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Building Communities from the Inside Out

I was inspired years ago by the asset mapping techniques of John McKnight, who believed that urban communities needed to build on their strengths, rather than on their needs. More than a decade ago, he and John Kretzmann wrote a book called Building Communities from the Inside Out, which I would like to recommend to you today. All of their techniques, from "releasing individual capacities" to "capturing local institutions for community building" can be leveraged to great effect with online communication. New technology has dramatically lowered the cost of asset mapping and asset based organizing, but even projects specifically related to new technology seem to be dragged down by needs assessments and the like. This book is full of fantastic tools and resources which I recommend to any planner, organizer, or online community builder. Posted: 1/25/06; 1:46:04 PM #

Friends on the Path

Thich Nhat Hanh, poet, peace activist, and zen master, lives, teaches, writes in the Plum Village community, a meditation center in southern France. The role of community in an engaged spiritual life interests me profoundly, so of course I had to read Friends on the Path, compiled by Jack Lawlor, with essays by Thich Nhat Hanh and others. The language used is Buddhist of course and so it might be inaccessible to those whose spiritual or cultural background doesn't leave them open to it. But the concepts and lessons are powerful and universal. The book is a great balance of case studies, principles, and practices, including building intergenerational community, creating refuge, starting communities, and nurturing a mindful culture. Posted: 1/25/06; 1:31:56 PM #

Thematic Axes of the World Social Forum

The World Social Forum is underway in Venezuela today, a truly enormous gathering of people united by the desire to find an alternative to rapacious globalizations. One of the things that fascinates me most about this is the extraordinary diversity of causes that find themselves with a common purpose. If, like me, you would like to see the work of civil society organizations be less fragmented, you might get something out of studying the World Social Forum. One place to start is by reading the Thematic Axes of the World Social Forum. Although the language is a little abstract at times, it's short enough to really convey a solid idea of this emerging framework for global collaboration. Posted: 1/25/06; 1:31:42 PM #