» LG Week 2007
» Ideas for LG Week activities
» Activities and competitions to download
» LG Week Awards Evening
» LG Week Events Across NSW
Local Government Week 2007
30 July - 5 August 2007
Local Government Week provides a focus for councils to promote the importance of Local Government to the community. The Local Government and Shires Associations of NSW are coordinating Local Government Week again this year because there continues to be strong demand among councils for the event. The week provides opportunities for public participation in Local Government and shows the community how they can be part of their council's day to day activities. It enables councils to educate the community about the importance of the services that local government provides. Councils across NSW hold a vast array of special events during this time.
Local Government Week was launched by the Local Government and Shires Association of New South Wales with the Local Government Week Awards dinner where the Bluett Award was presented along with the Premier's Youth Awards, the Heart Foundation of NSW Awards and the truelocal.com.au RH Dougherty Awards. Information on these awards can be found under the Awards for Excellence page.
The 2007 Local Government Week theme is A Climate for Change, which reflects not only the current interest in global warming and the issues arising from climate change, renewable energy sources and environmental sustainability but incorporates the need for local councils to adapt in an ever changing world so they can not only survive, but thrive. Councils need to embrace change to deal with the increasing demands on them to deliver vital public services, by better managing their scarce resources, by attracting and retaining a qualified workforce, by better strategic planning and by working together and with their communities for the benefit of all.
Elite Sponsor
Premier Sponsor
Ideas for LG Week activities 2007
For ideas ofactivities to run during LG Week, and competition templates and exercises to download, please go to the following section: Ideas and activities.
Artwork and Materials
In past years, the LGSA had produced a range of merchandise for sale to councils such as rulers, posters, rubbers, stickers, etc, but they were not utilised enough to make this viable. Instead, we organised some quick, easy and inexpensive print options for you to celebrate Local Government Week. Posters and logos are now available to download.
Logos
The LG Week logo is available to download in various formats to display on your website or printed material.
Colour logo example |
Mono logo example |
To download a logo, right click the file link and select "save target as" and save to a location on your computer or network drive.
Logo format | Download logo files |
| WMF Medium resolution format for use in Microsoft Office applications such as Word and PowerPoint. |  WMF Format (15KB) |
JPEG | JPEG Format (431KB) |
| GIF For web use only. | GIF Format (10KB) |
| EPS For use in professional design and printing in colour and black and white formats. | EPS Format (893KB) |
Posters
Posters can be downloaded below and printed direct to your own printer as an A4 or A3 poster, colour or black and white. The posters are designed with a space for you to add your event dates and event name information; so you can have the same styled template for all your Local Government Week events whilst being able to alter the information specific to that event.
Colour poster example |
Mono poster example |
To download a poster, right click the file link and select "save target as" and save to a location on your computer or network drive.
Poster format | Download poster files |
PDF format - A4 | |
PDF format - A3 | PDF Format - A3 (154KB) |
Word format - A4 | Word Format - A4 (463KB) |
Word format - A3 |
Ideas for LG Week activities 2007
Some suggestions are:
- School visits - set up sessions at the local schools, with the mayor, councillors and/or members of the environment team to talk about what councils do and what may be the potential for school involvement. Hold a debate or schools competition about what climate change or the environment means to them and make sure this is inclusive of various age groups.
- Create a postcard competition - members of the community (school kids, students, adults) can create postcards that detail issues that they see climate change is affecting in their local area. The image on the front of the card would be any visual image or photograph that records the qualities of a particular issue or place and on the back of the card, they would briefly write an explanation of the issue they have chosen. The postcards could be exhibited by the council, collated into a publication or website, or produced by the council for sale or promotion.
- Open day - highlight any of your council facilities that interact with the general public, including offices - library, swimming pool, town hall, civic centre, community hall, and hold an open day where members of the public can visit and find out more about Council's activities and future plans. This is a great opportunity to establish communication networks, websites, newsletter, brochures, events and other ways of engaging with your major audience, the members of your community.
- Create partnerships with local businesses - seek partners from your local business community that are involved with climate change initiatives. An example could be promoting the local food producers involved in the local farmers and growers markets.
- Photographic competition - run a competition through the local newspaper on environment and produce a website or publication with the winning entries, or run them in the newspaper.
- Careers in council - encourage young people to consider working in environmental roles in Local Government by having staff do radio interviews on the diversity of their jobs.
- Community meeting - organise a community street party or multi-cultural fair day to get different nationalities meeting together, particularly in light of recent racial tensions in parts of our community.
- Publicise the good news stories in your area with a special newspaper section
- Website links - put the LG Week logo on your site and a link to www.lgsa.org.au/lgweek.
- Email signature - include this message on your emails:
Local Government Week
30 July - 5 August
a climate for change
- Logos - use the Local Government Week logo on your websites and on stationery. These are available to download in the section below.
- Hold the council meeting at a different venue
Your feedback
We would like to hear your feedback on these activities and on Local Government Week in general. Please let us know if you found these activities useful and any suggestions for next year are welcome by emailing events@lgsa.org.au.
We would like to see the results of any competitions your council has run during Local Government Week. Please send photos or scanned in copies of winning entrants to events@lgsa.org.au for display on the LGSA website.
Activities and competitions to download
The LGSA has developed competitions and activities for children, to be run during Local Government Week, to raise awareness of climate change issues and the ways they can help at home, at school and in the community.
Finish the sentence - classroom exercise
Children have to match the start of the sentence with the correct ending. The sentences reflect ways they can help with the fight against climate change at home, at school, or out and about. This activity would most suitably be aimed at children aged 8 to 14 years, or upper primary (stage 2, 3 and 4). The exercise can be downloaded below in PDF format and an answer sheet is also provided.
Finish the sentence - classroom exercise (41KB)
Finish the sentence - answer sheet (39KB)
Enviro-Vine - drawing competition
The Enviro-Vine template (below) has 8 vine leaves for children to draw pictures in of people or objects they think are friendly to the enviroment that will help reduce the impact of Climate Change. The aim of this activity is to prompt them to think about what they and their community can do to help. The competition would most suitably be aimed at children aged 8 to 14 years, or upper primary in school.
The template is in PDF format and can be downloaded and printed out for distribution by each Council.
Enviro-Vine drawing competition template (50KB)
Examples
Some good examples of images that could be drawn in the Enviro-Vine are below. You may want to suggest your own examples that better represent the matters that concern your own local area, or you may not want to give any suggestions as it may be an interesting exercise to see what children think is important in their local community.
- Planting a tree
- Walking to school
- Turning a light off
- Turning appliances off like the TV
- Having a short shower
- Using the half flush on a toilet
- Recycling waste
- Using green or cloth shopping bags
- Water tanks in the garden
- Solar panels on the house
- Wearing a jumper instead of using a heater
- Drying clothes in the sun
Who cares? - colouring in competition/activity
This can be run as a competition or classroom activity where children need to indicate which people in the picture are caring about the environment by colouring them in. This activity would most suitably be aimed at children aged 3 - 12 years, or pre-school to upper primary (stage 1, 2 and 3). The template is a PDF and can be downloaded below and a version showing the correct people to colour in is also available to aid marking entries.
Who cares? - colouring in competition/activity (215KB)
Your feedback
We would like to hear your feedback on these activities and on Local Government Week in general. Please let us know if you found these activities useful and any suggestions for next year are welcome by emailing events@lgsa.org.au.
We would like to see the results of any competitions your council has run during Local Government Week. Please send photos or scanned in copies of winning entrants to events@lgsa.org.au for display on the LGSA website.
Local Government Week Awards Evening
Wednesday 1 August 2007
This prestigious dinner was held on Wednesday 1 August at Dockside Convention Centre, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Park, Sydney. Hosted by the City of Sydney, the MC for the night was television celebrity Scott McGregor. 20 NSW councils were recognised for outstanding contributions to their communities. The NSW Minister for Fair Trading, Youth, and Volunteering Linda Burney, the Leader of the Opposition, Barry O'Farrell, the Shadow Minister for Local Government, Chris Hartcher and the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, joined radio personality Adam Spencer, 250 councillors, council staff, industry representatives and sponsors at the Annual Local Government Awards.
Awards presented on the night were the AR Bluett Memorial Award, truelocal.com.au RH Dougherty Awards, Kellogg Heart Foundation Awards, Premier's Youth Week Awards and Multicultural Health Awards. Please visit the Awards for Excellence page on this website for links and more information on each award.
Award Winners and Commendations
2007 Award Winners and Commendations - full list (556KB)
Presentation
2007 LG Week Awards Presentation (3.87MB)
Photos
Photographic prints and digital images from the awards night are available for purchase on the EventPix website under 2007 Local Government Awards.
Images for media use: Please contact Kristie Down, Media and Communications Officer on (02) 9242 4061 or kristie.down@lgsa.org.au with your photo number. To select your photo number, please view the contact sheet below:
Elite Sponsor
Premier Sponsor
Local Government Week Events Across NSW
30 July - 5 August 2007
Many councils across NSW celebrated Local Government Week with a wide variety of activities for the community, taking on the theme for the year "A Climate for Change". Here are just some of the reports and feedback the LGSA has received from councils.
Tweed Shire Council
Tweed Shire Council celebrated Local Government Week 2007 with a Primary & Secondary Schools Debating Competition; Free Bus Tours to learn more about current works; Risk Management Planning Workshops for Event Organisers; Launch of Village Timber Art trail & Tweed Festivals Trail. Tweed Council have compiled an event report on their 2007 events, which is available below.
Event Report - LG Week in the Tweed (1.63MB)
Please visit the Tweed Shire Council website.
Randwick City Council
Randwick City Council held a very successful Open day on Wednesday 1 August to celebrate both Local Government Week and to highlight to the community their win of the prestigious Bluett Award, for Excellence in Local Government.
Hundreds of local residents, visitors and over 300 school children enjoyed live music, a free BBQ, informative talks and workshops on a range of topics from native birds to waste recycling and activities such as recycled art. Also included was a chat with the Mayor,free native plants, subsidised pet-micro chipping and Historical Tours of the Chambers and meeting rooms.
Event evaluation showed the event well welcomed by local residents happy to make face to face contact with council staff in a warm relaxed environment.
It was so well received that Council will endeavour to open its door once every two years so that residents may learn something new and more importantly help minimise common day myths and stereotype views on local council and their staff. The emails and feedback from local residents has shown that Randwick achieved the objective & purpose of our Open Day.
Photos from Randwick's LG Week activities (881KB)
For further information please visit the Randwick City Council website.
Bathurst Regional Council
Bathurst Regional Council has embraced this year's Local Government Week theme A Climate for Change with environmental champion Ian Kiernan, the special guest at the Council's Local Government Week launch. Taking an active part in the week's events, Ian will present prize winning local primary school kids in the Human Habitat Diorama and make a Bathurst postcard competitions, as well as adjudicate a "Chew the Fat on the Environment " debate with local high schools.
For further information please visit the Bathurst Regional Council website.
Griffith City Council
Griffith City Council not only celebrated Local Government Week but also the 20th anniversary of being declared a city. To celebrate Local Government Week 2007, Griffith City Council held the following events: Drawing / Collage Competition at Griffith City Library, Animal Microchipping at a reduced rate, free swimming lessons for local High Schools at the Aquatic Centre, a volunteers morning tea, a bus tour, a Tri-Sports Challenge, and a Pioneer Park Mini Action Day.
Media Release - Local Government Week a celebration for Griffith (35KB)
For further information please visit the Griffith City Council website.
Hawkesbury City Council
Hawkesbury's Local Government Week was filled with fun and educational programs and projects for the community. For more information regarding Local Government Week please phone (02) 4560 4430.
For further information please visit the Hawkesbury City Council website.
Holroyd City Council
Holroyd City Council's Local Government Week Open House Day was held on Saturday 4 August from 10am to 3pm with free food, entertainment, cuppas, history tours, recycled sculpture competition for children, Holroyd quiz, fascinating information displays, a Junior Mayor for the Day and a Community Safety Award presentation.
For further information please visit the Holroyd City Council website.
Mosman Council
Mosman Council hosted a Sustainable Living Expo on Saturday 4 August 2007 from 10am to 3pm, a great day out and a source of information and inspiration for people of various ages and interests. The Expo was held in and around the main Mosman Council buildings, primarily the Mosman Art Gallery as well as the Civic Centre and Youth Development Centre. There were around 35 stalls at the Expo addressing sustainability themes.
For futher information please visit the Mosman Council website.
Strathfield Council
Strathfield Council held free activities, displays and giveaways to celebrate Local Government Week. Features of the Week included; Climate Change and Development Application workshops, National Tree / Family Fun Day, behind the scenes tour of the library, native plant giveaway, free car child restraint checks and schools will visit council to experience local government outside the classroom. Information displays about Council's services and programs were held at Strathfield Central Library throughout the week and at Strathfield Town Centre.
For a detailed program of activities visit the Strathfield Council website or contact the Customer Service Centre on (02) 9748 9999.
