Take Action Join a local group Fawcett Milton Keynes Milton Keynes Fawcett is one of our most active groups and meets regularly. With a number of upcoming events and great connections with other organisations, the Milton Keynes group is invaluable to Fawcett’s work. The group played a crucial part in gathering evidence for our report on women in local government as well as staging regular public campaigns. Fawcett Milton Keynes The Fawcett group in Milton Keynes was started in 2014 by a team of local women and activists, working to give voice and visibility to women in the new city. We carry out research on women in Milton Keynes, and are also involved in political action and public campaigns. We try to maintain good connections with other organisations. Contact Email: m[email protected]Twitter: @fawcett_mkBlog: https://miltonkeynesfawcettgroup.blogspot.com/ We would love to hear from other Fawcett members living in the area, or groups anywhere with similar interests. Women and Local Democracy This is a long-term interest, dating back to research carried out in 2015/16. It forms a major part of our current work. In 2020 we launched a series of discussion papers on women and local democracy in Milton Keynes. We’ve shared these papers with Milton Keynes Council, local political parties, and local and national organisations concerned with widening participation in local democracy. In line with Fawcett’s national commitments, our aim is to promote greater diversity in local government, including increasing women’s participation. Read more: Fawcett Milton Keynes: Women and Local Democracy Women who Made Milton Keynes In November 2017, Milton Keynes celebrated 50 years since its founding, and MK Fawcett contributed to the anniversary through a touring exhibition entitled ‘Women Who Made Milton Keynes’. It featured the lives of 10 women who had had a huge impact on the identity of the new city but whose roles remained uncelebrated, often because they had chosen to work as groups rather than as individuals. Our research for the exhibition sparked an interest in documenting the lives and experiences of local women, which continues in various aspects of our current work. Read more: Women Who Made Milton Keynes Voices of Women MK (VOWMK) In 2020 Fawcett Milton Keynes Fawcett co-founded Voices of Women Milton Keynes (VOWMK), a partnership of local women’s organisations, to champion women’s voices and to make Milton Keynes a better place for girls and women, in all their diversity, to live, work and thrive. Read more: Voices of Women Milton Keynes Conversation Cafes Since March 2022, several members of Milton Keynes Fawcett have been out and about in the community, speaking to local women about their experiences of life in the city. Read more: Fawcett Milton Keynes Conversation Cafes VAWG and Back-off During autumn and winter 2022/23, we have a major focus on activities to end male violence against women and girls, and on supporting the national Back Off Campaign to prevent harassment of women attending abortion clinics. Read more: MK VAWG and Back Off International Women’s Day 2023 IWD23 #EmbraceEquity Through our work we’ve become interested in the power of data, and this year on IWD we’re contributing to a ‘drop-in’ event organised by the Milton Keynes Doughnut Economics Group. We will look through the lens of doughnut economics at women’s health to help us connect stories and data - the good news stories and the inequities. You can see more here on the event. Networking MK Fawcett has always been keen to expand our knowledge of ‘What Makes MK Tick’ and so our members form part of many networks. VOWMK provides a useful partnership through which to collaborate with other groups. In addition, some of us have worked with Healthwatch MK in the past, as well as being active in issues to do with mental health and the wider Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) Integrated Care System agenda. We have developed very good working relationships with Community Action Milton Keynes, MK:ACT (Women’s Aid) and the Sexual Assault and Abuse Support Service. Some of us have been involved in working to support recent groups of women refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. We also have strong links with the Open University and other academic institutions through some members’ current and previous employment. Blog Please follow our monthly blog, which aims to cover topics of concern and interest to women everywhere. Recent blogs, some serious and others less so, have covered the concept of sisterhood, the Iranian women’s protest and reproductive rights. Contact Email: m[email protected]Twitter: @fawcett_mkBlog: https://miltonkeynesfawcettgroup.blogspot.com/ The group would love to hear from other Fawcett members living in the area. Manage Cookie Preferences