Book re-launch revisits the art of successful community engagement in a divided world.
Regional Community Development researcher and former Monash University educator, Dr Helen Sheil will be re-releasing a revised edition of her definitive community engagement textbook ‘Growing and Learning in Rural Communities’, on Tuesday 19th November, between 2-3pm at the Lakes Entrance Library.
Having lived and served on countless community committees in Orbost, Mirboo North, Nowa Nowa, Bairnsdale and currently Lake Tyers, she was first published the professional development manual for community facilitators, managers and organisations back in 2003.
From the implementation of fire management protocols, to the development of childcare facilities, she said that regional and rural areas have historically be subjected to decisions made ‘at the top’, without much consideration of local knowledge or understanding of the nuances of local communities.
‘When I began the work in the 2000s, it was quite obvious that there was a need for engagement in rural communities for skilled facilitators whether in Landcare or nursing, a whole range of fields’, she said.
‘There weren’t skilled people out in the area who people trusted to come and talk about community issues.’
Her nine point framework for facilitating community engagement and community driven change, takes a holistic approach to listening and learning from the diverse opinions in small communities.
It anticipates the social, economic and environmental consequences of complex decision making, that is often imposed on communities without consultation.
Over the last 20 years, the text book has been used by universities and government departments across the globe, as a valued resource for anyone working on the frontline of community engagement, management and development.
‘There’s more and more programs now that have place based community lead, community engagement in their job descriptions, but no pathways for those workers’, says Helen.
‘They’re frequently put in very complex challenging situations without having an approach, or resources or people to talk to and debrief and discuss ‘how to go about this’- to include people who think radically differently on things, like how do you protect your community from fires.’
The revised edition of the book includes case studies of real-life success stories that have employed the book’s methodologies over the last 20 years, as well as techniques for evaluating the outcomes of projects, which may not necessarily be quantified financially.
‘What I what I see in rural areas is people set up systems that work for their own community. They’re smaller and they’re locally managed’, she said.
In a world of increasing centralised governance with all kinds or organisations and government departments, she said that localised ownership, agency and decision making, proved time and time to result in more successful and sustainable outcomes for communities.
‘Growing and Learning in Rural Communities’, by Dr Helen Sheil (distributed by Ingram Sparks through James Bennet, ALS, Peter Pal) can be ordered through local bookshops. www.ruralcommunties.com.au
‘Who is at the table?’ Book Launch Tuesday 19th November, 2024, 2-3pm at The Lakes Entrance Library.