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ARTICLE | Little Red Hen - Paradox of Community Engagement

Community Engagement, Articles

Remember the story of the Little Red Hen who tried to engage her friends to help her to plant wheat and then harvest it, make flour and eventually bake bread? She could not engage them until, of course, the bread had come out of the oven and was ready to eat. 

Technology has brought new expectations for engagement and, like the Little Red Hen’s friends, most people want bite-size, ready-baked solutions they can “like.” We struggle to mobilize people in doing the heavy lifting required for social change work.

Paradoxically today, a new generation of community engagement is emerging in our cities and communities. More people want to: be engaged in decisions; work together; and, create better outcomes for themselves and their neighbours. They desire to generate a collective impact.

Paul Born

By Paul Born

Paul is a large-scale community change facilitator. He is the author of four books including, Deepening Community and Community Conversations, two Canadian best sellers. He is the Co-founder of Tamarack and for 20 years was the CEO/Co-CEO. Paul continues at Tamarack as a coach and trainer providing coaching and training to communities interested in achieving population level change. On Sabbatical until October 2022.

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