Unit 1 helped you get to know each other better and to think about and represent other people and their needs. Now stronger as a group, it is time to draw together what you know about the local community, its strengths, needs and networks and how your group links with others. This is important to help plan how best to develop alliances and take forward your priorities for action to make change happen.

• Understanding communities
• Mapping communities
• Identifying community links and support

In Bradford, the Youth Parliament is an established part of the fabric of local democracy and helps young people develop the skills to get involved and influential, representing young people’s concerns and taking forward their priorities for change. As part of the training for young people interested in joining, they spend a week ‘in the field’ in one of the nine wards, getting to know the community, what the facilities are, and who the councillors and MPs are. After the week, the young people come back together to map what they have learnt. Getting to know your community is seen as an essential step before representing the community and taking on any local issues.

Below are the three aims of the unit. Use activity sheet 8 to rate your current knowledge. Give yourself a personal score on the scale 1-2-3-4-5. 1 is low and 5 is high. What proof do you have? Refer to the list in the Introduction for examples of what might be good sources of evidence. This is particularly important if you are using this unit to gain credits toward an award. What score would you give yourselves as a group?

Download the Unit 2 - What Do We Know worksheet

2.1 Understanding communities

• 2.1(a) Community: What's In A Word?
• 2.1(b) Community: Whose Community?
• 2.1(c) Community: Get Me Out Of Here!

2.2 Mapping communities

• 2.2(a) Mapping Places
• 2.2(b) Mapping People
• 2.2(c) Mapping Power

2.3 Identifying community links and allies

• 2.3(a) Community Interests
• 2.3(b) Sailing Away
• 2.3(c) Community Support

Unit Review