Public legal education :
Improving lives, empowering communities

Seasons greeetings and welcome to issue no.7 of the Public Legal Education Network newsletter.

Plenet Conference 2010
'How does PLE advance a culture of civil and social justice ?'

Book before 31st December for a 15% discount ! (758 KB)
(Click on the link and go to page 4)

Plenet invites you to its second legal empowerment conference, taking place on 10th February at Inmarsat Global in London.

Lord Bach, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice will address the conference along with many other influential speakers.

Delegates have the opportunity to see Theatre ADAD performing and running a workshop on theatre in education techniques.

Workshop and seminar topics include advice and legal services: prevention and early intervention, youth justice approaches, PLE and equalities: challenging discrimination, adult learners and legal capability, and research and evaluation.

Remember to book early ! Conference flyer and booking form (758 KB)

Link to: Plenet Conference 2010

Legal capability

Legal capability is defined as the capabilities that a person needs to deal effectively with law related issues. These capabilities consist of three areas: knowledge, skills and attitudes, emphasising that capability needs to go beyond knowledge of the law.

Martin Jones from Plenet has published a new paper on legal capability. He outlines the origins of the capability approach and relates these to the abilities people need to deal with legal issues. He concludes that a two-step approach is needed for the development of legal capability - firstly at a foundation level and then at the problem level.

Read Martin's analysis and proposals here: Legal Capability Plenet 2009 (220 KB). Your comments are welcome....

Link to: Legal capability

Health Law Partnership (HeLP) - Georgia

HeLP was the first health law partnership for children in the Southern United States. They provide free civil legal services to low-income children (and their guardians) who are hospital patients. Their educational partnership promotes public health through interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

More about the Health Law Partnership

Link to: Health Law Partnership (HeLP) Education Programmes

Wishing everyone a happy and restful holiday from all of the team at Plenet.

December 2009

60 second interview

Atul Sharda has led on the development of PLE at the Ministry of Justice.

Atul's top tip:

'PLE needs to learn from others, use that knowledge to grow, and be prepared to pass on the seeds for others to nurture and sustain.'

Atul's interview in full here

Exhibition Space at Plenet Conference

If you would like to book exhibition space or arrange to have an insert in the delegate bag, contact Jo on 01273 326 165 or email her at: events@keynoteconsulting.co.uk

Legal Literacy Camps (Panchayat Shivir) in India

Legal Literacy Camps set up in villages across India are designed to improve the participation of tribal people in policy debates. Trainers use practical 'power tools' to help redress the balance of power and give marginalised people a voice.

More about the Legal Literacy Camps and Power Tools

Plenet website update

We have introduced a new category for international projects and research. We shall be adding new projects in the new year. Please let us know if you know about an exemplary project.

Link to: International PLE

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December 2009