I always enjoy a conversation with Janis La Couv’e. She is involved in many diverse communities, online and offline, here in Victoria. And, I get the feeling she brings all of her communities, all of her connections, to each conversation, a good thing. Making connections is what Janis does. Although, I’ve only known her for […]
Face To Face: New movie tackles workplace bullying with community conferencing
September 15, 2011 by · 2 Comments
It’ s always nice when others take hold of concepts that one holds dear. Following on the restorative justice theme over the last week on this blog (and its not even restorative justice week yet!), a new movie was released in Australia last week, “Face To Face“. It is framed around a centerpiece of restorative […]
The Good News: Restorative Justice
September 13, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Two recent news items about restorative justice caught my intention. Which one should I let “take the day”? The first was what I consider a bad news story. Alberta pulls restorative justice funding, read the CBC news article headline. The Province of Alberta will stop funding restorative justice programs. This is hard one for me […]
Gillian Lindquist: Community Connector
September 10, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Gillian Lindquist knows how to bring people together, and get them talking, openly and honestly, about difficult situations. In her role as Program Coordinator, Victoria Restorative Justice Society (VRJS), I’ve observed her (I’m a VRJS member and ex-Board member) consistently reach out and connect people, and organizations, in the community. The context is always challenging; […]
5 Reasons Why Change Happens Through Conversations
September 5, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Want to change how your family, group, organization, collaboration is working? Have conversations. It’s through conversations that change happens, and we are transformed. Here’s why: Conversations bring us together. And when we are together, we are much more comfortable with change, personal change, organization change, community change… We can handle anything, as long as we […]
Steven Baileys: Community Connector
September 1, 2011 by · Leave a Comment
Steven Baileys knows how to make people feel welcome, welcome in the room, welcome in the community, welcome in the country. I first met Steven in late 2010. He was facilitating a workshop on Culturally Welcoming Businesses. I was an attendee. My initial impression, of someone who is genuine, sees the upside in others, and […]
What is Community and who are Community Connectors?
August 31, 2011 by · 4 Comments
According John McKnight and Peter Block, “community” is a general term to describe what occurs outside systems and institutions. It also refers to an aggregation of people or neighbourhoods that have something in common. … and (from John and Peter), characteristic of “community connectors” are people who are: Gift centred; see the positive, the […]
