Welcome Back… It’s been a while since I last wrote here….actually 5 years today…Back in 2020, this blog emerged as a space for me to share insights, reflections, and resources during a time when the Third Sector was under immense pressure. Like many working in community development and engagement, I was fully immersed in the […]
Author Archives: Jacky Niven
Goodwill hunting…
I am going to say it…” too many surveys” Possibly a bit rich coming from me, having just pulled together a local online survey…but I am currently sitting with eight surveys waiting for me to complete. They are all meaningful and are ones I am keen to contribute to, but I am looking at spending […]
Okay…Not Okay
Are you Okay? Really, are you Okay? Back in November Time to Change launched their #AskTwice Campaign and this messaging encouraged people, particularly men, to open up if they found they were struggling with their mental wellbeing. A terrific approach to help remove the stigma around talking about not being okay. As news of a […]
The Gate is Open…
“The future of every community lies in capturing the passion, imagination, and resources of its people.” Ernesto Sirolli The need for identity, belonging and community can override the desire for freedom and autonomy. There is a degree of comfort in Hobbes’ model. (see earlier blog Hobbes’ Principles – not a Hobson’s Choice) We human beings […]
Real Empowerment cannot be Cherry Picked
“One of the marvellous things about community is that it enables us to welcome and help people in a way we couldn’t as individuals. When we pool our strength and share the work and responsibility, we can welcome many people, even those in deep distress, and perhaps help them find self-confidence and inner healing.” Jean […]
Hobbes’ Principles – Not a Hobson’s Choice…
The Route Map for Community Participation in the Recovery Phase paper was prepared and launched in the latter part of 2020 and has been well received and circulated. I am keen that it really reaches decision makers which can provoke some real discussion around how this approach can be realised. It is widely agreed and […]
Finding a Road to Recovery
Alice: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” The Cheshire Cat: “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.“ Alice: “I don’t much care where.” The Cheshire Cat: “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.” Unlike Alice I believe many of us do care […]
I Get Knocked Down…
Blink and you miss it… time that is… I have been conscious that I haven’t been keeping up with my blog at the rate I had intended. I left us “Thinking Big!” about our way out of the COVID19 Crisis and I was away to spend my energies on developing the paper we had been […]
Can We THINK BIG after COVID19?
At the end of the school term back in the late 70’s I was coming to the end of my Primary School years. We all made autograph books and collected signatures and comments from fellow pupils and our teachers as we said goodbye, looking towards Secondary School. One entry in my book, I carry with […]
Be Prepared to do things Differently – Route Map for Community Participation in the Recovery Phase
I am just getting back to my blog after literally forcing myself to take some time off. The jury is still out as to whether my own enforced downing of tools has been helpful. I might be able to unplug my gadgets but unfortunately the old grey matter does not have an ‘off’ switch. This […]