The Chamber On Tour!! Big Lottery Supported Project!!
What is the chamber?
An interactive touring Parliament that invites participants to explore issues that are relevant to their community. Unlike the adversarial style of politics we are used to seeing in the media and in PMQ’s, this workshop places a emphasis on finding commonality amongst participants, and through the use of interactive exercises, theatre and storytelling, we hope to develop ideas that can make a meaningful
difference to peoples lives and the paces they live.
What happens in The Chamber?
Participants are presented with a story that reflects the issues that are happening in their locality. The story is brought to life by Actors. Participants consider the perspective of different individuals involved in the story. They are then asked “what needs to be done” in relation to the story. We use an exercise that refines the ideas down to three or four issues that are commonly agreed upon as being the main issues. We then create Three single issue political parties. Participants can join the party that they feel most strongly aligned to. In their parties people come up with A Bill that they would like to make an Act of Parliament. We debate the bills and put forward amendments. The final Act is chosen and people pledge the action they will take to make the change happen.
Who is it for?
Anyone! We have developed this project with a broad range of people in a number of different communities. The Chamber has visited Cities, Towns, Schools, Prisons, and Universities. We have worked with people in business, homeless people, activists, offenders, Looked After Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities. We find that the more varied the experiences of people in the room then the more informative the debate. If needed we can focus the content on specific issues. We have been working with Warwick University and have delivered a series of workshops focusing on public perceptions of crime and criminal justice.