SUMMER SCHOOL

“Working for Your Community”

– Annual Summer School

Debbie Abrahams is now recruiting 18 – 24-year-olds to participate in her tenth annual Working for Your Community summer programme.

Since 2014, Debbie has run a two-week summer programme for young people, developing their understanding and experience of civic duty, public service and how to work for the benefit of their communities.

All year-round I receive requests from young people who are interested in valuable work experience in an MP’s office. We can accommodate some, but unfortunately it just isn’t possible to offer placements to them all.

So, to try and give as many young people as possible from Oldham and Saddleworth valuable work experience, I will be running my annual Working for your Community summer school for 18- to 24-year-olds between Monday 17th July and Friday 28th July, 2023.

13718639_1800066216895175_420418629054621532_n
AB
comms-session

2023 Summer Programme – Application process OPEN!

No qualifications are necessary to apply for a place on the programme. Applications will be assessed based on demonstrating a range of skills and experiences that show a broad interest in community issues and developing solutions. Political interest is not essential but is desirable, given the programme will engage with political issues on a local and national level.

Priority will be given to applicants from Oldham/Saddleworth and applicants must be aged 18– 24 when the programme starts on Monday July 17 2023.

Applicants should be community-minded with a commitment to social justice and public service, as well as displaying a willingness to learn and adapt to new ideas and be capable of working in a diverse group of people.

Good communication skills are necessary, as are time-keeping and personal organisation. Participants must be able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.

The programme presents opportunities for further development beyond the end date of Friday 28 July; hard-working, enthusiastic, self-starters will be particularly well equipped to take advantage of this.

Successful applicants will spend the first week developing their understanding of civic duty and learning new community development skills, honing their campaigning capabilities and participating in expert-led workshops in civic duty, communications, and politics.

The participants will also take a trip to Westminster, where they will meet politicians, advisors and other special guests. During the second week of the programme the participants will choose work placements in Oldham and Saddleworth with community organisations to further equip them with experience-based skills.

How to apply:

To register your interest for the summer programme, send a letter of application outlining why you wish to participate and how your skillset meets the criteria, as well as a copy of your CV by email to abrahamsd@parliament.uk

The closing date for applications is 11:59pm Monday 19 June 2023.

Testimonials

Past participants had this to say about their summer school experiences:

Hajra who recently moved to Oldham from Italy and hopes to study medicine in the future, said:

“I would like to thank Debbie and the whole team for giving us such a great opportunity. The time spent with different people taught us how the law affects our daily life, how a campaign could change a situation to affect society and how a small group of citizens can change the society in a positive way.

The life stories of different MPs (such as Andy Burnham and Luciana Berger) especially, made me realise how we can make a positive difference in the world or how we could serve our community making people’s lives better.

I personally got out of the Summer School fantastic friends, more values and strong willingness to give my positive contribution to the world to make it a better place. It was a great life experience for me.”

Tahmina, who was very much looking forward to starting her degree in Rehabilitation Studies said:

 

“I benefited a lot from this course and I got to explore what politicians do for us regarding the local community.

It’s not just about meetings in Parliament, it’s also about getting involved with local and small agencies which help the rest of the community.”

Parliament
comms
Summer School graduation 2017
11038474_1668746836693781_6897522671815349594_o

Debbie on FB