RTV #11 - Gather and share stories about what community means to you.

Tracy Smyth, Paul Born & Tammy Dewar

A Year of Raising the Village - Week #11.

What does community mean to you?

Community Conversations: Mobilizing the ideas, skills, and passion of community organizations, governments, businesses, and people…not only a great idea but also an excellent book. Author, Paul Born – with us in the photo – was keynote and fellow presenter at the Putting it into Practice Conference in Langley, BC. Paul, himself a master storyteller, had the audience enraptured with his tales of community conversation and community change. Community conversations uncover the ideas, skills and passions that exist in community by drawing out the stories people have to tell! Since the release of his book, Paul and his colleagues at Tamarack asked 500 members of their learning community this question: What does "experiencing community" mean to you? The survey responses, entitled 500 Voices: Experiencing Community are a rich look into being in relationship with others.

During our Village workshops, as well as when we interview for our newsletter, we enthusiastically ask people what community means to them. Take a look at the Artisan Piazza Page on this blog. In it we continue to highlight artists and their interpretations of community through art. Each piece comes from a story held by that artist, powerful enough to turn into something physical! To see who our next artist will be, sign up for our spring newsletter. (sign up here)

Healthy Eating - Active Communities offers a site full of great examples of how a community can use stories to advocate for positive change. We love the Greenfield Walking Group story of how mothers and children transformed a park to become a clean, safe place. The site also shares some great story telling tips and the best questions to ask to elicit the juicy ones! Also check out our storytelling blogs

• The Story Behind Powerful Presentations
• Sparkling Dream Catchers
• Sharpen Your View! Distribute Cameras to Children and Families
• Navigate the River of Data & Dialogue

Village Raising Question: What story do you have to tell that describes what community means for you?