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Community Organizing Principles
Community Development:
Aboriginal vs. Feminist Principles:
Examining Similarities and Differences
Community development is vital for all humans. No matter what the term utilized, this action has been undertaken in all societies, for it binds us together and keeps us safe from the outside world. Furthermore, community development brings trust and resources that cannot be furthered but a single individual. For this reason, a social contract is necessary and it is for this reason as well that communities has formed and have existed for so long, in a wide variety, and so successfully. The paragraphs below will examine two communities, namely the aboriginal community at-large and the feminist community, and will compare and contrast principles of community development.
Aboriginal Principles
Achieving a successful community development practice in today's aboriginal communities, all over the world, has been quite a challenge. In Australia, for example, the trauma inflicted by the colonial and postcolonial era still reverberates with many, and has, according to one author, "removed the close cultural kinship ties that existed previously within Indigenous communities across Australia."[footnoteRef:1] The result of these events has rendered these vital and vibrant...
Most members now live in areas where there are many other groups, and are subject to problems such as family violence and drug dependency, according to Higgins (2005), all of which are only increasing. [1: Higgins, D. (2005). Early Learnings: Indigenous Community Development Projects. Telstra Foundation Research Report. Retrieved October 23, from < http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/reports/telstra2/telstra2.html#indigenous>.]
In order to even begin to solve such issues, one must therefore look towards aboriginal principles of community development and prioritize areas in which these would be most useful. One issue to be addressed are the wound of the past. In aboriginal community development, there must be first and foremost an awareness of history, of exploitation and oppression, according to Higgins (2005). Furthermore, the indigenous perspective sees this development as "working with communities to assist communities in finding plausible solutions to the problems they have identified," according to Higgins (2005). Such problems can range from lack of employment or underemployment, lack of clean water resources, lack of cleanliness (sewage issues), and poor housing and health conditions, all of which are persistent and serious problems that can be addressed well through the adaptation of the principles…
In order to examine more differences, however, it is first important to look at feminist organizing (FO). FO, according to one author is a "process designed to legitimize the lived experience of marginalized women, include diverse partners, equitably distribute power and responsibility, and foster respectful social connections."[footnoteRef:3] Though this many seem familiar with the poverty and community related issues described in aboriginal communities above, feminist principles and organizing focus on issues in a different way. For instance, another important facet of FO is power sharing, which is not found as clearly in the paragraphs above. This is defined as being "committed to creating balanced power relationships through democratic practices of shared leadership, decision-making, authority, and responsibility."[footnoteRef:4] This is a vital principle that can ensure success in this community. [3: Ponic, P and Frisby, W. (2005). Feminist Organizing as Community Development. Canadian Society for Leisure Studies. Retrieved October 23, from < http://lin.ca/Uploads/cclr11/CCLR11-112.pdf>. ] [4: Feminist Principles (n.a.). (2003). DAWN Ontario. Retrieved October 23, from < http://dawn.thot.net/feminism12.html>.]
Conclusions
It is important to organize as a community, especially if one is marginalized, discriminated against, or if one's community does not achieve full potential. The examples given above, from the aboriginal and feminist communities around the world are very good places to start looking. Though different in many ways, these two communities have one thing in common: striving constantly for success, which is an admirable quality and which should be encouraged by all countries and all governments.
The lack of inclusion of aboriginal representation at the policy making level is also regarded as an insurmountable barrier to formulating adequate health policies as regards the indigenous population of Australia. (Matthew, Pulver, & Ring 2008) In Australia alone, a proliferation of data illustrates the extent to which our half million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live in disadvantaged social conditions relative to other Australians. The level of disadvantage has
Social Policy & Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Self-government has come to be particularly important when considering Aboriginal people in Canada. This concept is perceived as presenting indigenous people with the freedom of controlling their community without being affected by outside factors. Even with the fact that self-government dominated affairs in Aboriginal Canadian communities long before they interacted with Europeans, contemporary natives are more determined than ever to be autonomous. Self-sufficiency
Stolen Generations' is used to define the numerous Aborigines, and the few Torres Strait Islanders, who were forced from their homes when they were children, by church missions and Australian territorial, state, and federal government agencies during the latter 1800s up to the seventies (NSDC, 2015). 'Generations' highlight for how long (i.e., more than a century) this practice of separating the children of Aborigines from their homes took place,
These initiatives are especially important now because unemployment remains high in the Northern Territory today (Mohatt, 1994), and a lack of educational and employment opportunities has resulted in a paucity of a skilled workforce by mainstream social standards that has contributed to an increased incidence in criminal activity throughout the region (Smith, 2001). According to one authority, "The notion of economic barriers such as job ceilings does not necessarily create
The goals at which this process is aimed can concentrate on creating benefits primarily for one party or on creating benefits for both parties.' (van der Pluijm and Melissen, 2007, p.1) Multiple-sided city diplomacy is a "diplomatic process in which more than two parties are involved, representing various cities." (van der Pluijm and Melissen, 2007, p.1) van der Pluijm and Melissen state that associations of municipalities "such as United Cities
Northern Territory (NT) Intervention In this essay, the author will examine how the Australian Federal Government can pass legislation (as was done with the Northern Territory (NT) intervention) which is not subject to the operation of Racial Discrimination Act (Clth) and, in turn, any State/Territories Racial Discrimination Acts. The author will raise the question of whether or not the Federal Government has such power. If this is so, the author will