Contemplation on Social Media

The Community Services Forum held at Cleveland discussing Social Media trends and the future of Volunteering.





The Queensland Compact, held at Sunshine Coast, Social Media Workshop.





Aged Care Services Forum held in Brisbane, encouraging participants to look at Social Media as Human Potential.





The members of Logan Country Chamber of Commerce at Jimboomba, being encouraged by Russell Lewis to use Social Media as a marketing tool.





Ehon Chan at Innovate Symposium Social Media Workshop organised by Volunteering QLD.





Yvette Adams introducing the Westside Business Women to Social Media usage in small business marketing at their breakfast meeting in Springfield Lakes.

Discussing the trends

It is unanimous, inevitable, decided and agreed that our world has gone through a complete Social Media revolution in a few years. We are more connected, accessible and visible than ever before. It is not a question of do we like it, it is a question of how to use it to the best of it's ability.

We do not run our businesses on like, we operate them on professionally well thought strategies. The use of Social Media is not a choice, it is a survival strategy that is being introduced to every facet of our lives, business and private.

There is no way a modern business owner, or a non-profit organisation can ignore Social Media as a viable tool for getting the message across to the existing customers and potential target groups.

Every layer of our society, from the Commonwealth and the State Governments and Advocacy Organisation to the smallest of the business owners and groups is considering Social Media.

Lately, we have witnessed the impact of Social Media in surviving catastrophes and influencing political decision making. It has been effectively used in gathering large crowds to one place to demonstrate or take action.

There is no doubt that the Social Media as a tool cannot be ignored. It can only be embraced and used to it's best advantage.

Those who are still in doubt should maybe try to apply the Critical Thinking Methods to how, where and which vehicle to use for their social media messages to be most efficient in the market place.

I have found that for a non-profit community organisation building a positive and engaging community through the social media outlets like the Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be a good way to spread the community spirit.

On a personal level I've found that choosing the right social media vehicle for your personal and professional live is the key to engaging with your network. I've found that it is the quickest way to hookup with friends and business partners and get their immediate respond.

The choice of how you engage through the social media is all yours. Why not enjoy the experience to the full!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Notes from the ‘Communities in Control Conference' in Melbourne, Part 2

The Main Conference, May 29-30


In hindsight, the first thing I can say about the ‘Communities is Control’ Conference, 2011 is that I am really happy about being able to have taken part in it. ‘My Community’ has done a lot of work in providing the Australian Not-for-Profit (NFP) Sector and particularly the community organisations with a conference that as closely as possibly strives to meet our current needs for networking and updates us about the changing climate on where we work today. Without this conference I would have had to go to great lengths in trying to find out about the burning issues that many organisations are facing today while reviewing the sector or our changing relationship with the different layers of Government.

Sitting two days in a conference with about 1000 other people from all over Australia, often engaged in conversations was not such a hardship at all and I am considered a conference pro.

The second thing I noticed when coming to register was the people who had come to partake in the conference. They seemed to be from all walks of life. So many different kinds of communities were represented. It was easy to start a conversation with anybody and everybody. In fact, one didn’t need to know anybody beforehand to make friends.

For a Queenslander and a student at the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Not-for-Profit Studies at QUT, it is quite interesting that I had to come to Melbourne to listen to Linda Lavarch talking about the Government’s aims in straightening up the tangle of regulations and laws in relation to the Australian Not-for-Profit Sector. She currently is a research fellow at QUT and also is the Chair of the Australian Government Not-for-Profit Sector Reform Council.

According to Linda, this Government, instead of just talking is ready for action in harmonising regulations, striving to cut the red tape and straightening out the prevalent problems of the NFP Sector.

The good news is that the Government has already installed the Office for NFP Sector. It will engage with the Sector as a whole with four working groups and look into:

• National Compact
• Harmonising legislation
• Reducing red tape
• National regulations

There will also be an overview of the definition of charitable organisation.

The other highlights for me on the first day were the Joan Kirner Social Justice Speech delivered to us from Brussels by Sharon Burrow, who is there as the General Secretary of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). She strongly advocated the international work the unions are doing in highlighting the blight of many nations in their treatment of the workforce, particularly women. The role of ITUC was also highlighted in its role of advancing social justice and equality to the world’s workforce. As a Finn, I was delighted to hear that President Halonen from Finland might have a future leadership role to play in this after she completes her time as President next year.

As a Queenslander it was also interesting to observe the role The Hon. Joan Kirner, the former Victorian Premier and the current Community Sector Ambassador to Australia, plays in the whole conference, not only through the social justice oration but through the warm atmosphere surrounding her and her ease in striking conversations with different members of My Community leading people as well as all the invited speakers.

As a newcomer to the community sector conferencing in Australia, it is interesting to observe that we have here a person who is highly respected and has a huge impact on the way the sector is conducting its business. As a historian, I can only remember similar kinds of conferences that I have participated in where one particular person has had such an impact in the women’s liberation movement during the 1980’s where the huge ‘feminist legends’ were still taking part in the conferences. It is clear from the conference that Joan Kirner is one of the big runner-ups for women’s advocacy in the Australian context.

I also enjoyed Hugh Mackay’s speech on his just published book What Makes Us Tick? It presented 10 social desires that we as human beings are subject to and that affect our community. It caused huge lines afterwards at the stand where his books were sold. It can be said to his credit that he signed every one of them, even though mine was the second last and he was already standing up as the next session was starting.

Miriam Lyons was a little bit fast in her speech pattern for me to catch everything she was saying about the book called More Than Luck but she was very witty and I was absolutely delighted to observe her smile and the first thing for me, when I get home is to download the book as a free eBook on the Website.

The last delight on the first day was the Choir of Hope and Inspiration [previously the Choir of Hard Knocks]. We heard the first ever performance of their first musical which will be performed in September.





The second day went from strength to strength.

Phil Ruthven presented us with a lot of statistics and forecasts for the future. Basically he said that we are now at the height of our lives in what comes to health, life longitude, wealth and wellbeing and it is only getting better. There will be more wealth, longer life expectancy and more health. That is the upside; the downside is that there will be a lot of change.

But we do thrive on change as human beings anyway, so the forecast is good, if we take it as such and apply a healthy ‘grain of salt’ to our expectations.

His speech very much made me to want to live longer in order to see for myself if he is right in his predictions. Living to 100 just might not do it. To succeed, that means that I now have to make sure to apply all the possible new inventions in health and wellbeing which he forecasts to be many.

The absolute highlight of the second day was the launching of Advancing Women: Women and the Order of Australia and the speech made thereafter by Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Commissioner Responsible for Age Discrimination.

What has been the best part in the conference was meeting new friends. Even though we know that all the speeches will be online afterwards and that books can and will be bought the personal dimension of actually being there, participating in the discussions, meeting others, networking and starting to build those important relationships. There is nothing that can take away that.

It proves the point Hugh Mackay said about the desire to be connected. Through participating in this conference, we have strengthened our belief in grass roots communities and our conviction that people have power to influence change.

The conference organisers are very proud of the fact that with the help of Victorian Government funding and other sponsors, this conference has the lowest entrance fee of them all. That actually was reinforced time after time with conversations across the room as many told me that their boards did prefer to send them to Melbourne than pay an entrance fee in the nearer city, as counting together flights, accommodation and food with the entrance fee, the Communities in Control Conference still costs less than other competing conferences available during this month. Interestingly enough I was unable to find it on LinkedIn. Hopefully that will be amended next year.

Our new ties with the original ‘early bird’ group on Sunday held to the second day. It was nice to be able to say ‘good morning’ to people you know already and exchange experiences with them from time to time during the conference.

I also ran into friends from Queensland. There were many as a matter of fact. Observably, judging from the question times and counting the numbers, the Queensland participants to the conference were close to Victorian numbers.

All and all this was a very delightful conference experience, worthy of replay and recommending to others.

Visiting Limestone Park, Fitness Path and Nodes in Ipswich

From the concept of the Senior Park to the community recreational health through walking at a park



It is interesting what can be found if one pays attention to detail. Not that I say, I do. For example not before a PlayWorld, play equipment representative, from Western Australia, had a telephone conversation about the concept of LifeTrail with me last week, did I know that 15 minutes down the road where I live, in the Limestone Park, in Ipswich, there actually is one. This is how it works in reality.

One is alerted to something through media, like I was impressed by the worldwide media coverage of the opening of the London Senior Park at Hyde Park. I was inspired by the idea. It fits with the development of services desperately needed in my own community and within the framework of the services provided by the organisation I work for. I was able to visit the London Senior Park on my trip to Europe and I was lucky enough to speak with the park project manager (see my previous posting on my visit there in July). From there on, I have found that there are many different solutions that have been realised by many countries, councils and places in order to get the public noticing that healthy living and regular physical exercise should be at the forefront of their mind. From being inspired by an idea, there is still a long way to actual regular exercise. For example Lappset (also introduced by a previous posting) playground equipment for seniors was developed in Spain and is manufactured in Finland. PlayWorld is an American invention. LifeTrail consists of low impact exercise stations that can be organised along a pathway for people to stop to use at their own leisure while walking at a park or a provided area. The stations are especially suitable for people with moderate exercise in mind and those who are over 65. The exercise equipment nodes are mainly meant for adult use.

I knew that there is an exercise node at the Limestone Park in Ipswich. My son regularly bikes past it and has taken me there after I became interested in the Senior Park concept but I was unaware that these nodes are part of a larger LifeTrail setup. They are not detectable through Google Maps satellite pictures, not yet at least. Last Saturday my daughter and I went to investigate.

I parked near the node I know exists and went to take pictures. From there I could see another node in the distance. Afterwards I found yet another one. These nodes are connected by a concreted pathway which is suitable for a wheelchair, if needed. I also found a parking place near the presumed start to the LifeTrail with five stations. My daughter, who had left her wheelchair home, had a hard time waking, and the slight slope of the path stoped her way completely. Luckily there are some benched provided in each node, so I could walk by myself while she sat and waited.

I talked to a woman who parked next to our car asking her if she used the stations while walking. “No”, she said. But she told me that the Ipswich Hospital walking group uses them in early mornings and that she knows they are well used by others. On a Saturday afternoon, the pathway was relatively empty, just a couple of families. The sporting ground was in use, though.

Limestone Park is a nice place to visit. It is a large area, well suited for the LifeTrail setup. I was quite impressed by it. I am quite prepared to add the visiting to the park to my list of suitable picnic areas. I could walk there quite happily. Taking my daughter, who is in a wheelchair, to the park would be a bit more difficult as I would need to push her wheelchair along the pathways and up the slopes. I also noticed that the material the stations are made of is plastic. Although high standard and able to stand the weather, ecologically thinking some re-designing could be used there. All in all, I am very happy to have found such a remarkable setup near home. The arrangement is a wonderful sports and recreational initiative by the Ipswich City Council, Sports and Recreation and the Qld Government.

Further Discussion on the Senior Park Concept and Its Relation to Community Capacity Building

International Perspectives

Immediately after posting the Senior Park at Hyde Park report on my blog I got a few interesting emails as comments from people both from Finland and in Australia.

From Finland I got an email saying how interesting this kind of concept is, even though the person had not thought about it before. Next, I got a link to ‘Iltalehti’ and ‘Tamperalainen’ (a local paper) articles which were describing the process of building the first Senior Park or Play Area in Tampere, Norrköping Park.

This has led me to further think about the Senior Park in relation to the community capacity building. It is not such a simple concept after all or in any way a 'one fits all' kind of concept.

In the Tamperelainen article the Principal Park Ranger Timo Koski comments on the Senior Park equipment. The use of equipment is aimed at getting results. “Besides enhancing the muscle condition”, Koski explains, “the equipment is designed to specifically improve coordination and balance.” He also expressly states that the equipment is for the use of all age groups. No restrictions there.

When discussing the Senior Park concept with Emily at Hyde Park, her comments were in relation to the atmosphere and the heritage the senior park would carry as part of the historically defined recreation area in London. The most striking thing there is the deck chairs which on a sunny day are filled with people enjoying the sun and casing over the lake. In my opinion they have also amicably realized their prior stated aims.

In Tampere, although the ‘Iltalehti’ uses the word ‘leikkipuisto’ as reference to children’s play which could work against the concept in older people’s minds as it is a bit degrading, the focus is on results. The park will even have a fitted rail along the edges to enable the walking practice for those people recovering from stroke or other kind of injuries.

The focus on results is a familiar concept to me in relation to HUR-gym equipment (also Finnish) and their use in aged care facilities across the world. The goal there is to improve the muscle condition for the elderly to allow a normal lifestyle as long as possible. The results are very good and often help the elderly to stay at home for much longer period and so save public funds in relation to unnecessary hospital or nursing home intake.

In the Finnish model of Senior Park (or Spanish as the Lappset concept of senior play areas was designed in Barcelona according to the Lappset Australian representative) there is no particular social focus in opposition to Hyde Park. It is not stated if there are any benches there. This does not mean that there wouldn’t be some.

The next contradiction is low impact and low visibility. The equipment in the Finnish model is colourful in opposition to Hyde Park gray look. On the other hand the enclosure in Hyde Park is surrounded by beautifully kept flowers and hedges and so creates a warm and cosy atmosphere. The Lappset equipment, on the other hand calls for an adventurer to try them on.

Some of the Australian people, who have commented, have promised pictures from their areas, where equipment is laid out in parks. I am hoping there will be more talk about this in the future.

As in what suits our community in Jimboomba or Logan, the discussion is just starting. I am hoping the thoughts presented here and the general information about the subject will help us desire on an initiative that enhances our community and works to improve our services.

Links:

http://www.tamperelainen.fi/Uutiset/Paikallisuutiset/Paauutiset/Lasten-leikkipuiston-valineita-Ei-tassa-kiipeilevat-vanhukset?sms_ss=email

http://www.iltalehti.fi/uutiset/2010072212076504_uu.shtml

High Ideals and Community Capacity Building Basics

Reflections on the 10th World Congress of the Theosophical Society.


Not so long ago, I attended an Emergency Relief training seminar for community organisation workers where the participants introduced themselves to others by explaining what sustained them. On the surface it is an easy question and can have a few easy answers such as family, children and partners, compassion and love. On a deeper level it is interesting to further develop a personal understanding of what it is that really makes one’s life worth living; what keeps us doing what we do. This applies especially to people who work in difficult circumstances where they meet others with complex needs and help them to get over difficult phases or life situations on a daily basis. What is it that sustains their ability to cope and give?

My answer to this was and is: an unshakable belief in that there is an underlying goodness in human beings. Later, while searching for definitions of the concept of Philanthropy, this belief emerged as an underlying condition for it (Juusola-Halonen, 2010).

Another way to train and to continue a compassionate life is to attend such congresses, which remind us of the practice of high ideals, where principles are talked about by such individuals who apply them in their daily living. High ideals remind us that there is something worth living and worth striving for in our community and for the humanity. High principles, such as Compassion, Kindness, Unity and Justice are worth thinking about and can be applied to community building, as well as, other more ordinary things. Money might be the deciding force but the guidance of ethics and high ideals can help to bring the priorities to a more manageable focus.

I found a keynote speech by Dr P. Krishna, at the 10th World Congress of the Theosophical Society in Rome titled ‘What Divides Us’ a very enlightening reminder of how to go about building unity in community, especially where small differences are blown out of proportions to create divisions between people, nations and communities. He is the Professor of Physics at the University of Varanasi in India.

In his speech, he reminded the audience that on a deeper level we all function in the same manner, with the same ability to react and experience. On the molecular level, our abilities, our senses, our brain works just the same, with no difference. It is the memories that we store that are the only difference. What divides us is when we ‘put tremendous importance’ in our own memories and consider them more valuable than other people’s experience. “Division comes from the ego process”, Dr Krishna said. We say that our understanding is the true experience, our view right and the other’s point of view wrong. Then we proceed to judge and act on creating a gulf between our ‘superior’ opinions and the other’s ‘wrong’ or less worthy opinions and manipulating them into the same belief patterns we have.

Dr Krishna further reminded us that memories are a rather superficial way of dividing humanity. Stressing the similarities, the unity of everything, would be a more constructive way of building a more inclusive, peaceful and harmonious society. ’’All is connected. It is a scientific fact”, he said.

Community capacity building can be discussed from many angles, from the need analysis to service quality management and operational policies and processes. Sometimes it is good to start from what should be the basics of an ideal community and how to aim for it. This can help to find a way to integrate and look for holistic models in community development.

Another talk in the same congress by Vic Hoe Chin Jr., the President of the Theosophical Order of Service (TOS) in the Philippines, presented a practical example of how to build capacity for the community.

Vic is a long time advocate for youth services in the Philippines. According to him, it is the young people that should be educated. The high ideals should be popularised for them. Unity, Self-transformation and Peace education should be part of curriculum in all schools and youth projects. He is the Chairperson of the Golden Link College in Caloocan City. The school provides education for students, starting from the pre-schoolers and up to the tertiary level Bachelor Degrees in Education and Business. All levels include Theosophy or Perennial Wisdom studies aimed at popularising high ideals such as Unity, Peace and Self-transformation for the youth. One problem Vic has identified is the difficulty of getting skilled volunteers. This is where our views co-inside very well.

There is very little skilling provided for volunteers on the ideals behind community participation. The research shows that to keep volunteers happy to continue volunteering, the volunteer relying organisation need to strive to match the provided volunteer opportunities with the individual volunteer’s motivation to donate their time and effort, be it driven by a social, ideological or feel good need to participate (Halfpenny, 1999; Schmid, 2002). There is not much adequate education or skilling about the ethics of volunteering in relation to community capacity building. Neither is there much discussion about the responsibility and community participation for volunteers. It could be really interesting to develop some international co-operation in volunteer training from the ethical point of view. Self-transformation could be seen as a motivation to volunteer given the right environment. This would provide for more awareness building for aspiring philanthropists.

There are great ideas out there. Attending a World Congress on Theosophical ideas brings the high ideals into focus. From there it is easier to proceed to building a core of Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Humanity without distinction.

I did bring a souvenir from the Congress back to Australia with me. It is a small, knitted bear. One of the international projects of the Theosophical Order of Service is the ‘Heart Babies Project’ where children with a heart condition are brought to India for surgery. It is shown by research that those children who have a little bear along to cuddle recover quicker and easier. The Italian TOS section had knitted hundreds of bears that were destined to be owned by children in hospitals in India and Africa. This is just one example of a project that can bring unity, peace and harmony into community.


References:
Halfpenny, P. (1999) Economic and Sociological Theories of Individual Charitable Giving: Complementary or Contradictory? Volutas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations; 10(3)
Juusola-Halonen, E (2010) Is a Volunteer a Philanthropist? Queensland University of Technology, Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies. (a working paper)
Schmid, A. (2002) Using Motive to Distinguish Social Capital from Its Outputs, Journal of Economic Issues; 36(3), September

The Senior Park at Hyde Park in London

A few weeks ago (June 2010), a new ‘Play Park Area’ opened in London at Hyde Park. The park is specifically targeted for the use of older people, those who are 60 years and older. The opening of the Park was very well covered in the media around the world.




Immediately upon reading some articles about the Senior Park as a concept I became very curious and wanted to investigate it further for the benefit of my own community. If the concept would be suitable, I thought, we could consider a similar kind of project in Australia. The weather in Queensland certainly is right for outside activities around the year. A Play Park Area like that could be an ideal addition to a Community Care Centre which does not have space enough for an indoor gym but is suitably positioned next to a park and secure enough to run activity programs for older people, including toilet facilities and a possibility of a cafe.


I emailed the Royal Parks in London and acquired an appointment with Emily, who had managed the Senior Park Project for the Royal Parks in London. She told me about the project as follows:


The aim of the design and construction of the Play Area according to the ‘Older People’s Play Area, Design and Access Statement’ was to “provide the greatest health benefit and ease of access while creating as little visual impact upon the surrounding landscape as possible.”




Some issues the project management has considered:

The Senior Park had to
- be in a secure place to allow the privacy and the safety of the equipment
- the park needed to be near a pavillion with a cafe, a covered area and the toilet facilities
- besides the activity element a social element had to be considered
- the set up of the park had to be specifically considered for older people’s comfort
- low impact equipment had to be chosen
- low visibility had to be considered for safety and heritage reasons


The Senior Park is situated in an enclosing with the Tennis Courts and the Lawn Bowling. The only entrance is through a Pavillion with toilets and cafe. It is enclosed by lovely gardens.






The setup of the Play Area is in a circular form. There are six low impact equipments situated in a circle, with three benches for social interaction. It is very easy to move around the circle between the equipment. The Park is enclosed with hedges for privacy and low visibility reasons.


The only thing Emily saw as a possible issue was that there is a children’s play area quite near. The equipment is not suitable for children under 15 years. There have been some issues of some equipment breaking down. It could possibly be due to usage by children.





The difference between the Trim Trail setup and the Senior Park setup for outdoor play area

I was really interested in what the difference is between just having gym equipment in a park and the concept of the Senior Park. Emily said that it is mainly the setup of the equipment where the social angle has to be taken into account; that the park is provided with benches for the possibility of socialisation. The other difference is in the circulars setup that enables easy access to the equipment. The visitors do not need to walk between the equipment like with the trim trail.


This is a gym equipment area at Leyton, London, with rock climbing and a circular Trim Trail setup for vigorous usage. My son’s comment on this was that he never needed to be a member of a gym as he could go to this area and exercise as much as he wanted to on a daily basis during the summer months.




Also, mark how people have added weights to some equipment to get more out of them. Also the visibility is to be considered. Here all the equipment are green and create much more visibility although still less than children's play areas which are real high visibility areas.









Some links on the net about the opening of the Senior Park:


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5642453,00.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8506302.stm

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23835771-playground-helps-elderly-to-shed-the-grey-pounds.do