The Latest

Making the Shift to Citizen-centered Community Development Approaches

On December 2^nd, Cormac Russell returned to Tamarack to lead an interactive online learning experience that explored how professionals and organizations can work in citizen space. A familiar voice around Tamarack, Cormac is Managing Director of Nurture Development, a faculty member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute and an internationally-renowned thought leader, trainer and speaker. The Asset-Based Community Development Virtual Workshop led participants through a journey to reflect upon and discover ways we can shift to citizen-centred community development approaches from top-down institution-centered ones.

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It takes a mindshift to put citizens at the center of your work

Have you ever thought about whose role is it to build community? Whose role is it to fix the problems? Is it government, maybe social service programs? Is it groups and associations? Sometimes, I think that communities are looking for a superhero to swoop in and fix all their problems. But this superhero does not exist. What we need is a group of superheroes such as Marvel's Avengers, with each hero bringing their own gift and knowledge, and when its used as a group big changes can happen.

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10 Ways to Rekindle Democracy

In a recent webinar discussion hosted by Tamarack, Cormac Russell talked about his new book Rekindling Democracy: A Professional's Guide to Working in Citizen Space. Cormac, who describes himself as an itinerant storyteller, filled the book with stories from his travels while asking the question what these stories might call forth from us. His overarching thesis is that citizens must be at the center of any authentic democratic response to the challenges we face.

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The Lasting Impact of an ABCD Gathering

“There is no way to community; community is the way.” 

These were among the words that greeted me on the first morning of ABCD Healthy Neighbourhoods Healthy Cities in Edmonton in May 2019. From the very first keynote speaker, Prof. John McKnight, to the last words spoken on the third day, I was hooked. I couldn’t get enough. Often when attending conferences and seminars, I walk away with new knowledge and tools to apply in my work. This was more. I walked away from this immersive learning experience looking not only at my professional role differently, but my personal life as well. How could I help my community thrive? Do I know my neighbours? How can I get to know them better? Attending this event has impacted me in many different facets.  Here are my biggest takeaways from those three amazing days:

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Three Approaches That Work Well Together to Build Community

I love new approaches and ways to improve how I do my community work. Here are three approaches that work well to better your community work.

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Relearning to be a Citizen

I am taking part in my first book club and we are reading John McKnight and Peter Block’s book, The Abundant Community, Awakening the Power of Families and Neighbourhoods. A few chapters in and I have gone from confusion to amazement in my thinking process. 

When we are born, we start our lives as citizens of our family and community, and slowly become consumers of products, services and systems that lead us to believe we are better off and safer. When we think like a system we tend to identify the problem by labeling a specific target - for example, the ‘youth problem’ - however, John and Peter point out that it is not the youth with the problem but the neighbourhood and community. 

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