SLCC President Attending ADSO Conference
‘On 25 and 26 November 2024 I attended the Association of Democratic Services Officers’ (ADSO) Conference held at Warwick University. All delegates were welcomed by John Austin, ADSO Chair, who also highlighted the ADSO “Working in a Modern Democracy” report.
‘We then heard from the first speaker, Richard Parker, Mayor of West Midlands, who spoke openly about the challenges he faced coming into the position and his efforts to harmonise cross-party working.
‘Charlotte Eisenhart was introduced as the new CEO of ADSO. Formerly of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), Charlotte was welcomed by all present and participated fully over the two days.
‘Overseas guests, Lisa Garcia, International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC) President, and Arnout van Kooij, Vereniging Van Griffins (VVG) Director, took to the stage and gave a brief introduction on behalf of their organisations, and it was lovely to catch up with Lisa and also Hans and Arnout from the Netherlands.
‘The first day continued with a choice of workshops in the afternoon and an in-depth session on artificial intelligence (AI) which sparked lots of response and questions from delegates.
‘In the evening there was a dinner with annual awards presented to the winners by the Lord Mayor of Coventry. It was heartwarming to see all their hard work acknowledged and celebrated on this special occasion.
‘The following day kicked off with a lively and thought provoking “Question Time” style session with a panel of experts that included Councillor Duggins, Leader of Coventry City Council; Dr Oliver, Senior Lecturer at the University of the West of England, and also Councillor Stevens, Chair of NALC.
‘The remainder of the morning was filled with facilitated discussions; I attended the session on remote meetings which led to a passionate debate between the officers and all present. After lunch there were further workshop choices filling the afternoon, leading finally to the conclusion of the conference.
‘I had a great couple of days, and it was very interesting to see local government from the viewpoint of the democratic officers. I feel I now have a greater understanding of the issues they face and how we can identify with many of these as working clerks.
‘My thanks to all at ADSO for giving me the opportunity to attend.’
SLCC President Gina Lopes PSLCC
