pupils could ask anything from how the councillor first became interested in politics, to who they thought was going win X-Factor and what they'd do if they were invisible for a day! This was an opportunity for both councillors and teenagers to breakdown barriers and stereotypes.
Budget Game
If you were in charge of the Council’s budget, how would you spend the money? Using Monopoly-style money pupils from Park Community School, Chulmleigh, and Braunton Community Colleges spent £155 (the average amount of money North Devon Council receives per year from householders through Council Tax ) on Council services.
Not surprisingly the teenagers said they would spend proportionally more Council Tax money on sports than the Council currently does. Interestingly, they would spend the largest proportion of the budget on recycling.
A more detailed breakdown of how they chose to spend the Council's budget is now available on the web with a comparison showing how the authority currently spends its budget.
Park and Braunton Schools Chulmleigh School All schools combined
The Big Debate
In November, pupils from Park Community School, Chulmleigh and Braunton Community Colleges met in the Council Chamber in the Civic Centre to debate key planning issues. They were asked for their views on how they’d like North Devon to look in the future, where they think new houses should go and what sort of renewable energy schemes we should run in North Devon. Their feedback will be used to help us prepare a strategy, which will outline how North Devon will develop over the next 19 years.
Last year
Last year we asked students what they thought about:
- Leisure and Recreation
- Housing
- Community Safety/Crime
Their feedback was used to help us create our Children and Young People’s Strategy – a document that outlines what work we are doing now and what we will do in the future to help improve the quality of life for children and young people in the district.
Now it's your turn
Do you want to have your say in the future of North Devon? There are lots of ways you can get involved in democracy – even if you’re too young to vote right now.
The website has a list of all the consultations the Council is currently holding.
Right now Barnstaple Town Council want to know what you think of Barnstaple Town. If you live in Barnstaple or visit the town why not fill in the customer survey.
You can also use Consultation Finder to look up past, present and future consultations.
Democracy Games
Captain Campaign
Have you got what it takes to run public campaign? Play Captain Campaign and see if you've got the communication skills needed to talk with the public and other politicians and influence key decision-makersCouncillor Quest II
Why don't you have a go at being a local Councillor. In Councillor Quest II you'll get the chance to serve your local community and make decision about a range of local issues.
Why don't you have a go at being a local Councillor. In Councillor Quest II you'll get the chance to serve your local community and make decision about a range of local issues.Money Manager
Do you want to control a multi-million pound budget? Do you want to make key decisions that will effect the lives of thousands of people around you? If the answer's yes then give Money Manager a try.
This council management game puts you in charge of the budget. Perform well and receive the gratitude of the locals, fail and find yourself out of a job. Keep an eye on the budget and watch out for emergencies.
Do you want to control a multi-million pound budget? Do you want to make key decisions that will effect the lives of thousands of people around you? If the answer's yes then give Money Manager a try.This council management game puts you in charge of the budget. Perform well and receive the gratitude of the locals, fail and find yourself out of a job. Keep an eye on the budget and watch out for emergencies.
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Democracy Games from Demgames
'Demgames' is an engaging interactive resource on local government topics. There are three democracy related games available to play: Captain Campaign, Councillor Quest II and Money Manager.
The Demgames project has been developed as part the Local e-Democracy National Project, funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, exploring how digital technology can be used to engage people in democratic processes. The games themselves were produced by NorthLincsNet, and developed by Delib.
The three games on the Demgames site - Captain Campaign, Councillor Quest II and Money Manager - aim to inform young people about key aspects of the UK political process in a fun way.
'Demgames' is an engaging interactive resource on local government topics. There are three democracy related games available to play: Captain Campaign, Councillor Quest II and Money Manager.
The Demgames project has been developed as part the Local e-Democracy National Project, funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
, exploring how digital technology can be used to engage people in democratic processes. The games themselves were produced by NorthLincsNet, and developed by Delib.The three games on the Demgames site - Captain Campaign, Councillor Quest II and Money Manager - aim to inform young people about key aspects of the UK political process in a fun way.
