PRESS RELEASE: England’s youngest Civic Society chair elected to Birmingham Civic Society

26-year-old replaces Si Cunningham (Bradford Civic Society) as the youngest Chair in England

Amelia Ladbrooke has, this month, been nominated as Chair-elect of Birmingham Civic society and has, today, called on all civic societies to reach out to younger audiences.

The 26-year-old, who is a marketing co-ordinator for professional services firm Leonard Curtis in Birmingham, will succeed architect and current Civic Voice Trustee, Gavin Orton in November.

Amelia said, “You look at some of the pictures of civic like ‘and the demographic doesn’t always reflect the diversity of the city in which we live. Birmingham Civic Society now needs to get involved with the activities to attract more diverse members and ensure that we are relevant to them. If we don’t do this then the society is not meeting its aim in making the city a better place for everyone, we are only working for the few.

Ms Ladbrook became Birmingham Civic Society's youngest trustee in 2016 and helped to run its citizenship and membership committees and chaired the society's events committee.

Civic volunteers from across England will get a chance to hear from Amelia Ladbrooke when the civic societies gather in Birmingham for Civic Voice’s annual conference in October http://www.civicvoiceconference.com.

Ian Harvey, Executive Director of Civic Voice said, “Civic societies are as relevant today as when the world’s first civic society was created in Sid Vale in Devon in 1846 but we cannot ignore the fact though that 80% of civic volunteers are over 55. We need to be thinking constantly about how we can bring in the new front line to protect conservation areas and the wider historic environment. I am delighted that Birmingham Civic Society in its Centenary year are electing, not just the youngest Chair in the country but Birmingham’s youngest ever Chair.”

Ms Ladbrook said: "I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead Birmingham Civic Society into its next 100 years after a fantastic year of celebrating our centenary.

"The society truly works towards making Birmingham a better place for everyone and I am looking forward to working with people across the region to continue this work."

Amelia finished by saying, “I pledge to make our group one of the most celebratory and forward-thinking civic societies in the UK. I am especially looking forward to meeting civic volunteers from across England and urge any other younger members to get in touch, so we can connect and share experiences.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS
Anyone interested in joining Birmingham Civic Society can visit https://www.birminghamcivicsociety.org.uk/
Anyone interested in meeting Amelia at the Civic Voice Conference can contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Ian Harvey .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
T 07877096968
T @civic_voice