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Community Building in Mandurah, WA
'Building Communities From The Inside Out'

Stronger Families Learning Exchange Bulletin No.5 Autumn 2004 p.37

First glimpse - project responses to a series of questions

The project setting

Our project is located in the City of Mandurah with Community Builders located in three areas with recognised development potential - Central Mandurah, Falcon and Coodanup.

What are you trying to do in this project?

The aim is to build connected and vibrant communities that create opportunities for growth by honouring and encouraging the diversity of human spirit, experience and strength. This vision is an approach centered on four main areas of strength.

Sense of place - geographical identification, connection to a place; identification through family/clan/group/ community, a sense of cohesion, belonging and kinship. A community that is comprised of individuals who identify with their location and feel a part of their community and a community which is comprised of individuals and groups who share a common sense of togetherness and belonging.

Skilled and capable - community strengthening and upward growth; movement at community and individual levels. A community that is growing and strong and reflects a dynamism at both an individual and community level.

Sustainable - empowerment, confidence and resilience; having knowledge of success; belief in oneself. A community that has a story of successful development, is resilient and flexible and confident in its ability to take on new challenges and traverse unknown territory.

Connected - the ability of community to support, trust and share the load. A community that is co creative and conscious of the reciprocity and exchange that occurs in healthy, supporting groups.

The project plans to develop and implement a process that identifies and encourages the growth of individual and groups strengths and competencies within the community. The goal is to create sustainable opportunities for communication and connection through the exchange of information, the development of connection points, and the sharing of ideas and through valuing the resulting relationships. We are seeking to honour local distinctiveness, identity, essence and celebration of place, and to encourage the common spirit that urges individuals towards community devotion and enthusiasm, to nurture the esprit de corps.

How are you going about it?

• Strengthening connections within community and between community organisations.
• Forming new partnerships.
• Identifying and supporting community leaders.
• Creating projects that encourage participatory engagement and reflect community strength.