Creativity Resources for Yale University Bioethics Summer Program

For the past three weeks, I have shared a learning experience with global participants in the "Purposeful Creativity in Life/Work and Ethics" seminar as part of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics Summer Program in New Haven, Connceticut. My co-learners' backgrounds include medical school, ethics, medicine, public policy, biotechnology, research, English, philosophy and more. Together, we have explored the role, impact and meaning of creativity personally in one's life and work, as well as the importance it plays in engaging people in purposeful activity in classrooms, workplaces and communities. Below are additional resources about creativity and some of the ideas we explored. -- Steven Dahlberg, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination

SEMINAR DESCRIPTION: Creativity is a human urge that seeks and deserves expression. It is about imagination and the way we think and act. Creativity is a skill that can be developed and harnessed to help us think in new ways, imagine better solutions and see creative alternatives. In this workshop, we will explore what creativity is, how to apply it to improve problem solving and decision making in ethics, and how it helps us discover purpose and engage in meaningful expression in our life/work. Come and practice the paradoxical art of being playful and serious at the same time, while we apply creative thinking tools and processes to ethics, work and life.

CREATIVITY RESOURCES

• NATIONAL CREATIVITY NETWORK WEBINAR:
  "Beyond Standardized Tests: Assessing Creativity, Common Sense, Wisdom, and More in College Admissions" with Robert J. Sternberg
• CREATIVITY IN PLAY INTERVIEW:
  Robert Sternberg on Creativity, Education and Wisdom
• TED TALK:
  Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity
• CREATIVITY IN PLAY:
  Creativity in Play explores the importance of creativity, play and imagination across society. Hosted by Steven Dahlberg and Mary Alice Long, Ph.D. Produced by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, in partnership with the National Creativity Network. ... 'The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.' – Carl Jung
• APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY:
  Practical tools on Appreciative Inquiry and the growing discipline of positive change.
• SHAWN SWEENEY LINKS:
  Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots | Shawn Sweeney
• INSTITUTE FOR HUMANE EDUCATION:
  Institute and Masters Program | Zoe Weil TEDx Talk
• CREATIVITY ON FACEBOOK:
  International Centre for Creativity and Imagination | Creativity + Social Change at University of Connecticut | Connecticut Creates
• STEVE DAHLBERG ONLINE:
  International Centre for Creativity and Imagination | Applied Imagination blog | Facebook | Twitter

Community as the Gift We Give Each Other

By Juliet Kapsis
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

You give but little when you give your possessions, it is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
- Kahlil Gibran

Community as ...
Poetry
Grace
Meditation
Co-mingling
Coming Together
Synthesis
Connection
Communicating
Passion
Finding Common Ground
Listening
Sharing
GROWING
EVOLVING
Being of the people, by the people, for the people
Public
Shared by all
Fellowship
Common Ownership
Taking responsibility
THE GIFT WE GIVE EACH OTHER

Inside the Hooker Day Parade in Hartford on 10/22/11, marching w/BeatCityHoops

“Community: The origin of the word community comes from the Latin munus, which means the gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means to give among each other.”(1)

Community as the Gift We Give Each Other

Rose from Elizabeth Park, Hartford, CT July 2011 by Juliet Kapsis

We have come into a whole new time and place as humans. This is a time and place where we are waking up to our true selves and what our purpose is on this planet. I can only speak for myself when I write that to contribute and feel connected are major goals of mine. Yes, there is much joy to experience in who I am and what it is I am doing. Yes, there is even more joy in sharing that with others, in sharing myself with others. Many readings that have been a part of this class thus far have also mentioned the joys that are shared when one has a sense of belonging with people and place.

In "Warrior Angel," Lily Yeh makes note of what it is to be “filled with a sense of community harmony, pride, and a genuine concern for others,” that this full feeling is what leads to connection, involvement and growth.(2) This is the kind of fullness we are hungry for. This growth is not just for the person involved, but for the city itself. While I was marching with the Beat City Hoop girls at the Hooker Day Parade this past Saturday, I exclaimed out loud that we were witnessing the beginnings of a city falling in love with itself (and my fellow marchers agreed!). This came out spontaneously and then I remembered that awesome Pier Giorgio Di Cicco who poured his little heart out about being creative and taking ownership for that act in one’s living space. “What does love have to do with it?” asks Di Cicco, and he answers that love has everything to do with a city being a living, breathing entity.(3)

What is it that you love about your city? Di Cicco argues that your quality of life depends on the quality of your love. We have many unique opportunities at this point in human evolution and one of these opportunities is ask what is it that we can do to create more harmony and more joy on this planet. What is it that I can do to contribute to my community? Asking questions and taking action is what it’s about. This action can be as simple as taking a walk around your neighborhood and appreciating what it is you are witnessing. I live on the same street as the motivational speaker, Dave O’Brien, from WorkChoice Solutions. Dave has a great way for us to call attention to being in the present moment by asking, what frequency am I on? AM or FM? FM stands for fear mode and AM is for Appreciation Mode. The power of appreciation is enough to uplift yourself and others around you. Contributing to your community is as easy as smiling to others, picking up litter on the side of the road, donating coats in coat drives. Contributing is frequenting local businesses, such as rockin’ out at the tea house Tisane that hosts funky dance nights on Wednesdays.

This idea of community as the gift that we give each other is one that is a celebration and recognition of contribution. We all have limitless gifts to contribute – there’s no need to hold back anymore. The reason why this idea of community matters is that it’s simple. There are no rules to learn and memorize, you don’t have to spend hours finding minimal pairs in Swedish or putting together a chart of the IPA characters for Polish. You don’t have to go any further than whatever it is that makes you, You. It’s awesome to read the tweets of a Waterbury-based music-promoter, DWI aka Dartz Wit Intellect, as well as those from other Nutmeggers promoting what they are passionate about. It’s fabulous to have a cup of java at JoJo’s on Pratt Street, while contemplating a visit to the Wadsworth or Real Art Ways. Or bring a friend and share rides on 97 year old carousel horses in Bushnell Park. All you have to do is be you and do what you like to do. It just gets bigger from there, because once we get a taste of what it feels like to be in an area that is loved by its citizens, we’ll desire more and more of that feeling of connection and contribution. It’s a gift we get to give to each other.

Calder’s Stegosaurus outside of Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, CT, by Juliet Kapsis

(1) http://www.seek2know.net/word.html
(2) http://www.barefootartists.org/Lilys_Warrior_Angel_11_2.pdf
(3) Municipal Mind: Manifestos for the Creative City by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco

Crowdsourcing Art (and Food) at Billings Forge in Hartford, Connecticut

Potluck Slideshow
Wed. Nov. 16 | 6:30 pm
Hartford, Connecticut
An evening of community, food & art. Potluck Slideshow is a crowd-sourced slideshow of artworks by visual artists, graphic designers, fashion designers, performance, conceptual and multi-media artists, garden designers and more, presented along with a communal potluck meal.

All artists are invited to submit to the slideshow and a prospectus may be obtained by contacting: Janice@billingsforgeworks.org. The Potluck meal and Slideshow presentation are open to all guests. General admission to the event is a dish that serves four people or $2.00 at the door without a dish.

Deadline for submissions: Fri. Nov. 11

Billings Forge Community Works:

http://billingsforgeworks.org/

Artist Lily Yeh on Using Art to Transform and Build Community

This week for the Fall 2011 Creativity + Social Change class, we read "Warrior Angel: The Work of Lily Yeh" by Bill Moskin and Jill Jackson, a paper on hartist/activist/educator Lily Yeh's methodology of using art to transform and build community. Below is a presentation by Lily Yeh at the Bioneers conference, where she spoke about and shared examples and pictures of her work. She has a new book out, as well, called Awakening Creativity: Dandelion School Blossoms, which documents her methodology as implemented at the Dandelion School in Beijing, China, a school for the children of migrant workers. I am honored to be interviewing Lily on Creativity in Play at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, November 10. Listen live or download the podcast after it airs.

Video streaming by Ustream

From Collage to What Next

Patterns, images, metaphors and connections from the Fall 2011 Creativity + Social Change class, responding to the collective collage they created in response to "What if we ...?" and "Wouldn't it be nice if ...?" questions about how to link their personal creativity beyond themselves to the community and society. We used the collage as a planning process tool a few weeks ago. The following Wordle was created from ideas they shared as they talked about the images they contributed to the collage.

Creativity at Heart of Society ... An Irish Presidency Vision

By Steven Dahlberg

Why I Should Be President ... The Irish Times recently asked the seven candidates hoping to succeed Irish President Mary McAleese to outline why they believe they would make a good president.

In a statement of a mere 700 words, Labour Party candidate Michael D. Higgins put creativity at the heart of his vision for society, citizenship and development. Higgins also is the former Irish Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

• The vision I am offering is of inclusive citizenship in a creative society, as we build a real Republic that makes us proud to be Irish in the world.
• Everyone has a contribution to make – whatever their religion, capacity, origin, orientation or income – and inclusion also means shared responsibility, to each other and to generations yet to come. As president, I would also promote a creative society, combining the best of tradition with the spark of innovation and opening up possibilities in every area of life from education to science to business.
• I would encourage creativity in practical ways, something I did as Ireland’s first minister for the arts in the 1990s, establishing TG4 and a network of local arts venues, and helping transform Irish film from an €11 million into a €186 million industry.
• I see the same potential today in creative industries from games development to artisan foods. However, creativity is, most importantly, a vital part of citizenship and needs to be supported from the ground up, in our communities and schools. As president, I would encourage access to art, music and self-development for every child.

Rare is a politician who truly understands -- beyond lip service -- that the creative imagination, ideas and engagement of every citizen is the raw material that builds community, develops the economy and shapes the political process. Higgins, whose self-description includes "poet,"  deeply understands that developing and expressing one's creative self in society is how one meaningfully engages in learning, work and community. He is a prime example of this personally.

Would that the 2012 United States presidential campaign season would include such a dialogue ...

What role does/should creativity play in engaging U.S. citizens in society? How does Michael D. Higgins' vision inspire you? Is there any connection between such a vision for a creative society and what is happening with #OccupyWallStreet?

TEDxDirigo - Zoe Weil - THE WORLD BECOMES WHAT YOU TEACH

THE WORLD BECOMES WHAT YOU TEACH

Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (http://www.humaneeducation.org/) and is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement, which provides people with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to be conscientious choicemakers and engaged changemakers for a better world. Zoe created the first Master of Education and Certificate Program in Humane Education in the U.S. covering the interconnected issues of human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection. She has also created acclaimed online programs and leads workshops and speaks at universities, conferences, and events across the U.S. and Canada. She has taught tens of thousands students through her innovative school presentations, and has trained several thousand teachers through her workshops and programs. Zoe's most recent book, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life, won the 2010 Nautilus silver medal in sustainability and green values. She is the author of several other books including Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times for parents; The Power and Promise of Humane Education for educators; and Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs, winner of the Moonbeam gold medal in juvenile fiction, which follows the exploits of two seventh graders who become clandestine activists in New York City, righting wrongs where they find them. Zoe received a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.

Community Is ...

By Chris Filek
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

I find the best metaphor for community is community as individuals. Before I get into this however, I would like to talk about how different communities are and what a community can be. I live in the town of Cheshire that is, in and of itself, a community. I am also apart of a music community, people who travel all over the country to go to concerts. I am also in a friendship community, a group of really close friends where we talk most everyday and keep in close touch with out friends who have moved away but who are still apart of that community. I am in a community on Xbox in my Madden football league and in Call of Duty with some close friends. I am in a community of students here at UConn Waterbury. Communities come in all shapes and sizes and there is no one singular definition of community.

A community must first and foremost be all about the individuals. If you ever look at a really good movie, each and every character is unique in his or her own way. Take The Godfather, for instance. Sonny was loud, animated and aggressive, while his brother, Michael, was quiet, reserved and relaxed. If a community was all of the same thinking then you end up with a cult or a radical extremist regime like the Nazis. Individualism is very important and is identified with American society. We are probably the first country where being an individual was virtually universally accepted. The idea of community also matters because it can give the individual a sense of self. Although, in my idea of a community, it is predicated around individuals that we also need to have common bonds that keep us together. My community of concert attendees is bonded by our love of either live music in general, or a specific band that is performing. We are all much different on our own but we are bonded by our shared joy of live music.

From living in my hometown for the better part of my life, I can also tell you that community is also a support system. The Petit Family Tragedy took place in our town and now twice a year we do Lights of Hope, once in the fall and another in the summer as a remembrance to their family. The church and Dr. Petit’s family, friends and neighbors have all tried to be there in his time of grief. We put the luminaries up every year and so do all of our neighbors. We never met the man or his family but we are part of this community and that tragedy touched all of us very deeply.

From what I’ve learned about community I can tell you that any community can be successful as long as the people in it legitimately care about each other. If everyone in the town was a hermit then parks would be overgrown by weeds and recreational areas would become extinct. If everyone thought they were the boss then everyone would fight and nothing would get done. A community is a shared experience among individuals and if you get the right group of people it can flourish.

Community as Individuals

By Derek Pettinelli
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community as individuals is a metaphor that I feel is very relevant as it shows that there is a mass that is made up of smaller parts. Everybody is a part of a community and while many people try and separate themselves into smaller groups, divided by race or class, I think that’s irrelevant as we are all humans and all must work together for the betterment of society. A community without individuals is not a community; it’s just a lot of abandoned space and emptiness has no way of progressing itself unless there are proactive individuals who work together.

Communities include the people in them, because the people make everything else -- the businesses, the parks, the newspapers, the TV news, etc. Without individual people to keep the “wheels turning,” society will grind to a halt and be left barren, in literal and figurative senses. From a basic perspective, people, who are hopefully individuals, are the community, or rather the facet that binds the community together. They are the wheels on the bicycle that allow for movement, forward movement.

Having the idea of community as individuals is a viewpoint that touches base with everybody involved and conversely, everybody who isn’t involved. Individuals are part of a community whether they like it or not -- from a community being a man-made one, with boundaries and taxes, to a community being one of like-minded individuals who, for example, enjoy watching sports. All of these people are a part of a community and the ultimate goal is to have them be active members working for the benefit of the community, instead of passively and even selfishly watching the world pass them by. The idea of community matters because people are a part of something cohesive, something that is bigger than them. It is imperative that people “get involved” and that helps not only promote individuality and creative, progressive thinking, but it strengthens the community.

The implications of viewing a community as a group of individuals is one that puts responsibility on the individual. Taking responsibility for one’s own actions and using that to focus on societal betterment is important, because I think that is what people should be doing. Everyone has an effect on the world around them, whether they like it or not, and that’s why I feel that people should use energy to be pro-active. The golden rule is something that is almost ageless, a ubiquitous sense of “the proper way to act.” Treating others the way you wish to be treated is unfortunately a foreign concept in many ways and viewing the community as individuals helps hammer home that concept, making people aware of their actions and subsequently the consequences that follow.

Changes made as a result of this have overwhelming potential to be positive for the community and thus individuals. Simply being pro-active in such a way that affects somebody else is incredibly important. I firmly believe in the concept of “paying it forward,” where I do good things for people in the hopes that they will reciprocate positive actions for other people in the hopes of creating a butterfly effect of positivity. The greatest change starts with the smallest action and even the smallest acts of positivity have the potential for great ramifications. With this information, one can be proactively positive, which is the best that we can be, because to quote Gandhi: “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.”

Community is ...

By Laurie Lukasavage
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Communities are smaller groups of people living, working and playing together within a larger one. In each small community, there seems to be an even smaller group of individuals that affect the entire aura or atmosphere within their own community. They are the people who have the ability to express their thoughts and ideas to others, which in turn motivates others to participate. These gifted people have the ability to make everyday seem fun. The mundane everyday life can become spiritual. When a person experiences a transformation in his or his life from a lonely, repressed, methodical existence ... to a creative, vibrant, “in-the-moment” manifestation of joy, then life suddenly becomes exciting and worthwhile. There is instantly much to look forward to. There is now a solution for a void that was created by a need.

My seven-year-old child inside of me makes me feel like ... I want to drive through my own town and be proud that it is my hometown. I want it to look beautiful and safe and clean. I want people to wave to me and say hello as they go about their business. I want to have conversations with people and exchange ideas about where to hang out. Who has the best coffee in town? What’s new within town? Are there any new businesses coming in? Is there any cool music I can go listen to? How about bands? Local plays? Are there any new trails to walk or ride a bike on? Do I have something I don’t want or need anymore? Like clothes, food, old dishes or furniture that someone else would be grateful to receive? I want to hear my comrade’s suggestions or recommendations. Do they know of any places to visit that they’ve seen that I may also enjoy? And, if my neighbor needs help, I want them to feel free to call me.

Every person has the desire to feel connected to someone or something. However, authority figures within society have tried to govern communities through cookie-cutter rules and regulations. Not every answer is a perfect solution or fit for everyone. Sometimes the resolution needs to be modified for it to be the best possible outcome for that individual. When that happens, then the person experiences personal growth.

Many people do share common interest and traditions. If they are allowed to have close interactions with each other and can do so at a common meeting ground, then good things start to happen. Their immediate circle of family and friends becomes larger. During bad economic times, this can be a life-saving event. It’s very difficult to reach out and help others when you feel desperate and downtrodden from economic woes. If you cannot provide for your family, or even yourself, then nothing else seems to matter.

Unfortunately, there are also individuals who create communities out of their own greed and need for control. This kind of community breeds social decay. It pulls down everyone in that community. Everyone, young and not-so young, needs to know that if a friend is pressuring you to do something that doesn’t feel right or that may cause you harm or emotional damage, then no matter how many times you’ve spoken with them, they are not a friend. There will always be people like this among us in society. Gravitate toward the ones that make you feel good. In return, good, caring people will gravitate toward you.

Community as People

By April Belanger
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community offers many different concepts to people’s eyes to what could be: community as a process, compost, place, creativity, people, individuals, performance, work of art, and a playground (Dahlberg). Most of all, I believe the most relevant concept to be ‘Community as people.’ According to Wikipedia, “Traditionally a 'community' has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location” (Wikipedia 1). Over the past few weeks' worth of readings, I have opened my eyes up to many new ideas about what a community means to me. I think now, what communities do I belong to? I’m still unsure of that answer but I know that I want to expand my learning of what kinds of communities are out there and how I can help make them better. The one thing that any community has in common is people. Without having individuals in it to make up groups, sociologically there wouldn’t be communities. Wikipedia states, “In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness” (Wikipedia 2). In theory, the perfect community would have all the best creations of a person, cohesion of a group, and creativity. Before this class, I never quite understood the importance that creativity can have on a community and society as a whole.

Presently, close-knit communities aren’t seen as often as they should be. A community to me is made up of people, concepts, dwellings, desires, creativity and cohesion. People within each community represent what it is they stand for and what they see happening for that community. In some of the readings, one person started a community where people were able to express their artistic abilities openly and freely, and for that reason that community lasted. It took one individual's desire to create an atmosphere, a community that people could be themselves in. The type of person you allow in your community can affect it altogether. Every individual in your community should represent what it is you stand for and why that community matters. Every person has a voice and each of those voices should be heard. Who knows ... down the line I could create a community that is invested in helping out animals without homes. To me every animal has the right to food, shelter and water. Hopefully, one day I have the resources to make that happen. The idea that community relies on people would be very important to my project. I would need the help of the city, volunteers and others to make it happen. In our present day society, we need to re-examine what a community is and how we can learn how to create more of them. If one person had an idea and developed it into a community, the changes are endless. We can learn how to be a better society, a safer one, a more-inspired one. In turn, we could become a better self. If you had the power and resources like the president, the possibilities for a strong community could be incredible.

Community as Salad

By Michael Sciarra
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Characteristics of community can be illustrated with many different metaphors, but I have yet to find the metaphor that encompasses all the different characteristics of community that I can come up with. We've all heard of the United States as being a “melting pot,” a community where people of different backgrounds come together and create something new. Perhaps, but I see that all the elements have not combined to become a homogenous new creation. Instead, different people have different points of connection to others in their social group, and those others have still more connections to different others, in a sort of six degrees of separation that unites all of us, through the bridges of language, and traditions of culture, religion, food and so on. These bridges are like the dressing on a salad, bringing together the different elements to form a heterogeneous whole. The elements of a salad, like the people in a community, are different in limited ways, and are more alike than different: we may find vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and a variety of other ingredients in a salad, but they are all foodstuffs (though I've seen the occasional gold leaf or flower petal in a salad, they were for decoration ...). With community as salad, the participants need to get in the mix ...

Whatever the cultural, religious, genetic, political, etc., background of the people in a society, all of these people are, well, people. I can recognize the differences, rather than denying or acknowledging these differences, while connecting through similarities. When I am making a salad, I don't ask the tomato to become like the cucumber. I check the freshness of the ingredients, and aim to create a balance among the different ingredients. As the available ingredients change, so does the type of salad that I can create. I use what I have available, and make the best salad I can given the available ingredients. As the members of a community change, the community can collectively redefine itself, rather than segregating and pining for what once was. If each community member is able to continuously respond to changes in the community, the community will remain fresh. Of course, the “community as salad” metaphor cannot convey all, or even most of the aspects of community. Unlike vegetables and other such foodstuff, people have the ability and desire to manifest their creative selves. We may submit to governance to avoid chaos, obtain the benefits of cooperative, lawful behavior, and find support through various social programs; however, the new governance is changing. No longer the chefs in the kitchen creating and serving up what they think is best (and not always what's best for the diners), the new governance is a responsive one, in which an unprecedented number of individuals are empowered with a means to influence the decisions of their government.

With access to the internet and other relatively inexpensive and pervasive tools for social communication, the model of social communication is no longer a hub-and-spokes model. I don't need to own a printing press, radio tower, etc. to broadcast my opinions. I can just log on at home or at the library, or pick up my cell phone, and start typing or speaking. It is because of these technological changes that society and government are able to become truly dynamic entities, not attempting to conform to some unchanging, unachievable ideal, but instead constantly changing in response to new input from constituents. Though I chose “community as salad” as my point of departure, I am thankful for all the metaphors for community, because no one metaphor is sufficient to convey all of what community is to each of us.

No one member or sub-group can contribute to a community as much as a group of members can contribute when the opportunity, ability and desire to contribute is present. Opportunity is systemic, and technology has changed the system. Ability is assumed (we each have something to contribute). Desire requires an object. The desire to live in the type of community in which I want to live motivates me to participate in it's creation, along with the supportive belief that I can participate. Thus, far from being an element in a salad, or the chef that creates the salad, I am becoming a member of a new community of thoughtful, vocal, responsive participants, empowered by technology to influence community leaders and connect with other community members to initiate changes to my community.

Community as Belonging

By Robert Sireno
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Thinking About Community ... Community as Belonging
(ideas about the concepts of “Community”)

Looking back over my life, I have used the word community, or heard it used, many times, and seemed to recognize what was referred to each time. First, a community is usually made up of individuals with common interests and/or values -- the Italian community; the scientific community, the Christian community. A community can be made up of individuals of all possible descriptions, backgrounds, hopes, needs, potentials. Or in some cases a specific knowledge is needed.

The community can have a common location -- the East Side, the Senior Center, or in some instances, it can come together at various locations -- People for Change, interfaith organizations. The internet has created a virtual community with an electronic location. Whether this is true community is in question. A community usually occupies space.

A community usually has significant social interaction. Members of a community can relate to one another on certain levels, discussing things, deciding things, enjoying one another’s company, envisioning the future. Members usually follow agreed upon rules for their community.

Bringing all this together I see that community has a definite structure behind it. It is a group of individuals, occupying space in a specific location, and following agreed upon rules to continue their existence as a community.

These individuals have some sort of common interests or values that draws them to the community where they can take part in significant social interactions, possibly envisioning the future.

__________

Why community ? “Belonging” is a human need (see Maslow’s Hierarchy). Human beings are social creatures. We grow as humans through relationship with others and their acceptance of us, and caring for us. Without this relationship, we cannot realize our self-worth and become contributing members of society.

Through our interactions and sharing with others in community we are able to see meaning in our lives and arrive at an understanding of our overall purpose. Our individual lives take on worth as a part of the whole of human existence. We have reason for living. Without this feeling of worth by our citizens, our overall society would suffer from the lack. Future growth and progress would be limited to our governmental city planning and maintenance. There would be no citizen input or even interest. Social Change would be non-existent.

We as citizens must take the initiative to insist on the incorporation of spaces for meeting and community in present and future projects. Places where individuals could fulfill that need as human beings for belonging. Spaces where they could get to know one another and exchange ideas. Through community we would begin to be heard. To create a society in which we can belong. To sculpt society to our own vision and needs.

Community as ...

By Catherine Capuano
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community Metaphors:

• Community as quilt.
• Community as cornerstone.
• Community as embrace.
• Community as power plant.
• Community as symphony.
• Community as expedition.
• Community as vine.
• Community as language.

The Role of Beauty in Community Satisfaction - Richard Florida

"Beautiful Places: The Role of Perceived Aesthetic Beauty in Community Satisfaction"
Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander and Kevin Stolarick
This research uses a large survey sample of individuals across United States locations to examine the effects of beauty and aesthetics on community satisfaction. The paper conducts these estimations by ordinary least-squares, ordered logit, and multinomial logit. The findings confirm that beauty is significantly associated with community satisfaction. Other significant factors include economic security, schools, and social interaction. Further, community-level factors are significantly more important than individual demographic characteristics in explaining community satisfaction. [3 January 2011 - Creative Class - More]

Commentary: On Creativity and Food

By Todd Gabriel
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED: Jamie Oliver
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jamie_oliver.html
Read Jamie Oliver's challenge: How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits of fresh food so they can make better choices?

Jamie Oliver explains very simply how most of the food we eat in America is nonnutritious and highly processed. His focus is on children, stating that every new generation will lose 10 years off their lives through obesity because of the bad food they eat. His mission is to raise awareness of the processed foods we eat as adults and feed our children, not only at home but in schools around the country as well as places of work. He wants to get good, local, whole foods back into our homes and schools.

Processed foods are usually made up of two products -- corn and soy beans. These crops are extremely cheap and can be grown in huge quantities in this country. Most large scale farmers in the United States produce three things -- corn, soy beans and animals that can be ground into processed meats, such as turkey (not the kind you eat at Thanksgiving) to make “turkey products” such as turkey bacon, turkey sausage, etc. The corn and soy beans can be refined to make fillers for a plethora of foods. If you look at the label of processed foods, you will find one if not both of these two ingredients in some form, such as corn syrup, corn starch, corn meal, soy protein, corn oil and hydrolyzed corn gluten, to name a few. They are added because it keeps cost down and adds a flavor of one or more of the three things that the food industry has learned we respond to -- sugar, salt and fat. We crave these things, so if they can some how get these things into the foods they sell us in a cheap way than they have succeeded. What they don’t realize or don’t care about is that it is killing us. And not only through weight gain but by using man-made products that our bodies can't metabolize properly and can lead to many unknown effects.

Jamie Oliver states three major things we can do. First, raise awareness about the foods we eat. Second, to get money and resources to the people who will help change the food environments from processed to whole foods. And third, start cooking at home. He states we lost our traditions of cooking real foods at home and passing down to next generations recipes and the know how of cooking. Children are a focus because they can change and stop the cycle before it continues.

I believe in Jamie Oliver’s cause. I personally look at food as a link in a long chain of fundamental change. If we can learn to understand the importance of sustainable, local foods and environments in our neighborhoods it will benefit us greatly in many ways. Jamie is creative in the way he took a passion for food and turned it into a way to change a country or countries for the better. He’s also creative in his execution. For example, he shows the kitchen he opened that took local, healthy food and distributed it to schools using local people. He put into action what he is speaking about. It takes many creative ideas and ways of thinking to be able to change conventional ways. Jamie is demonstrating this here with his food movement.

Community as ...

By Steven Dahlberg
International Centre for Creativity and Imagination

In April 2010, I taught two sessions on "Creative Solutions in the Nonprofit Sector" for a semester-long course in Rhode Island College's Nonprofit Studies Certificate Program. We were fortunate to have two guests visit us in the first session -- Ian David Moss, research director for Fractured Atlas and editor of the Createquity blog, and Stephanie Fortunato, special projects manager for the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism. They spoke about creative community, creative class and public policy. For the second session, we met at the great creative community organization, AS200, where the founder and artistic director Umberto Crenca, shared the story of how such an organization came to be and the role it has played in helping transform the culture of creativity in Providence. (He also co-authored an essay, called "Compost and the Arts.")

The students in the course each wrote an essay that started with "Community as ..." and looked at a metaphor for community. How we imagine and frame community matters for how we engage people in community, how we communicate our community work, how we organize, how we manage, and how we do anything related to our involvement with and work in communities. They were invited to think like a seven year old and to try to have original ideas about these various concepts of “community.” They were also asked to think about what, so what, now what … that is:

• WHAT: What does this idea of community include?
• SO WHAT: Why does this idea of community matter?
• NOW WHAT: What implications does this idea of community have? What changes could happen if we adopted this idea of community?

The students' responses to "Community as ..." can be viewed through the "Rhode Island College" tag here. In addition, all of their essays were entered into Wordle to visually show which words and ideas were most prevalent. That image is below and can be clicked on to view a larger version.

Community as People

By Keith Frost
Nonprofit Studies Program, Rhode Island College
Providence, Rhode Island

In our society of “Save the Bay,” “Save the Whales,”and “Save the Trees,” why is there no outcry for “Save the People”? When I think of community as people, I think of the homeless person who has no one to turn to. I think of the family who just lost their house, Dad lost his job, and they are living in their car.

Community as people includes moms, dads, grandpas, grandmas, brothers, sisters, people of every color, race, ethnicity, size, shape, etc. This idea of community is us. It matters because if there were no people, there would be nothing. Yes, we have plants, animals and other living things, but people are the good and bad of the world. We have the power to do good, but unfortunately we have the power to do bad. People and the idea of "community as people" hold the keys to the future existence of man.

Let’s imagine a world without people. What would it be like? What if there were never people to walk the earth? Why are we here? What is the purpose of our existence? Do we have a purpose? Is that purpose greater than us?

These are just the beginning of "community as people." We have the power to build and destroy, so I believe we need to protect the planet, animals, and all that is living and breathing on it, and that includes people. We as community must rise to help our fellow brothers and sisters in this journey of life.

Community as Home

By Leah McPhail
Nonprofit Studies Program, Rhode Island College
Providence, Rhode Island

When I think of community, I think of a place you can call home; a place that is safe, friendly, familiar, fun, and clean. I think of a place without any garbage on the ground, because people would not throw it there. I think of going to the store and knowing the people who work there, and saying hello to your neighbors. A place where you are out of milk, you can walk next door and get some from. In the summertime, I think weekly games of “manhunt,” and water gun fights, pool parties and cookouts that everyone is invited to. In the winter time, I think holiday parties with family, friends, and neighbors, snowball fights, and winter sports. I think “tightly-knit” and open and everyone knows everyone.

If all communities were like this, neighborhood pride and togetherness would increase, leading to reductions in crime rates. It would also affect the litter and destruction of property that often occurs in many “communities”. People would care about their neighborhood and their neighbors.

This idea could also lead to trouble. When neighbors interact, it might lead to drama within the “tightly-knit” circle. A potential issue for concern is gossip. When a community knows its members’ business, it can often be problematic. It can turn people against each other, and cause rifts in the peacefulness. Living down a mistake or a bad choice would be unlikely, or take a very long time. If you remain within the community, secrets are not easily kept; even if you don’t want anyone to know. Conversely, the harmony and friendship may be an even trade for the drawbacks. Knowing that you do not have to lock your car doors, you can leave your windows open at night, and not have to worry about neighborhood violence can be irreplaceable to some.

Another source of disturbance is landscaping…some people don’t like to rake their lawns meticulously, and don’t plant grass seed if their lawn is bare. Others may be offended by the sight of an unkempt lawn or leaves blowing from yard to yard; and the situation could explode into a form of “suburban terrorism” (–former victim of a disgruntled lawn keeper).

I was born and raised in a community similar to the one described above (not exactly so “cookie-cutter”, but close). As a child, that is exactly how it seemed. I have since grown up and lived in a city, and have seen a whole new side to community. Walking down the street, you may not want to say hello the person you are passing, and may even fear them. You would never leave your G.P.S. in your car, let alone leave it unlocked. If your front door is ever not locked, the chance that you get robbed increases dramatically.

Community as Toy Store

Neal Gouck
Nonprofit Studies Program, Rhode Island College
Providence, Rhode Island

I owe this all to my six year old. We worked through the assignment topic together using “town” instead of community. Once the imagination got warmed up, we agreed that we could live in a toy store. “How cool,” he said, “I could live in a toy store!”

This idea of community includes the concept that we could get access and play with all the things (toys) that we don’t have at home. “I could ride all the things,” says Griffin. Our kids don’t have the assortments of the motorized yard toys like the kid-sized Cadillacs, Hummers, and John Deeres. This might in reality mean that citizens of a town can access and use the community’s resources. For instance it might work like these examples:

• Department of Public works does workshops and licensing training for citizens who can later rent the department’s earthmoving equipment.
• Imagine taking the Park and Recreation Dept’s backhoe home on a Wednesday afternoon.
• Volunteer to be an operator to make a flood swale trench around the new horseshoe pits at the local field.
• Sign out the electric company bucket truck in order to serenade your sweetheart on your first date.

Any idle resource that an agency has could be used for citizens. Can’t find a good idea for a birthday party? Use the school cafeteria and playground or have the librarians arrange a puppet show at the library. These are just some of the ideas that a community which takes on a sense of entitlement towards its resources and assets can create.

My son’s idea of community as a Toy Store matters because the town has all the amenities (toys) that our own homes most times lack. To be able to leverage and control the unattainable assets mentioned in the examples above are the same yearnings that adults have for their own existence (our toy store), but we inefficiently pursue the attainable amenities (think of idle backyard hammocks and trampolines) to be part of our own properties that are better/more efficiently pursued as community property. If the assortments of amenities found common to our homes were made common property much like a library book then we could all borrow to make the best efficiency of idle assets. Transcending the need for ownership could create a toy store like appeal in citizens. My son and most all our children quickly learn the benefits of sharing and borrowing in school, during play dates, and with siblings at home. As adults who live in the toy store community we quickly would learn (or remember from childhood) that by participating and respecting the resources one can quickly access a much greater variety. The community as a toy store concept helps bridge that unattainable demand we have as individuals for access and variety to unlimited toys by shifting our understanding of ownership from permanent towards a temporary shared ownership. Engagement in this community is privileged and predicated by a longstanding and continued commitment to respect and stewardship of the resources.

The implications of seeing your town’s assets as your “new toys” makes one feel entitled and emboldened to engage/participate. The concept that you can play with any toy so long as it is idle (like any child knows: you don’t grab a toy away from someone else who’s using it) makes one more inquisitive in what can I now accomplish since I now have access to resources that I never really had before. How can one use their newfound access to add value personally to their lives, yet while still respecting the asset itself as the community’s property because to do otherwise could jeopardize future participation. The implications of the toy store community would encourage community spending and therefore lead to higher taxes. There would be very little opposition for major purchases on equipment and programs because the idea that the community’s property is accessible to oneself actually gives rise to encouraged overspending. This natural tendency to increase community spending could heighten when popular or hard to schedule resources would necessitate procuring “spares” to shore up citizens’ chances that there would be an idle resources available to them when and if they ever envisioned needing access.

Adopting the Toy Store Community would mean a tremendous increase in out of home experiences and engagement. Ideas of borrowing versus ownership would be relegated to a higher community values of respectful behavior, patience, planning, and coordinating because those competencies would improve one’s chances of maintaining access to what would otherwise be the unattainable variety (toy store) that we all so seek to live among.