People’s views about community development heard on the Sunshine Coast

September 2023

 People on the Sunshine Coast who work and have an interest in community development practices came together to share their individual and shared views. Hosted at the Nambour Community Centre, people mainly from Community Centres and environmental groups gathered. The room was full of thoughtful reflections and visions for the potential of a body to form for community development. There group expressed a strong identification of the need for a Community Development Institute to support community development practice and community activism on the Sunshine Coast.

The group came to the following agreements:

1.         That the CDII is needed to ensure that there is a vehicle for ongoing dialogue with the ‘powers’ that have the resources and influence to enact structural change.

2.         That we broaden our collective action to include other sectors, probably starting with the environment (i.e land-care sector) as they have shown up and expressed interest. We are building a shared concern with people from this sector.

3.         That we articulate what CD practice looks like and what outcomes are likely to follow when the practice is undertaken, and that we have case studies ready to roll out for discussions with entities willing to listen and engage with us around CD practice, i.e. CCC's Suicide Prevention work in relation to health outcomes, and the health benefits of people involved in land-care work.

4.         That we ensure the CDII is a voice for the propulsion of citizen-led work and the extraction of resources to build the capacities of communities to do this work