In more detail
A community is a group of people who share a common interest, values and/or identity. The word ‘community’ comes from the Latin word ‘communis’ meaning ‘things held together’. Dialogue refers to words exchanged between people. The word ‘dialogue’ comes from Greek words meaning ‘words between’. So, 'community dialogue’ means something like: ‘words between us that help to hold things together’. A conversation with purpose and meaning.
Community dialogue is largely how civil society and the community groups and others which make it up, decide what to do. Whilst public sector bodies, like councils, make their decisions based on elections and on consultations; and businesses may make their decisions based on the market; making decisions in civil society involves chatting them through?
Sustainable progress
If you want your neighbourhood to be somewhere which is improved because of the things people do as families and communities - civil society - then creating the means for dialogue matters a great deal. Self-sustaining improvement comes from being able to talk to each other so we can work out how to make progress. Which means, investing in the means for community dialogue - a local community hub, a hyperlocal website, community lunches - and using community dialogue as a way of community planning is investing in the long-term ability of your neighbourhood community to make progress.
Could you start neighbourhood improvement not be organising a consultation, but by looking at developing the means for people to get involved in community dialogue?
| Key Facts:
If public services make decisions through elections and formal consultations; busineses make their decisions dependent on the market; civil society - communities - make decisions through community dialogue: 'words between us that help to hold things together’. Perhaps one way to get sustainable improvement going in a neighbourhood is to focus on making better ways that people can talk and listen to one another? |
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BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY PLANNING TOOLKIT DEFINITION SHEET This sheet may be reproduced in paper or electromic or any other form but please mention it was made by Chamberlain Forum Limited for Birmingham City Council supported by Department for Communities and Local Government.
| created: 2016-07-08 11:48:32 | by: admin | status: f published |