28 January 2008
In praise of activism
Much of last week was taken up with CILIP's new governance arrangements - and the first meeting of the new Council of 12 directly-elected Trustees.
The process already feels different (more like a continuous conversation and less like an occasional drama) and it was good to see the Trustees, the Presidential team, and the senior staff gathered round one large table, working together to take CILIP forward.
What struck me in the build-up to the Council meetings was h ow much time and effort it takes to become a conscientious and effective Trustee - getting your head round a wide range of complex and important issues, assimilating a huge amount of "corporate memory" as background material, and creating the role in the way that actors on stage create the characters in a new play. It is - as they say nowadays in sporting circles - a Big Ask.
The first meeting bodes well for the future - good discussion, good decisions, good humour, and a sense of collective enthusiasm and endeavour - and now stands adjourned until 27 February when we'll complete the agenda.
As ever, I left the meeting impressed by the engagement and activism of our Members. CILIP has a very positive story to tell about the amount of time and effort that Members give to CILIP through volunteer activities -in governance, in policy making and advocacy, in Branches and Groups, and in major programmes like our Framework of Qualifications and Accreditation. As we move forward with the agenda for 2008, we need to recognise and celebrate our activists - and I'd welcome suggestions from you, dear readers, on how we might best do this.
