Museums alienate public from arts, says think-tank Demos

[9 December 2008 - Telegraph - London, UK] Most people feel "alienated" from the arts because many of the people who run them are "cultural snobs" who believe pursuits like opera and theatre need to be "defended from the mob," according to the think-tank Demos. More

Obama on Arts, Education, Science and Discovery in the White House

7 December 2008 - By Steven Dahlberg

A few hours ago, at the end of his interview with Tom Brokaw, President-Elect Barack Obama talked about the importance of culture, arts, education and science.

[7 December 2008 - NBC Meet the Press] MR. BROKAW: Let me ask you as we conclude this program this morning about whether you and Michelle have had any discussions about the impact that you're going to have on this country in other ways besides international and domestic policies. You're going to have a huge impact, culturally, in terms of the tone of the country.

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Right.

MR. BROKAW: Who are the kinds of artists that you would like to bring to the White House?

PRES.-ELECT OBAMA: Oh, well, you know, we have thought about this because part of what we want to do is to open up the White House and, and remind people this is, this is the people's house. There is an incredible bully pulpit to be used when it comes to, for example, education. Yes, we're going to have an education policy. Yes, we're going to be putting more money into school construction. But, ultimately, we want to talk about parents reading to their kids. We want to invite kids from local schools into the White House. When it comes to science, elevating science once again, and having lectures in the White House where people are talking about traveling to the stars or breaking down atoms, inspiring our youth to get a sense of what discovery is all about. Thinking about the diversity of our culture and, and inviting jazz musicians and classical musicians and poetry readings in the White House so that, once again, we appreciate this incredible tapestry that's America. I--you know, that, I think, is, is going to be incredibly important, particularly because we're going through hard times. And, historically, what has always brought us through hard times is that national character, that sense of optimism, that willingness to look forward, that, that sense that better days are ahead. I think that our art and our culture, our science, you know, that's the essence of what makes America special, and, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House. More: Full Text of Interview (plus video)

Using the White House as a bully pulpit to promote ideas, creativity and learning would be a marked switch from the past eight years. What topics, people and ideas do you want to see showcased within these domains?

With Obama raising such possibilities, it's a good reminder to sign the petition online to support Quincy Jones' idea for Obama to create a Secretary of the Arts cabinet position, too.

Kresge Foundation President Urges Foundations to Help Revitalize American Cities

[12 November 2008 - Kresge Foundation Press Release (via Philanthropy News Digest)] Private philanthropy must work at the heart, rather than at the margins, of the complex economic, social, political, and environmental problems plaguing American cities in order to contribute meaningfully to their revitalization and success, Kresge Foundation president Rip Rapson said at last week's CEOs for Cities national meeting. Speaking to an audience of mayors, corporate executives, and other urban leaders, Rapson applauded the work done by philanthropy in helping nonprofits improve the daily lives of millions of individuals in communities around the nation, but added that ways must be found to address the underlying problems that perpetuate those needs. Citing success stories in four urban areas, he urged large, privately endowed foundations to behave strategically with respect to cities by helping establish a vision for concerted action, working to align civic actors, aggregating risk capital, and connecting low-income people to the mainstream economy. Rapson emphasized the importance of strengthening cities by identifying bridges between low-income communities and regional economic opportunities and noted the work being carried out in Detroit through the New Economy Initiative, a $100 million fund established by the Kresge Foundation and nine other national, regional, and local foundations. Unless we identify and influence long-term leverage points capable of moving intricately interrelated public, private, and civic systems, we will make no contribution to breaking calcified patterns of disinvestment, inequality, and injustice," Rapson said. "We will not, in a word, make any enduring improvement in our citizens' day-to-day quality of life and their long-term trajectories of opportunity." Read the complete version of Rapson's remarks here.

A call for guts

[November 2008 - Ode Magazine - By Frances Moore Lappe] Like a lot of us, I keep asking myself, How did we get into this mess? Since humans have innate needs and capacities for cooperation, empathy and fairness, which science now confirms, why does so much suffering and destruction continue? For many, the answer seems obvious: Humans just aren't good enough; we need to become better people; we need to overcome selfishness and evolve into more caring and cooperative creatures. I disagree. More

Potential of Facebook to transform the future ...

Facebook and other social networking media is connecting people everywhere, everyday, all the time. Barack Obama's election is one example of the power of such technology in politics -- with the pending experiment and challenge of whether the same might apply in governing. Journalist Mona Eltahawy explores (below) how Facebook might help transform the Middle East.

Another potential area to consider ... How might social networking media help link the creativity of citizens in small towns and rural communities to positively shape and transform their communities? Creative community development is not just an urban issue. What ideas do you have for how this might happen?

[Fall 2008 - World Policy Journal] Check out "The Middle East's Generation Facebook" article by Mona Eltahawy, who writes in this piece:
"In 2005, activists breached not just laws against public demonstrations, but taboos of protesting against Mubarak himself, with street protests that focused on Egypt and its internal discontents. But that movement was perhaps too early to rally the masses and was criticized for being out of touch with the needs of ordinary Egyptians. The recent Internet-inspired activism has flipped the script -- the needs of the masses have sparked a wave of unprecedented activism among young Egyptians. Bloggers have been instrumental in the conviction of police officers for torture and in getting neglected stories into the headlines. The Internet has given young people like Shahi a space that does not exist in the 'real world.' They're using it to create grassroots groups and communities that will eventually translate into a real presence in society, and this bodes well for their ability to influence the futures of their respective countries. Generation Facebook might not be able to change their regimes today, but in building communities and support groups online, they are creating the much-needed middle ground that countries like Egypt desperately require. And, sadly, it is surely in recognition of that nascent power that regimes as aging, paranoid, and powerful as Egypt's Mubarak now arrest, imprison, and harangue bloggers and online activists. ... As Generation Facebook grows older and more assured in its ability to organize and unite, it will be confronting a potentially inexperienced leader in the form of Gamal Mubarak with potentially tragic and unforeseen consequences. ... I am confident that Generation Facebook is planting the seeds of an opposition movement that gives Egyptians, and by extension the whole region, an alternative to the state and the mosque. In 2033, I will be 66 years old. Nothing would make me happier than to see Shahi, Ibrahim, and Maha make my dream come true." More (PDF)

A Community Conversation: Engaging Hispanic Men in Health Care

[November 2008 - Creative Community Building] Eastern AHEC and Planned Parenthood sponsored a Community Conversation to explore strategies that would increase Hispanic men’s access to health services. The event was held at “Fiesta 5 de Mayo,” an authentic Mexican restaurant in Willimantic, Connecticut, with community members representing Latin America, and health and social service providers.

Victoria Lowe, Coordinator of the Collegiate Health Service Corps of Eastern AHEC went to a conference on migrants and health in Puebla Mexico. Returning with a stronger sense of the culture, a greater understanding of the health care system in Mexico and a first-hand experience of the impact on migrant families left behind, gave her credibility among the migrant farm workers. During the Community Conversation, migrant farm workers stated that Victoria’s visit opened the Community Conversation, and though they felt there are no immediate answers, mutual ground and a common understanding allows for further community conversations and collective improvements.

Rosie Lazaro, Coordinator, Promotores de Salud Program of Eastern AHEC, invited migrant farmer workers from Prides Corner Farms to participate in the discussion. In preparation for the event, a simulation discussion was held which allowed the community representatives to think about the discussion points and what they wanted their health care providers to know of them and their culture. The simulation exercise also allowed the community representatives to practice using interpretation head sets and talking in a group through simultaneous interpretation.

Also in preparation the community representatives needed approval from their employer and needed to be compensated for their loss of wages to attend the event. It is the belief of Eastern AHEC that organizations need to engage community representatives in meaningful ways, and for this to happen, community members need access to basic resources that give them the confidence and ability to participate in a community discussion.

The Community Conversation was designed to facilitate a partnership and shared understanding of increasing Hispanic’s men’s willingness to access health care, and health care organization’s to provide culturally appropriate health care services. Ignacio Heredia, Outreach Worker of Planned Parenthood of Connecticut facilitated the discussion. The discussion points were as followed.

• Develop a common understanding of the cultural issues that both encourage and discourage Hispanic men from seeking health services, particularly preventative and reproductive care.
• Discuss difference between health care in Latin American Countries and the United States. How do these differences impede access to care in the US? Are there strategies we can use at a local level to bridge the differences?
• What are some of the strategies agencies and organization have utilized to engage Hispanic men in receiving care. What seems to be successful? What seems not to be effective?
• What have we learned over the years that can be helpful to engage new or more recent immigrants into our health and social service systems?

Health care representatives included Planned Parenthood, Perception Programs, the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, and Windham Hospital. Themes emerged during the discussion and three will be presented here: 1. Community Partners expressed a general lack of welcoming and experienced disrespect by health care staff and employees; 2. Cultural and gender issues in Hispanic communities do not encourage health care seeking behavior, whether primary or preventative health care among men; and 3. To improve access to health care by Hispanic men (and Hispanic peoples generally) genuine community conversations need to continue.

Following the community conversation, Eastern AHEC and Planned Parenthood has been continuing their work with migrants within the area and has followed up with community partners regarding topics discussed. Another Community Conversation will be planned for winter 2008.

CCB Exploring Living/Learning Community in Willimantic

[November 2008 - Creative Community Building Program] In July, the Creative Community Building (CCB) program hosted its first event, The Collaborence. About 20 community partners met to network with each other and to discuss aspects of the CCB program. Several of community members, including Peter DeBiasi of The Access Agency, stressed that our program go beyond offering students the opportunity to intern with or be mentored by community practitioners; that they learn by becoming members of the Willimantic community (or others communities in which they might be interning). The idea seemed to resonate with everyone at that workshop. Pressed by its community partners, CCB began to realize that by residing in the community, especially in a space open to community members for meetings or workshops, students would both learn at a deeper level and be able to engage more fully and collaboratively.

CCB is now committed to offering academic credit to students who participate in the development of such a Living/Living Center in Willimantic, through a General Studies Internship course that is already available in the University of Connecticut catalog. CCB will assist in other ways as well, e.g., by seeking funds from both public and private sources to to help acquire the right sort of space, and accessing information, working models, and advice from other campuses and organizations that have moved in a similar direction.

So far, representatives from multiple constituencies including The Access Agency, UConn, Eastern Connecticut State University, and the Town of Windham have met to discuss what would be needed to move the Living/Learning community forward.

For more information contact info@creativecommunitybuilding.org.

Change

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -- R. Buckminster Fuller

Dahlberg and De Smet to Share Willimantic's Creativity at World Cultural Economic Forum in New Orleans

[24 October 2008 - UConn Creative Community Building Program] Town of Windham First Selectman Jean de Smet and the University of Connecticut's Steven Dahlberg will participate in multiple sessions at the World Cultural Economic Forum (WCEF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 30 and 31. The WCEF will bring together cultural ambassadors and leaders from around the world to explore ways of building cultural economic development opportunities. It is hosted by Louisiana Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

"Leaders from more than 50 countries are coming to Louisiana to take part in the WCEF," said Lt. Governor Landrieu. "Some of the world's brightest minds will be in New Orleans, dialoguing about best practices for growing cultural industries as a part of our global economy. Together, we will build economic opportunities by supporting creative and cultural industries such as food, film, music and art."

Dahlberg, who is associate director of UConn's Creative Community Building Program, will chair a panel on "Engaging Creative Communities." This session will explore what creativity is, what it looks like in communities, how communities can engage citizens' creativity in shaping the community, and the poetry of cities. De Smet also will participate with panelists from Maine, New Orleans and England.

De Smet will represent Willimantic's stories of creativity and success in a panel on "Strategies for Developing Creative Industries," along with panelists from The Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Ghana, South Africa, France and Ireland. This group will address programs and policies that support a productive cultural economy. They will share how countries and communities can address cultural economic development in all areas of the cultural economy – design, entertainment (film, music, live entertainment, and performing arts), literary arts and humanities, visual arts, culinary arts, and historic preservation.

The WCEF includes three components: a two-day forum for world cultural economy leaders to explore best practices for growing cultural industries, a World Bazaar and Marketplace featuring artisans and vendors from around the world and across Louisiana, and more than 100 cultural Passport Events held across the state throughout October to showcase Louisiana's unique culture and heritage.

"We are delighted to sponsor the World Cultural Economic Forum in New Orleans this year," said Secretary Stephen Moret of Louisiana Economic Development. "The World Cultural Economic Forum provides Louisiana an opportunity to showcase its many assets to cultural economy leaders from around the world. The relationships we build with these leaders can yield investments in our economy for years to come."

World leaders from Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Denmark, Greece, France, Iraq, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, Pakistan, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom will be among those represented at the WCEF.

George Pataki, former governor of the state of New York, and Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, culture ambassador for the European Union, are among those leading sessions during the two-day Forum.

Learn more about the WCEF

Eureka! How Distractions Facilitate Creative Problem-solving

[30 September 2008 - ScienceDaily] How many times have you spent hours slaving over an impossible problem, only to take a break and then easily solve the problem, sometimes within minutes of looking at it again? Although this is actually a common phenomenon, up until now the way that this occurs has been unclear. But new research in the September issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, demonstrates the answer is more complex than simply having an "Aha!" moment. The new research, led in part by Kellogg School of Management Professor Adam Galinsky, suggests that unconscious thought results in creative problem-solving via a two-step process. More

On Problems

"The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting
otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem." -- Theodore Rubin

Those with disabilities should likewise create

[30 August 2008 - The Jakarta Post] At the closing session of a recent international conference on "Creative Communities and the Making of Place: Sharing Creative Experiences" at the Institute of Technology Bandung, one of the keynote speakers concluded that in the end, the focus should be on people rather than on cities. This conclusion was certainly indisputable, because a city without people is dead. It is the people in their diversity who make a place lively. As shown by the present range of enterprises in Bandung, people are continually creating new things, either as a hobby, as an expression of art, for research purposes, or as a source of income. Gradually these creative products become an industry, called the creative industry. Not only do people do this creative work for their own benefit, but the urban economy flourishes because of these thriving businesses. ... The most underestimated are the disabled. They constantly face barriers to access physical infrastructure or opportunities for self development. They have the potential to make a significant economic contribution to the city, if only the environment could be more physically and socially friendly for them. People are creative by nature and so are disabled people. By excluding them from development opportunities, the society neglects a rich resource of talented and creative people. People who meet the standard of normalcy in performing creative work, predominate the creative industries. They are the ones who are healthy, agile, not disabled and have the financial resources to start an enterprise. Nowadays, young people are very much involved in creative industries. Thinking creatively, they produce goods with an economic value. Their free spirit means allowing people to be different, which is sometimes difficult in our conformist culture. By tolerating different ideas, their creativity emerges. More

National Communiversity Conference Draws 14 Communities From Connecticut to California

[4 August 2008 - Creative Community Building Program - University of Connecticut] Windham, Connecticut, USA -- Four Windham-area residents participated recently in the first "COMV08: Communiversity Conference" in New Gloucester, Maine. Miriam and Mike Kurland, Abigail Ricklin and Steven Dahlberg joined 35 other people from 14 communities -- from California to Maine -- to explore how communiversities can invent a new community context in which people anticipate and transform challenges into opportunities for creative action.

The Windham delegation told the participants during the July 25 to 27 event about Willimantic's efforts to build creative community. Their examples ranged from the Third Thursday Street Fest, the Boom Box Parade and Willimantic's historic Main Street to the Victorian Home Tour, the new Imagine Willimantic Communiversity group, and the new Creative Community Building Program being launched this fall at the University of Connecticut with community-based partners in Willimantic.

"This was an extraordinary gathering of people who spent three days focusing on positive aspects of what's working best in their communities," said Dahlberg, who heads the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination in Willimantic. "There was no whining or negativity -- just a group of people who want to share their communities' stories, figure out how to engage people in their communities, and help their communities learn and grow together."

The Imagine Willimantic Communiversity grew out of a visit to Willimantic in April from the Communiversity Conference organizer August Jaccaci. While in town, Jaccaci met with First Selectwoman Jean de Smet, people from community organizations, and citizens. He also led a public Creativity Networking event at the WindhamARTS Collaborative, at which he shared with the audience his concept of "Communiversity" and invited Willimantic to join a network of other cities and towns who are working to build a movement of communiversities.

Communiversities, according to Jaccaci, are about discovering new and world-changing ways to meet real needs in real places in real time -- with hope. Communiversities weave together ideas about community learning, creative communities and change.

"Communiversities are the sequel to the modern university," said Jaccaci. "We need to profoundly reinvent all aspects of society or we are history. This includes reinventing human learning so that it's continuous and includes all members of the family of life."

To deal with the accelerating nature of community change and transformation, Jaccaci told participants, "you have to go ahead of history, create it, and pull it toward you," rather than merely reacting to what happens.

Lawyer-turned-poet Anthony Burnini, who opened the second day with poetry, invited the participants to work in their communities to "unbury the talents that have been put in the ground" so that people might discover that they have something to contribute to their communities.

Participants spent the first day and a half sharing their communities' stories, which offer several possibilities for Willimantic:

• Gainesville, Ga. -- Gus Whalen shared how the Featherbone Communiversity emerged out of a reinvention of the Warren Featherbone Company. They transformed the company's old manufacturing space into a community learning center that includes a school of nursing, a children's museum, a business incubator, and a creativity center.
• Deer Isle, Maine -- Dom Parisi shared a vision for helping people take back control of energy costs. He has a 12-step plan for involving whole communities in making better energy choices everyday. He has particularly focused on what his community's schools are doing about energy use and conservation, and wants to use communiversities to make that project replicable in other communities.
• Hope, Maine -- As towns consider how to brand and position themselves to the outside world, members of Hope have adopted "Hope is Hip" as theirs. As part of their Communiversity, they invited citizens to a meeting to talk about business or community issues. Forty-five people showed up. "This showed that people want to be connected and talk to each other," said Larrain Slaymaker. This group continues to meet each month at a different business where that organization can showcase itself and its products to the community.
• New London, Conn. -- Art Costa talked about how the Re-New London Council is seeking to focus on strengths and assets to build communities from the inside out and to improve their quality of life. They are exploring how to use land-value tax (versus land-use tax) as a tool for building sustainable economies in new ways in cities. Through their Farm-to-City initiative, they are seeking to feed their community with more local food. They also have a buy-local-first campaign for supporting locally owned and operated businesses.
• Portland, Maine -- Christina Bechstein, an artist and professor at the Maine College of Art, shared examples of how she uses the college's service learning program and arts-based projects to engage students and faculty with a community partner in a community project. She described this as "co-learning with the outside community" and talked about ways to make community challenges, such as hunger, visual and visible.
• Berkeley, Calif. -- Rand Christiansen is focusing both his doctoral studies and his Communiversity work on the concept of a "cosmology of love" in which he explores how love can help us address those things that keep us separate and how to create opportunities for people to excel in their potential. "Love is the wisdom of well-being," he said.

In the closing session, Jaccaci suggested that communiversities can help create the planet's next renaissance and wondered aloud: "What are the design specifications for this?" He recalled Margaret Mead's encouragement to him of working to answer the question: How do you create models that are organic and natural as opposed to arbitrary and manmade?

The answer, Jaccaci said, is in intention -- whether one organizes around resonance and reverence or manipulation and control of others. Nature, he said, offers the best models to help people organize and design communities that function as creatively and efficiently as nature
does.

Christiansen said that focusing on nature emphasizes a model of something that lives and breathes life, which is what people desire of their community. He suggested the sequoia tree as a model, with its broad reach and its roots that spread out and intertwine and support the grove.

"Nature is fundamentally symbiotic, full of mutually benefiting relationships," Jaccaci said. "How might communiversities be this?"

The Imagine Willimantic Communiversity meets on a regular basis in Willimantic. To find out more or to participate, contact Steve Dahlberg at news@appliedimagination.org. Imagine Willimantic Communiversity Member Phoebe Godfrey spoke about this project at the Windham Board of Selectman meeting on August 5.

========================
Creating Communiversities:
Partners in Whole Community Learning
By August Jaccaci

A Communiversity
Is a learning conversation
Within a whole family of life
In a place they hold in common
Dear to them all.
This conversation
Is a sharing of mutual needs
In a place of mutual dwelling
In a process of mutual learning
In a vessel of mutual hope.
This continuous conversation
Is the voice of the soul of life
Expressing the sanctity of all life
For the future of all life
In the home of all life.
========================

Community: The Structure of Belonging - Peter Block

[26 August 2008 - Heartland Circle] Peter Block's -- author, consultant and partner of Designed Learning -- book "Community: The Structure of Belonging" articulates a potent design for creating living communities whenever and wherever people gather, through the realization that everyday acts of citizenship are acts of leadership. The radical notion that belonging to a community as a citizen leader can transform the human relationship to the planet, is both genius and imperative. More: About Peter's Work | Article: Leadership as Convening | Article: Community Handout

Strong partnership key to success in bottom of the pyramid innovation

[26 August 2008 - INSEAD Knowledge] For those at the 'bottom of the pyramid' (BoP), the four billion people or so living on less than two dollars a day, life is hard. Although collectively they have considerable combined purchasing power, they have up to now been traditionally overlooked by businesses. However, major multinational corporations (MNCs) are now seeing opportunities in developing products for the BoP markets, while making a difference to the lives of the poor people. More

Inventing new futures through business education

[26 August 2008 - INSEAD Knowledge] This year, Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) in France will offer some 200 university students the opportunity to develop and implement sustainable projects which create economic opportunities for people in need. "SIFE students take what they are learning in their classrooms about business and use it to meet a need in the community," says Bouchra Aliouat, executive director of SIFE France. "They find creative ways to teach children about the global economy, provide assistance to aspiring entrepreneurs, present effective solutions to struggling business owners and help low-income families achieve financial independence." More