Just A Minute – The World In 60 Seconds!

October 2012

The launches of Sheffield Speaks on 15 October and Bradford Speaks on the following day will both provide the platform for people to speak for sixty seconds on any subject under the sun. Temporary Speakers’ Corner – which it is hoped will become permanent features of both city centres next year - form the centre piece of wide-ranging programmes of events during and beyond Local Democracy Week which runs from 15 to 21 October.

Events in Sheffield include a debate on Sheffield Past, Present and Future organised by Sheffield 50+ and Sheffield Futures to explore how young and older people can make their voices heard, a discussion organised by the Workers’ Educational Association about why people do or don’t participate in the democratic process, a meeting organised by Sheffield for Democracy to explore how community assemblies might develop and a discussion led by John Steel, lecturer in Journalism Studies at Sheffield University, on the roles of free speech and a free press in our democracy.

Bradford events feature a workshop led by the Workers’ Educational Association to explore the strength of democracy in the UK today and a discussion in which John Wilson of Wilsons Solicitors challenge the legal status quo and invites members of the public to join him.

Both programmes also include hustings for the candidates in the elections for Police and Crime Commissioner which take place in November.

Further information about the initiatives and links to the programmes can be found on the Sheffield and Bradford pages.