Projects

• Conference papers from Education and Social Action Conference 2004
• Local Community Leadership Program
• National Community Learners Leadership Program
• Community Leadership Handbooks
• Warilla Community Leadership Program (PDF)
• Community Capacity Building and Community Cultural Development
• Marrickville Community Leadership program draft handbook (PDF 1.9mb) and Flyer (PDF 116k)
• Education for Community Building in Nambucca and Riverina
• Community Consultation Practices in Leichhardt
• Strengthening Local Community Leadership in Marrickville
• Community Organisation Search Conference, South Sydney Community Aid

Local Community Leadership Program

This program for those in the Sydney metropolitan area engaged in education, advocacy or action working with people at the 'coalface' to address social issues. It was developed in direct responds to a call to build coalitions and alliances across the arenas of education, advocacy and social action. This program brings together community leaders in schools; ethnic, sporting, cultural and activist groups; youth and community work; government agencies; legal support; unions; health services; TAFE, adult and community education.

The program is committed to developing leadership practice that is respectful, enabling and inclusive. It is about creating spaces to make a difference at the 'local' level. An emphasis will be placed on taking a fairly hard look at the nature of practice and action at a local level. An assumption is made that local knowledge is important, in addition to the knowledge of consultants, planners and academics. For example, the collective insight of diverse local leaders may help teachers further develop ways to improve the quality of learning in schools, or help community workers develop more effective strategies to address drug-related issues.

For 3 years, starting in 2002, the program will rotate to a different local area. The Centre is currently working within this program with:

• participants from the Campbelltown areas
• residents and community workers from the Marrickville area on a Belonging project, a Marrickville Council initiative.
• young people from Mt Druitt and Airds on a film-making project

Progress Report

More about this program

National Community Learners Leadership Program

From 1999 to 2002, the Centre for Popular Education in association with Adult Learning Australia (ALA) delivered a program for Community Learning Leaders.

Community Leadership Handbooks

In 2002, the Centre commissioned experienced practitioners to write about the theory and practice of community writing and community dance for community leadership development:

• "Story and Writing for Community Leadership and Social Action" by Annie Bolitho & Mary Hutchison
• "Airds Community Writing Project: From Leadership to Ratbags" by Sue Angel
• "Community Dance Handbook" by Kathy Baykitch

Warilla Community Leadership Program

The final report 'Seeing Further, Listening More, and Asking Questions - Developing Grassroots Leadership for Community Action' is attached as a pdf document.

Community Consultation Practices in Leichhardt

In 1998, Leichardt City Council commissioned Griff Foley to write a discussion paper (PDF 4.7mb) about ways to improve consulting with community.

Education for Community Building in Nambucca and Riverina

Download the PDF's below:

Education for community building in Nambucca and Albury (PDF 360k)

Draft Macksville (PDF 100k)

Facilitation notes (PDF 460k)

Strengthening Local Community Leadership in Marrickville

Local issues matter. The quality of the place where you live matters. At the heart of a vibrant democracy is having people being active to continually improve and change their local communities, the places where they live, not just for themselves but also for others less fortunate. In Australia, local government authorities can lead efforts to strengthen local democracy.

From 2002 to 2004 Marrickville Council in the inner west of Sydney invested in a community leadership development program. The potential payoffs for Council are that they will be able to work with more engaged and active community groups.

In this handbook (download pdf documents below) we do not intend to simply proclaim what a great success the community leadership program was. Instead, we intend to describe and discuss the complexities of planning and facilitating such a program with pleasing and not-so-pleasing achievements. We hope this handbook will be useful for others planning and co-ordinating community leadership programs.

When we talk about the complexities of such a program we are not just referring to the planning and facilitation processes. We are talking about the complexity or problem of making judgements about a short-term and one-off intervention. We believe that investing in efforts to strengthen the capacity of groups to exercise local community leadership development will lead to stronger and more meaningful democracy. But we have no illusions that a one-off community leadership program, no matter how well planned and managed, can achieve significant democracy-building outcomes. At the end of the day, long-term community development is better than short-term project interventions. Active community groups do not spring up with the running of one community leadership development program. They are more likely to grow around the local presences of parks, schools, health centres, plant nurseries, bike tracks, benches in attractive streetscapes, corner shops, adult education projects, arts events and so on.

Download the Marrickville Community Leadership program draft handbook (PDF 1.9mb) and Flyer (PDF 116k)

Community Organisation Search Conference, South Sydney Community Aid

In April 1990, Rick Flowers and Mike Newman planned and facilitated a Search Conference of South Sydney Community Aid, a large multipurpose community organisation. This involved interviewing individual staff and committee members in order to plan the conference. The conference was held over on full day. The report can be downloaded here.(PDF 1MB)

Community Leadership and Grassroots Democracy

papers and abstracts from: (download PDF 1.8MB)
Flowers, R. (Ed.) 2004 Education and Social Action Conference, Centre for Popular Education UTS

Cunningham-Smith, V., Konza, N., Guggisberg, N., Harris, N., Parsons, T. and Walton, J.
One size won’t fit all

Flowers, R.
Social capital measurement indicators

Gakavian, A.
Volunteer committees and capacity-building: Developing community-based leadership among refugees in Armenia

Gussinyer, PS.
Non profit sector (Third Sector) and community educational action

Harris, C.
Communication Technologies & Leadership for Resilience: Participatory Research Outreach in Five Coastal Communities

Henry, M. and Randall-Mohk, N.
"Spot the Leader" What does the Khmer community recognise as leadership?

Larsson, S.
Study circles – a mirror of a changing civil society?

Muir, S.
Shaping our futures together: The importance of women-only leadership courses for rural women

Ramírez, V. and Austin, R.
The People United? Australian solidarity with Latin America since Allende

Rule, J.
Governmentality and discourses of social action around inner-city Sydney neighbourhood centres

Sheil, H., Gay, L. and Pugliese, T.
Local values and knowledge shaping community involvement - Role of a regional university

Simpson, A.
Using action research to connect with young people

Snell, M.
Community newspapers for grassroots democracy

Stuart, G.
Community leadership: A tale of two residential parks

Willis, P.
Popular education and the democratic imagination

Wilson, J.
Revitalisation of Glebe – building community

For further information about these projects please contact cpe@uts.edu.au

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