Annual General Meeting of the East Oxford Community Association
Wednesday 1st December 6.30pm for 7.00pm sharp
East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street
Open to all members of the EOCA
Wednesday 1st December 6.30pm for 7.00pm sharp
East Oxford Community Centre, Princes Street
Open to all members of the EOCA
East Oxford Community Centre is facing important changes at the moment. These could be a great opportunity, or could represent a serious threat to a crucial community facility and its independence. How this happens all depends on how we, the local residents and users, now act.
The AGM will elect a new management committee for the Association. A major issue for the new committee will be the City Council's offer of a temporary manager to straighten out the affairs of the community centre. For more details see:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/2004/11/300935.html
EOCC has traditionally run itself, so this is quite a new departure. At the last management committee, the trustees in attendance had a consensus that the manager was a good idea - necessary to sort out the mess the centre is in, and an opportunity to run it better than in recent years. This is not however a unanimous view among activists at the EOCC. Some people see the manager as the "thin end of the wedge", where the EOCA will end up losing its traditional independence in favour of New Labour-style "modernisation". Behind all this, and something we all have to be very vigilant about in the coming months, is the as-yet-unpublished review of community centres by the City Council, which is rumoured to contain proposals to close some centres. One such story is a proposal that the (very valuable) site of EOCC would be partly sold off for housing, leaving the new kitchen development and not much else. Hopefully this is not a serious proposal, but all residents and users will have to be fiercely on their guard about such "rationalization", and ready to campaign should it be proposed.
More positively, the AGM offers the opportunity for members to look to the future of maintaining and improving a truly vibrant community centre. To have a vote, membership forms are downloadable from here: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/298705.html.
You can join on the night, and also make nominations for the management committee. All current members have been sent nomination forms, or they are collectable from Clare at EOCC Monday to Thursday 9-12.
Get involved and have your voice heard!
The AGM will elect a new management committee for the Association. A major issue for the new committee will be the City Council's offer of a temporary manager to straighten out the affairs of the community centre. For more details see:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/oxford/2004/11/300935.html EOCC has traditionally run itself, so this is quite a new departure. At the last management committee, the trustees in attendance had a consensus that the manager was a good idea - necessary to sort out the mess the centre is in, and an opportunity to run it better than in recent years. This is not however a unanimous view among activists at the EOCC. Some people see the manager as the "thin end of the wedge", where the EOCA will end up losing its traditional independence in favour of New Labour-style "modernisation". Behind all this, and something we all have to be very vigilant about in the coming months, is the as-yet-unpublished review of community centres by the City Council, which is rumoured to contain proposals to close some centres. One such story is a proposal that the (very valuable) site of EOCC would be partly sold off for housing, leaving the new kitchen development and not much else. Hopefully this is not a serious proposal, but all residents and users will have to be fiercely on their guard about such "rationalization", and ready to campaign should it be proposed.
More positively, the AGM offers the opportunity for members to look to the future of maintaining and improving a truly vibrant community centre. To have a vote, membership forms are downloadable from here:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/10/298705.html. You can join on the night, and also make nominations for the management committee. All current members have been sent nomination forms, or they are collectable from Clare at EOCC Monday to Thursday 9-12.
Get involved and have your voice heard!