My name is Phil Parkes, and I am the volunteer Co-ordinator at Expert Citizens CIC. I was initially going to write this blog about my volunteer experience and how I came to be involved in volunteer recruitment and retention at Expert Citizens. However, the pandemic altered my role and lead to changes in how we as Read more…
Thrive Teesside, a grassroots organisation based in Stockton on Tees, work tirelessly to amplify the voices of people living in poverty. We vehemently advocate that it is only when lived experiences of the issues at hand are afforded the opportunity to meaningfully engage in decision making processes, that positive change will happen. We are Read more…
Hi, my name is Phil Parkes, and I am the volunteer Co Ordinator for Expert Citizens CIC. I am also part of the APLE Collective of which Expert Citizens CIC are founder members. I was asked to write this about APLE’s recent Digital Divide Webinar and I thought rather than Read more…
Single parent families are a core part of UK society. There were 2.9 million single parents in the UK in 2019 according to the Office of National Statistics and a study by the University of Sheffield concluded that one in three families will experience some period of single parenting. Single Read more…
“I need you all to help change the way the criminal justice system sees black people” Brenda Birungi AKA Lady Unchained For me, this clear call to action summed up the power of the INSIGHT Awards at the end of March, hosted by Expert Citizens CIC. The annual event brings Read more…
A shout-out to APLE and a snapshot of LIFE… LIFE is delighted to be part of the APLE Collective and would like to say a huge thank you. A thank you for the opportunity to amplify the voices of those with lived experience. To share knowledge, experience, ideas and innovation with a Collective striving to affect change and eradicate poverty. We are thrilled to be starting our journey with the APLE Collective and hope Read more…
The APLE Collective have partnered with Just Fair UK on a blog post, reflecting on digital choice and opportunity and how people are being disproportionately impacted by the increasing use of technology. “The digital divide obstructs people’s ability to access services, connect with others and realise their full potential. Online learning has increased significantly during this Read more…
In our final APLE meeting of 2020 we talked about some of the years work and our successes: – The Digital Divide campaign, The International day for the eradication of poverty, growing as a collective and finalising our plans for the year ahead. Although 2020 has been tough for us Read more…
A reflection on our first year as members of the Addressing Poverty with Lived Experience (APLE) collective – by Hartlepool Action Lab. It was the end of September 2019, scrolling through our social media notifications, when we found a post from a local advertising page about the International Day for Read more…
I thought I’d write a piece reflecting on my first year being part of the APLE collective. I knew about the group already because Expert Citizens were already involved but I had previously been busy with other ventures. I started to get involved just after we went into lockdown in Read more…