As a journalist, one of my favourite beats was covering municipal politics. Mind you, small town councils made it very easy to learn about the intricacies about a wide range of issues, including municipal planning.
When I had the opportunity, I met with the town planner to learn about municipal development plans, land use bylaws and area structure plans. He instilled in me how important it was to map out a community’s future with these documents.
A discussion on Twitter this past week about book recommendations started me thinking what a powerful influence that can be.
Jennifer Banks was asking for new ideas for authors and novels to read. Then the discussion turned to creating a book exchange.
An observation from attending Edmonton networking events has been slowly festering in me for a while and it peaked after participating in Pecha Kucha Night 7 (PKN7) last Thursday.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the social aspect of these events such as tweetups and various camps. However, does any concrete action or change happen in our community as a result? There has been fundraisers, which many have supported, myself included.
I was asked tonight what is my passion and why am I involved in it by @KenChapman46. When I said community engagement, he responded by saying, “Don’t you think community engagement is a form of activism?”
I have never defined myself as an activist. But let me start by explaining why I love to connect with audiences or communities. When I worked as a journalist, I loved to write stories that would move people into acting or reacting around an issue. I use communication, even now as a volunteer and a full-time public relations practictioner, (if I may say so a bit politely) to get people off their butts and get involved.
Involvement means perhaps attending events that I may promote or swaying them to volunteer in the community league.
I’m not the type to be waving placards or jumping in with protesters to push an issue forward. If I am passionate about a cause or an issue, I will start by working on the communication strategies around it.
Ken’s comment also had me look up the definitions of an advocate and an activist. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary describes an advocate as “someone who recommends or supports by arguement a cause or a policy. Activism is a “vigourous action to support a cause”.
After looking at these definitions, I would say that how I am involved with community engagement is as an advocate. Ken would point out and say that I’m on my way to becoming an activist.
However, my passion still lies with overcoming the challenge of community engagement and pushing this engagement forward through communication. Define me as an advocate but I don’t think I’ll ever be an activist.
I usually don’t write about politics and this post is not about my political views. When the Alberta Party announced that it will consult people through The Big Listen starting on March 1, that got my attention.
Presently, there are no details on the website how the party will do this except through a grassroots campaign and kitchen table discussions. And I’m sure with social media playing a big role.
Have you ever had a relationship where there was an unspoken connection or bond? And that bond influenced your life?
I’ve been fortunate to have at least three of these bonds and I’m excited that I have the opportunity to reconnect with each of them next month.