Risks
1)There is the risk of Cultural Sensitivity. An ATSI Liaison officer has come on board with me to aid me in my cultural appropriateness and decision making along the way.
2)The micro community will not want to participate. I may need to quickly find other members of the community that will want to come on board. I have used celebrity status and my friendships to minimise that risk.
3)Make them more isolated. There could be a big association of shame or "big noting" yourself in a community if you become proud or want to perform. I will liaise with members all along the way and let them know it is OK to change their mind and ask them of other alternatives to make this work. A big collaborative approach.
4)Time Constraints. I have made this project in 3 weeks time which leaves not much time for advertising, funds, or grants. This also can put a little pressure on the people working with me in Cairns as they are doing my leg work. With limited resources such as phones, computers or internet, combined with time constraints will make this challenging. To combat any feelings of stress, I have told the group that worst case scenario, we have a celebrity to party and dance with, even amongst ourselves! So no stress, we just do as much as we can.
5)Lack of experience as a Community Developer. My uncle who lives in the community has organised many community development projects and helped me organise my 10 year High school reunion all from my living room in Brisbane to finding and organising 500 people ten years on to meet in Cairns. Because of our work together and his experience I am going to pass through material for him to peruse as well. I am also gaining and obtaining as much information, pamphlets, programs, and advice here in Brisbane from places like "A Place to Belong" and other Detox, ATSI, and multicultural organisations. This will show me how to set up the room. How to aid in the preparation the week before the showcase. What activities, language and materials to use in both preparation and Show Case days. How to maximise the community by implementing in a "true" community education manner.
6)Security. Alcohol and gang fights. This is thankfully a day project with a show case as the evening arrives. I want to promote this for obvious reasons as an Alcohol Free Event. Having the means to secure that and keeping peoples interest in the program will be a challenge. I am being connected with a local police officer who organises many community events within the area to aid me in this domain.
7)Money. There is a risk of me losing money in this project. I have out of pocket expenses for my and Gianne's plane ticket. There may be some minor costume expenses. Apart from that I am using my connections and searching Community Centres in Cairns to provide a free venue with use of equipment and sound system.
8)Further Development and sustainability. I am implementing this in such a short timeframe and I am not even present for a lot of this. I have however already got a level of interest from an event in July "Cairns Ukelele Festival" for them to perform as a multi-cultural group. This may lead to other opportunities if they so wish to or get inspired by what we are doing.
9)No-one turns up. A very common thing especially given all the odds against us. I have with me a TV news reporter and local celebrity on board writing press releases and using her connections within the media. It's really a "watch this space". But apart from that I am going to connect with all the Drug, detox, community centres to get involved and I am planning to do the good old fashioned flyer drop and door knock around the neighbourhood a week in advance! I have a recent project in which I the community members have asked me to do workshops with kids and youth prior to my event and help out with the Easter celebrations within the week leading up to my project. This will help me connect with members and promote my project. Thinking of it now, it in many ways could be looked at as part of the project.
10)Last but not least a huge risk is that my project turns into a production. Which will be a lot of fun. While helping bulid connections and excitment, I do not wish this to be dance experts from Brisbane coming in and showing community how its done. For Community Development to be at play, constant negotiation, involvement and leadership with Community members need to be done on a daily basis.
10)Last but not least: Family and Friend involvement. This like with anything could lead to disaster. Unexpected circumstances, unrealistic expectations and miscommunications and attitudes of the past can all lead to reactions and coping skills that are not desirable and actually the opposite of what I'm trying to achieve. I need to keep communication clear as much as possible. I will be present for a whole week before hand to assist with the preparation so as much as possible can be smoothed over. Like I said before, I am just stressing to people of the importance to have a good time and enjoy our time together. "Life is not a goal, it's the Journey!"
The good news with this project is, I don't get marked on the success of the project but rather my learning processes along the Way. So with this I just have to say "Let the Games Begin!"
Hello To All Community Builders Out There!
My name is Vanessa Van der Werff and I am a Masters in Social Work Student here at UQ in Brisbane. As part of my course from "Community Engagement, Participation and Governance" I am required as my piece of assessment to: propose, plan and implement a Community Project of my choosing. I have chosen to travel back to my home town of Cairns to Implement this project. Following are my thoughts, proposals and plans of my project.
My project will be implemented in Mooroobool, a suburb in Cairns. The community structure and bonds are not as strong as they could be. There is strong potential to create stronger bonds and build on the strengths of cultural diversity. By using the different experiences, skills and resources of the community and its members, together they can transform the community to a more supportive, constructive, sustainable environment.
Change Agenda
My agenda is to aid, support and facilitate certain community members to use dance, expression and festival activities to build connections throughout their communities. It is starting with 3 weeks preparation from now till the 9th of June, then ending with a Multicultural Gathering oganised by the group members. This Multicultural Gathering/Festival will be on Saturday 10th April. Each cultural dance team can teach different members of other dance teams and community members and spectators their style of dance. The team has expressed their interest in also facilitating a collaborative creative workshop which includes contemporary body movements and participants own choreography. A celebrity guest (Last season's finalist of TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" - Gianne Abbott, will come on board for the day to facilitate with these creative workshops, learn different cultural dance styles from members of the community, and hang out with the kids. All of these activities will be show cased at the end of the day, with performances and handing out of certificates of participation (optional - perhaps just for the young participants).
My name is Vanessa Van der Werff and I am a Masters in Social Work Student here at UQ in Brisbane. As part of my course from "Community Engagement, Participation and Governance" I am required as my piece of assessment to: propose, plan and implement a Community Project of my choosing. I have chosen to travel back to my home town of Cairns to Implement this project. Following are my thoughts, proposals and plans of my project.
My project will be implemented in Mooroobool, a suburb in Cairns. The community structure and bonds are not as strong as they could be. There is strong potential to create stronger bonds and build on the strengths of cultural diversity. By using the different experiences, skills and resources of the community and its members, together they can transform the community to a more supportive, constructive, sustainable environment.
Change Agenda
My agenda is to aid, support and facilitate certain community members to use dance, expression and festival activities to build connections throughout their communities. It is starting with 3 weeks preparation from now till the 9th of June, then ending with a Multicultural Gathering oganised by the group members. This Multicultural Gathering/Festival will be on Saturday 10th April. Each cultural dance team can teach different members of other dance teams and community members and spectators their style of dance. The team has expressed their interest in also facilitating a collaborative creative workshop which includes contemporary body movements and participants own choreography. A celebrity guest (Last season's finalist of TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" - Gianne Abbott, will come on board for the day to facilitate with these creative workshops, learn different cultural dance styles from members of the community, and hang out with the kids. All of these activities will be show cased at the end of the day, with performances and handing out of certificates of participation (optional - perhaps just for the young participants).
Here is the Flyer I made for the project. With the help of Simon (Thanks Simon)
