Aberdeenshire Council is preparing to live-stream its first committee meeting this week.
Members of the public can watch the meeting of the full Aberdeenshire Council on Thursday 9 March.
The objective is to really open up the process of democracy and make it more accessible and transparent. Often there are geographical barriers that prevent people engaging with the work of the council, or they don’t feel able to be part of the process. Webcasting helps to combat both of those issues.
It is already in place in over 70 local authorities across the UK. In Scotland at least eight are actively promoting webcasting and it is also in place in the Scottish Government
Members of the public can watch the meeting this week from 10:15am through the webcasting portal. https://aberdeenshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
After the meeting concludes it will be archived on the site, and will stay there for six months.
Provost of Aberdeenshire Council and chair of Full Council Hamish Vernal said
Webcasting is a well-known way of opening up the democratic process and allowing the public to better engage with the work of the council. Each and every member of Aberdeenshire Council values the openness and transparency of local government and it is important that we uphold these values.
The meetings that will be webcasting in the coming months will be among the most interesting, as the public watch the process by which the council moves into the next financial year, and as we progress toward local government elections in May.
Webcasting is proven to support the principles of openness and transparency and I am pleased that we are joining a list of other authorities who have adopted this way of working.
The papers being discussed can be found here on the Aberdeenshire Council website.
