Community Engagement Declining? Rebuild Local Communities..
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July 4, 2012A few days ago I heard MP Andrew Leigh, author of a book called ‘Disconnected‘, talking on the radio about community engagement here declining. The discussion tweaked my interest.
Some Key Points
After crunching data from membership records and surveys, Andrew has found that:
- organisational membership is down
- we are less likely to attend church
- political parties and unions are struggling to keep their members
- sporting participation and cultural attendance is down
- we have fewer friends and are less connected with our neighbours
Andrew’s Response
‘Disconnected’ discusses how we can take steps to rebuild social capital in our local neighbourhoods.
Worth investigating..
2 Comments
Community engagement is today almost an impossibility. Causes are the establishment of the Nuclear Family where parents grandparents,aunts and uncles no longer take part in family life. Friends are looked upon as a commodity and sharing has become taking thus loss of trust.Rife plagerism.Then there is the lack of job security and permanency in establishing a setling in location to raise a family,the push for the desire to purchase better and brighter items than what the income is able to support should one partner become ill or lose employment,no basic long term future planning,short term existance,personal and company greed,ripoffs,lies,increase in litigation for financial gain,removal of personal responsibilities,isolationist tecknology with no physical contact (twitter, email, etc.),high pressure life styles,but worst of all being the pathetic political behaviour examples,a major component of ‘Disconnected’.
In isolated rural locations Community life styles still exists but is rapidly on the wain as the insidiously invasive City “I’m All Right Jack” and “what Can I Score for Nothing” syndrome spreads out.
A gate way through neighbour boundary fences,entry via the kitchen door, switching on the kettle and a cuppa first,to be greeted by a basket full of home grown veges or fruit left on the porch when one has returned from shopping, the trading of abilities to help out,has become a rarity indeed.
At present we still live in this rare environment.
Hans.
I think there are a few foundations of community. Firstly what is community. Is it where you live, a region or is it a common interest across geographiocal boundries. Secondly there needs to be an interdependance. Caring about others because I need to be cared for as well. It is my belief that communities have given away control of so much through centralisation we are dependant upon government and other organisations we can not have a caring relationship with that sustains us. Keep control of what sustains you within your community. Food, education, health, older people, where you live.