u3a

South West Region

Council Representatives

Photo of Paul Ward — Marian Luck, Southwest Region Representative

Marian Luck and Paul Ward have been elected as Council Representatives for the South West Region. The manner in which the two Council Representatives manage their roles within the region will be decided by the member u3as and will vary depending on local requirements.

The primary purposes of Council Representatives are to reflect the views of the u3a Council to their member u3as and ensure that the views, activities and achievements of the u3as are presented to the Council.

Council Representatives bring expertise and knowledge from their respective constituency to assist in their role.

The Chair of Network Link has a similar role in respect of those Networks that are part of Network Link.

What does the Council do?

Many u3as have asked this question, and we can sum this up as:

The Council is the voice of u3a

What does this mean in detail.

To be an effective voice for u3as
- Engaging with u3as
- Representing their views
- Making decisions about issues of primary concern to u3as
To work closely and collaboratively with the Board
To be Involved in the annual strategy and budget cycle
To identify and deliver to the Board u3a priorities annually by September
To identify and raise collective problems and concerns expressed by u3as and networks
To identify and raise emerging needs of u3as and networks, and make recommendations to the Board
To operate the Strategy Groups to develop implementation plans for the agreed strategic plan
To assess the impact on u3as and networks of major u3a related developments and initiatives
To encourage widespread sharing of positive u3a experiences

These were laid out in the Standing Orders for the Council that u3as voted into existence in October 2024.

The Council is there to support the u3as in their region/nation.

2026 in the South West Region

A year has now gone by since the Council was formed. We have made some progress but hope to make more progress in the coming year.

I would like to thank Susan Parker for all her hard work over the last five and a half years as Trustee and Council Rep and all the help and advice she has given me over the last year. I am pleased to say that Susan has agreed to stay on the Regional Team so we won’t lose all her experience.

With our new Council Rep in place, it is time to move forward. Marian will look after the north of the region and Paul will look after the south to include Cornwall, Isles of Scilly, the Channel Islands, Devon and West Dorset. We will work closely together including covering one another and working together to organize regional events.

We are hoping to set up Peer Groups so the people in different roles can talk together to share their successes and help each other with problems.

We would like to do this for all committee roles and for those who undertake roles that aren’t part of the committee. We want to try and create an inclusive feel for ALL u3as in the region, so no one feels that they are alone and have to struggle on without any support.

Please contact us when problems/conflicts first arise and don’t leave them until the last minute. These things are usually easier to solve at the beginning than left until things have escalated. We are here to help you and support you.

We will endeavour to update this page on a quarterly basis

6th April 2026

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