Press Release: MPs attend National Civic Day celebration in Parliament

Communities recognised for their efforts in celebrating “civic pride”

Today, at an event in Parliament, Civic Day 2017 was officially launched by chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies, Craig Mackinlay MP and chair of Civic Voice, Joan Humble.

At the event, which was attended by Civic Day 2016 award winning communities and their local MPs, Joan Humble announced that Civic Day 2017 will be taking place on Saturday, June 17th and encouraged groups to submit their plans to Civic Voice.
Communities across the country will be showcasing how proud they are of where they live as part of national Civic Day (http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/campaigns/civic-day/)

Civic Day is an annual event for communities to say “I care about where I live”. Civic Day events are organised by local civic societies and community groups, and take place in villages, towns and cities across England. Events can range from litter picks to fairs to sponsored bike rides, all in the name of celebrating what’s great about their local community.

John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons said “I have long had the honour of attending, and often opening, the Buckingham Civic Day in my constituency, and plan to do so again this year. National Civic Days are an excellent opportunity for individuals to come together and celebrate their communities. I am delighted that this initiative is still going strong, and anticipate that it will continue to flourish in the future.”

Craig Mackinlay MP, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Civic Societies said “The great thing about civic pride is that it means something different to everyone. Whether it is clean streets, green parks, safe neighbourhoods or friendly people. Civic pride is a good thing but starts with civic action and people getting involved. I urge civic societies and communities from across the country to get involved on 2017 and to help celebrate their local conservation area”.

Joan Humble, chair of Civic Voice said “What do you care about?” “What do you want to protect? What do you want to improve? If we are going to ensure that our conservation areas, towns and cities give everybody living in them a good quality of life, we need everyone to get involved. Civic Day is the perfect opportunity to use your voice, change your community and to join your local civic society and help grow one of the country’s oldest yet most optimistic, energetic and forward looking social movements.”

A new toolkit is also being published today that communities can download to help them organise an event for National Civic Day 2017. The brochure can be found on the Civic Voice website http://www.civicvoice.org.uk/campaigns/civic-day/.

Notes for Editors
Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement. We work to make the places where everyone lives more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive and to promote civic pride. We speak up for civic societies and local communities across England. We believe everyone should live somewhere they can be proud of and we know how people feel about places because we feel the same way. Civic societies are the most numerous participants in the planning system. Since its launch in April 2010 Civic Voice has been joined by over 290 civic societies with 75,000 members. Further information is available at http://www.civicvoice.org.uk including how to join Civic Voice (£10 individuals) and contact details for local civic societies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Ian Harvey, Executive Director
T 0151 707 4319/ 07877096968
T @civic_voice