![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosmolinguistWhat's your name, where are you from, and which committee(s) are you standing for?
Nicholas da Costa
Haringey local party (originally British-Austrian-Portuguese-Jamaican)
Federal Conference Committee
Are you standing for the first time or restanding? If first time what new thing do you bring that nobody else could; if restanding, what about your record are you most proud of that you think should make us vote you back in?
First time standing.
I'm an experienced Conference and Events professional having previously been Head of Conference Services for The Royal Society (the UK's national academy of science) where I was responsible for organising some of the most important scientific events in the UK.
I want to bring my expert knowledge of the conferencing and events field to FCC. But more than that; I want to stand for Federal Conference Committee because I want to make a difference with how our most important democratic institution is run and organised.
Since One Member One Vote, the massive increases in membership since May 2015 and the Brexit vote, we have such a brilliant opportunity to showcase the Liberal Democrats at Conference.
Conference needs to be more inclusive.
If elected, I want all members to feel that they can submit policies at Conference. I want all members to be able to put forward their ideas, and FCC would mentor the members in how to write a motion for conference.
Are you standing for any other committees, if so which ones; and if elected to more than one how do you plan to divide your time?
Not standing for any other committees.
Are you an active member of any SAOs, and if so which ones?
I'm involved with LGBT+ LibDems.
I am also Secretary of the Liberal Democrats Health and Social Care Association, which is currrently going through the process of becoming an SAO.
If someone asked you on the doorstep, the hustings or on TV to sum up in one or two sentences what the Lib Dems, uniquely, stand for – and then why anyone should vote for us – what are your answers?
The Lib Dems stand for freedom from conformity. We are about empowering people to achieve whatever it is that they want to do in life.
What is your view on diversity quotas for committees? Should they be extended to cover more than just gender, scrapped totally, kept as is or something else?
Diversity quotas are very important so that we can ensure that our committee membership reflects not only the membership of our party but also the diversity of this country. I believe that they should be extended to cover ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.
Secrecy rules prevent the party knowing what committees are doing. What will you do to communicate with members; and in what circumstances is confidentiality justified?
Sometimes confidentiality is required for the committees; however, it is important that decisions on many aspects of the work that the committees do is visible and open to members. If elected to the FCC, I would work with our different groups, SAOs, LibDem Voice, LibDem Newbies, and many different groups to provide information on what the FCC is doing. It would also be nice to have open sessions, where FCC can hold 'surgeries' during Conference where they can engage with members.
How would you make Conference more accessible for people who currently cannot attend?
We need to look at more online interactivity with Conference; see if it is possible to have people being able to engage online with the entire process. In addition to that, we need to make sure conference is affordable for people who cannot afford to attend (there are so many additional costs to attending conference); we need to extending the fund for free or reduced attendance costs, and ask donors and other if they can sponsor individuals as well. On accommodation, York Lib Dems are offering accommodation to people for a small fee over spring conference. I think this is an excellent idea and we could look at working with local parties where members offer a spare room for a small fee to those who would like to attend, but can't afford a hotel.
What do you think needs to be done to improve the process of selecting the agendas for Conference?
Trying to fit everything into a short period is extremely difficult, I understand how challenging this can be. When I worked for the University of Birmingham's School of Education, I was in charge of creating the residential courses for teachers on the Special Education Needs courses. Trying to fit the whole residential course into a weekend, and ensure that there were no clashes, and that the popular seminars were not at the same time, was challenging.
It is important that decisions on scheduling are transparent and are communicated.
I think the idea of thematic days at conference (especially autumn conference) is one way of trying to have a focus for the policy areas that people are interested in.
The list of all candidates who have answered can be found here.
Nicholas da Costa
Haringey local party (originally British-Austrian-Portuguese-Jamaican)
Federal Conference Committee
Are you standing for the first time or restanding? If first time what new thing do you bring that nobody else could; if restanding, what about your record are you most proud of that you think should make us vote you back in?
First time standing.
I'm an experienced Conference and Events professional having previously been Head of Conference Services for The Royal Society (the UK's national academy of science) where I was responsible for organising some of the most important scientific events in the UK.
I want to bring my expert knowledge of the conferencing and events field to FCC. But more than that; I want to stand for Federal Conference Committee because I want to make a difference with how our most important democratic institution is run and organised.
Since One Member One Vote, the massive increases in membership since May 2015 and the Brexit vote, we have such a brilliant opportunity to showcase the Liberal Democrats at Conference.
Conference needs to be more inclusive.
If elected, I want all members to feel that they can submit policies at Conference. I want all members to be able to put forward their ideas, and FCC would mentor the members in how to write a motion for conference.
Are you standing for any other committees, if so which ones; and if elected to more than one how do you plan to divide your time?
Not standing for any other committees.
Are you an active member of any SAOs, and if so which ones?
I'm involved with LGBT+ LibDems.
I am also Secretary of the Liberal Democrats Health and Social Care Association, which is currrently going through the process of becoming an SAO.
If someone asked you on the doorstep, the hustings or on TV to sum up in one or two sentences what the Lib Dems, uniquely, stand for – and then why anyone should vote for us – what are your answers?
The Lib Dems stand for freedom from conformity. We are about empowering people to achieve whatever it is that they want to do in life.
What is your view on diversity quotas for committees? Should they be extended to cover more than just gender, scrapped totally, kept as is or something else?
Diversity quotas are very important so that we can ensure that our committee membership reflects not only the membership of our party but also the diversity of this country. I believe that they should be extended to cover ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.
Secrecy rules prevent the party knowing what committees are doing. What will you do to communicate with members; and in what circumstances is confidentiality justified?
Sometimes confidentiality is required for the committees; however, it is important that decisions on many aspects of the work that the committees do is visible and open to members. If elected to the FCC, I would work with our different groups, SAOs, LibDem Voice, LibDem Newbies, and many different groups to provide information on what the FCC is doing. It would also be nice to have open sessions, where FCC can hold 'surgeries' during Conference where they can engage with members.
How would you make Conference more accessible for people who currently cannot attend?
We need to look at more online interactivity with Conference; see if it is possible to have people being able to engage online with the entire process. In addition to that, we need to make sure conference is affordable for people who cannot afford to attend (there are so many additional costs to attending conference); we need to extending the fund for free or reduced attendance costs, and ask donors and other if they can sponsor individuals as well. On accommodation, York Lib Dems are offering accommodation to people for a small fee over spring conference. I think this is an excellent idea and we could look at working with local parties where members offer a spare room for a small fee to those who would like to attend, but can't afford a hotel.
What do you think needs to be done to improve the process of selecting the agendas for Conference?
Trying to fit everything into a short period is extremely difficult, I understand how challenging this can be. When I worked for the University of Birmingham's School of Education, I was in charge of creating the residential courses for teachers on the Special Education Needs courses. Trying to fit the whole residential course into a weekend, and ensure that there were no clashes, and that the popular seminars were not at the same time, was challenging.
It is important that decisions on scheduling are transparent and are communicated.
I think the idea of thematic days at conference (especially autumn conference) is one way of trying to have a focus for the policy areas that people are interested in.
The list of all candidates who have answered can be found here.