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Greetings
The Bank of I.D.E.A.S. is passionately committed to initiatives that engage young women and men to lead and teach. Young people can bring amazing assets to any development situation, including passion, idealism, commitment to issues like sustainability, impatience, technology and social networking skills, collaborative attitudes, ability to interest the media etc etc .
This newsletter highlights a number of youth initiatives and programs. Check out the stories of:
The Bank of I.D.E.A.S. is passionately committed to initiatives that engage young women and men to lead and teach. Young people can bring amazing assets to any development situation, including passion, idealism, commitment to issues like sustainability, impatience, technology and social networking skills, collaborative attitudes, ability to interest the media etc etc .
This newsletter highlights a number of youth initiatives and programs. Check out the stories of:
- Wollongong University students facilitating a gigantic community conversation in the town of Coleambally;
- young people being mobilised in Healesville and Halls Creek to design new town entrance statements;
- young students in Kalamunda implementing a community green audit; and
- innovative youth development projects from London (Canada), Ingersoll (Canada) and Christchurch (New Zealand).
(Margaret Wheatley -
Author of ‘Turning to One Another – Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future’)
Click on the following links for the latest program and set of workshops.
Wonderful news to hear that our great Nebraskan friend Gerry Osborn has been awarded the Connecting Nebraskans Award for his service to rural community economic development. Gerry personifies the passion and commitment that builds local rural communities.The Award summarised his service to Rural Nebraska:
‘A lifelong Ainsworth resident, Osborn began volunteering as a teenager. Past efforts included leading the Teen-Canteen project/operation; providing adult leadership to local Cub Scouts; founding and managing for 22 years a local Little League Baseball program; serving as two-term commissioner on the original Nebraska Rural Development Commission; serving on the Ainsworth School Board for 20 years (15 years as board president); serving as state president of the Postmaster’s Association; and serving two four-year mayoral terms.
Current activities include serving 63 years as NOAA official local weather observer; 40 years as a lay person in public education (presently serving on two state advisory committees); chairing the Nebraska Volunteering Service Commission’s Public Relations Subcommittee; advising the Nebraska Community Improvement Program; serving as a member of the Partnership for Rural Nebraska, as an original member of the annual three-day volunteer Sandhill Discovery event, and as a member of the Central Nebraska Economic Development District’s Executive Committee.’
Congratulations Gerry !
The Working Group has now considered the matter and has issued an ‘ALERT’ to Councils across Victoria. This is in response to an unprecedented number of sustainability challenges (e.g. climate change, peak oil, water shortage, population growth, bio diversity etc ) that are expected to confront Victorian communities in the short to medium term future.
Click here here to download a copy of the MAV alert.
This is the name of a n excellent publication by our Canadian friend Roy Provost. Its four parts – ‘Turbocharge
Your Attititude’, ‘Turbocharge Your Employees’, ‘Turbocharge Your Customers’ and ‘Turbocharge Your Business’ provides a wealth of practical advice to the small retailer needing to go against the big retail boys. Strongly recommended.Click here for Roy’s website and to order.
Recently this Trust in Christchurch, New Zealand invited Peter Kenyon to facilitate a workshop on Asset Based Community Development.
What an amazing discovery for Peter – the Papanui Youth Development Trust and their Te Koru centre represent one of the world’s most innovative youth development initiatives.
It provides an incredible range of affordable quality programmes and events for young people and their parents. The Centre incorporates an eight metre indoor rock climbing wall, café, art room, music room and recording studio, computer suite, healthy room, games room with PS3’s etc . The complex is the result of collaborative use of the assets of several churches and and demonstrates what any community can do with vision and commitment.
Click here for more details.
YOU is about places and spaces where all young people can learn and create opportunities to build their futures. Another inspirational project that all communities could learn from.
Click here for the story or check out their website.
Click here for newspaper article and here for a copy of the Café Conversations tool.
This is the title of a wonderful publication by Luther Snow. Luther is internationally known as a ABCD Practitioner, especially with his work with faith communities. This book is both inspiring and practical. He demystifies asset mapping as a technique with a set of tools, and the simple recipe – ‘recognise gifts and interests, connect the dots, and vote with your feet’. While ostensibly aimed at congregational and religious life, the publication is a useful manual for anyone trying to transform institutions, communities or nations.
Click here to purchase.
- Step 1 – a community sustainability audit to discover which groups and businesses are doing what in the area of sustainability activities, services and products. This will result in information that can be translated into a
‘Community Green Guide’ , a website and Community Expo.
- Step 2 will involve a series of ‘community conversations’ in local cafes and pubs to bring locals together to share their thoughts on developing community resilience in terms of energy use, transport, food security, relocalisation.
The Coleambally CREATE Project is an initiative of the Coleambally community in response to the loss of water entitlement and changes in national water policy, and the need to diversify the economic base of the community. CREATE stands for ‘Coleambally Revitalisation of Employment, Activity,
Trade and Enterprise’.The initial event of CREATE was a ‘Community Conversations‘ Week facilitated by 23 students and 3 staff from Wollongong University, the Bank of I. D.E.A.S., Regional Development Australia – Riverina , Department of Innovation NSW and a local Reference Group. The passion, commitment, professionalism and use of creative conversation activities by the students resulted in an incredible range of ideas and possibilities which have now been captured in a Coleambally Economic and Action Community Plan. The combination of student energy and fresh eyes and the wisdom and experiences of locals was a truly powerful combination.
For more information on CREATE, contact Lynne Stuckings, President, Coleambally Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Chair, CREATE Reference Group - lastuckings@bigpond.au and for information on the involvement of students contact Melissa Zaccagnini , Manager of the Centre for Student Engagement at Wollongong University – ph 02 42218024 or email - melissaz@uow.edu.au.
Click here to download an article from The Observer, Oct 7th 2009.
Click the image to enlarge.
This is another example of an inspiring community initiative where local people have responded creatively to the needs and assets of their young people. Located in the small town of Ingersoll, Canada (population – 10,000), the local Town Council has provided the leadership in purchasing an old primary school and converting it into a youth centre complex that focuses on creating career and life options for the 12-18 year old group.The youth centre complex involves activity spaces, café/lounge, technology spaces, recording studio etc as well as a host of supportive youth services staff. Simply a great model for small rural communities.
For more details or contact Bill Mates, Director of Economic Development at the Corporation of the Town of Ingersoll at email bmates@ingersoll.ca. Diary to check out their website, which is currently under construction.
Over the last couple of
months, Peter Kenyon from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. has been involved with
these two very diverse communities in facilitating workshops that
mobilised the involvement of local people in developing new town
entrance statements. In particular, both communities have mobilised the
active contribution of their young people. Click here for recent newspaper article on the activity in Halls Creek.
For examples of town entrance statements, click here to visit Bank of I.D.E.A.S. Photo Gallery.
For information on Peter’s ‘Town Entrance Statement’ workshops, contact him on pk@bankofideas.com.au.
Click image to enlarge.
Click here to download.
A great new ideas community forum / information website for those people who live with the risk of bushfire. It is a website for those people who want to join an online community interested in developing bushfire readiness. Given the horrific Victorian event in February, this website ‘seeks to encourage and assist individuals and communities to live in the Australian bush with greater awareness, skill and confidence about bushfire risk.’
Click here to check out the website. thanks again to Gail Plowman of the ‘Pigs Will Fly’ the can do community bbq – for alerting us to it.
- When the Bough Breaks (on child protection);
- Ready Or Not! Final Report (on aging);
- Making Changes (on family services);
- Closer to Home (on health care);
- Greenways/Publicways (on the urban landscape);
- Clouds of Change (on atmospheric change);
- Report of the Round-table on the Environment and the Economy;
- Safer City Task Force Report.
Their first edition in October featured the wonderful story of the Yackandandah Community Development Company (YCDCo) – a community enterprise developed using a 'community buy-out' model. The enterprise is wholly owned by the local community, with residents of Yackandandah making up its shareholder base. While it was initially established to secure the local fuel supply, it has subsequently assumed a major wider role focused on social, cultural and economic development of the community.
Social Traders have identified over 5000 social enterprises in Australia and is developing a very impressive case study library collection.
Click here to register for E-Bulletin or to check out the case study library.
This annual conference offers a unique opportunity for interaction among researchers and practitioners to share creative and successful innovative strategies for recovering from disasters as well in supporting positive community change. Experiences in New Orleans and other southern cities, post Katrina, brought many new approaches useful in other areas. Examples of promising practices in other countries are will be also examined.
This 2010 Conference will focus on finding entrepreneurial and innovative approaches to rebuild and/or revitalize local and regional economies by local, regional and national leaders working with development agencies.
Click here for more information
Thanks to our great friend Laura
Girty from Oklahoma, USA, we have a new Farm Art photographic section on the website. The creativity , and yet simplicity of such art can be a easy way to beautify rural communities and enhance community pride and social capital.Click here to view.
The Guide has been some 3 years in the making is available through Resource Publications by emailing peter@resource-publications.com.au.
Just released is this ILO publication
written by Peter Kenyon of Bank of I.D.E.A.S. It captures 11 case
studies from across the globe that provide useful insights regarding
youth employment involving partnerships with public private and
community sectors.Please click here for an example - Artisan’s d’Angkor in Cambodia which is not just providing decent sustainable jobs for young people from poor rural villages, but it is also helping to restore Khmer arts and craftsmanship.
For an electronic copy of the publication, visit ILO’s website – or for a hard copy email edempdoc@ilo.org.
Click here for a copy of their 2008 Project- a exciting story.
For a copy of the publication that captures the process and results, contact CAN at admin@canwa.com.au cost is $15.00 AUD.
- waste reduction and efficiency
- transport and travel
- energy reduction
- water efficiency
- sustainable design
A similar initiative is occurring in countries where the British Council operate. Click here for more info.
It introduces the EATING approach – an analogy based on one of man’s best known human activities –
- Education
Action
Trust
Inclusion
Nourishment
Governance
Entitled
‘Blazing the Trial for Tomorrow’s Leaders Today’ , this is the key international conference event for those interested on community leadership development. It is being held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA from 21-25 April, 2010.Click here for details.
World Development Report 2010 has just been released and provides a very comprehensive overview of the threat posed by climate change and how we can respond. Essential reading. Excellent resource.
Click here for an excellent summary of the report and to order, cost is USD $26.00.
Bank of IDEAS has over the years utilised the service of Philip Ashton of Image Link to produce DVD’s on key community and economic development stories. Philip is particularly passionate about stories in rural Australia, and recently has produced some great promotional DVD’s for small towns like Maryborough and Dunolly. Extremely competent as a film maker, Philip is also very reasonably priced in terms of his services.
If interested in a DVD production, contact Philip on philip@imagelink.com.au.
If any Canadian and New Zealand community or organization is interested in utilising Peter as a speaker or workshop facilitator, please contact him at email pk@bankofideas.com.au.
Click the following links for a copy of his bio data and information on his services.
Copyleft Policy
Resources of the Bank of I.D.E.A.S., either in full or in part, can be copied, quoted, reprinted, given away or circulated. Parts may be torn out, extracted and enhanced. In short, all resources are public property. Please use in any way to build the skills and knowledge of citizens in building healthier communities and more vibrant local economies.
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Bank of I.D.E.A.S.
(Initiatives for the Development of Enterprising Actions & Strategies)
14 Bird Rd, Kalamunda WA 6076
Ph: 08 6293 1848 Email: pp@bankofideas.com.au