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Influencing and Social Change

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Influencing and social change encompasses all the work being done to support members, and the movement more broadly, to use our combined voices and get involved in our communities about issues that matter. 

u3a founders were clear that the movement should have a voice in public policy discussions:

'The u3a movement was originally conceived to play a number of roles – including to have a strong public voice and take action on issues of importance to members and people in later life more broadly.'

Eric Midwinter, u3a co-founder, July 2022


u3as Making an Impact

Getting involved and making a difference in our communities is not new for u3as.

Here are some examples:

Members of u3a standing in front of an electric bus where they held awareness raising workshops as part of COP26 in Glasgow, 2021

Resources

Influencing and Social Change: Checklist for u3as

u3a members joining Rubbish Friends initiative in the North West

The issues u3as choose to take action on may be very diverse and range in purpose and nature of activities.

Taking action and working across the political spectrum with policy makers are all legitimate and valuable activities for the Trust and u3as more broadly to take part in. However, it is vital that we follow high standards of good practice.

This checklist provides a series of questions for consideration so that u3as can make an informed assessment for each activity.

Click on the button below to download the checklist.


Get in touch

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about our Influencing and Social Change work, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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