The annual social media event #OurDay highlighting and celebrating the diverse work carried out by councils up and down the country takes place today (Tuesday 20 November).
The 24-hour ‘day in the life of a council’ tweetathon has been organised by the LGA for the last seven years. Last year’s #OurDay was the biggest ever, with nearly 14,000 Twitter accounts sending more than 45,000 tweets with a potential social reach of more than 31 million people. #OurDay trended at number one in the UK and number three in the world.
The LGA, which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, is encouraging as many councillors and local authority staff as possible to take a couple of minutes out of their day to tell the world what they’re doing to keep their communities running as part of the live tweetathon, from midnight on Tuesday 20 November, by using the hashtag #OurDay.
The reputation of local government has never been more important as local authorities are increasingly having to deliver more with less.
The aims of #OurDay include demonstrating the value local government provides to the public, even as councils work in an increasingly challenging financial environment, and highlighting new and innovative schemes, showing how the sector is using social media to benefit residents.
Cllr Peter Fleming, Chairman of the LGA’s Improvement and Innovation Board, said:
“#OurDay has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and we know we can make this the biggest and best yet.
“It is an opportunity for councils to highlight and shout about the amazing work they do for the public and their communities. It showcases a day in the life of local government and shines a light on all the different things that councils do over a 24-hour period.
“Councils work on behalf of their communities, providing a huge variety of services – many hidden – every day to support people and make lives better. This is a great chance for the community to go behind the scenes and hear the stories behind the services.”
Want to take part?
Join the LGA and hundreds of others in sending out the following tweet at noon for maximum impact: