Community
A community is any group of people who share a common interest, values and/or identity. Sometimes people make a distinction between neighbourhood communities and ‘communities of interest’. A neighbourhood community, however, simply means the people who share an interest in the place they see as their neighbourhood: it’s a special kind of community of interest. A neighbourhood community is likely to be made up of people from a number of different communities: young people and old at different stages of life and women and men; different ethnicities and heritage; social classes; varying lifestyles, abilities, culture and other interests. A successful neighbourhood might be thought of as a ‘community of communities’.
The word ‘community’ comes from the Latin word ‘communis’ meaning ‘things held together’.
Dialogue
Dialogue refers to words exchanged between people . Sometimes people think dialogue means a conversation between two people (as opposed to a monologue – which means one person talking). In fact, dialogue can mean any number of people speaking: the distinguishing factor is that it is what is communicated between people (rather than what we think inside our heads).
The word ‘dialogue’ comes from Greek words meaning ‘words between’.
Community Dialogue
‘Community dialogue’ means something like: ‘words between us that help to hold things together’. So, it’s like a conversation with purpose and meaning; a two-way thing involving listening as well as talking. And it might take place within communities; between communities; or partly within and partly between communities (as might be the case in a neighbourhood with diverse but cohesive communities, for example).
This part of the guide is about why community dialogue – conversations between us that help to hold things together -matters, in particular, to local leaders. In particular, it suggests some benefits of enabling a local conversation (whatever form that takes) over organising a council ‘consultation’.
Where Next?
Why does community dialogue matter?
When and where does community dialogue take place
How to have a good conversation…
OR – follow the menu on the right to have a look at other parts of the guide.