Active citizenship:
Developing active citizenship skills and motivated and empowering young people in participating for meeting their needs. We promote the expression of shared responsibility
evidenced in practical action in all dimensions of community life - politics, sport and recreation, care, art and culture, religion, the
environment, health, economic development - and, at its best, involves participation across
boundaries of race, age, gender and disability.
Community led collective action:
We work on community development aiming
at building solidarity and support through emphasizing the common aspects of individual
problems, and the capacity of people to work together in their common interest.
Problem focused learning
We seek to encourage people to think about the causes of problems, act on those causes, and learn from the outcome. This is the core approach taken to empowerment. Community development is based on the idea that people learn from the experience of tackling their own problems. It seeks to encourage people to think about the causes of problems, act on those causes, and learn from the outcome. Lifelong learning is a source of personal fulfilment, achievement and self-realisation, and as such, a basis for building strong communities.
Empowerment
Most forms of exclusion are based on lack of power and influence, and imposed solutions are at best paternalistic and at worst oppressive. We strive for community development has at its heart a commitment to empowerment: encouraging communities and groups to learn how power relationships operate, and to develop their ability to deal with the problems.
Preventative action
We strive to build strong communities who will have the capacity to identify potential problems and take preventative action. This is the core approach taken to empowerment. It seeks to encourage people to think about the causes of problems, act on those causes, and learn from the outcome, reflecting the value of continuous individual and community self-development and improvement.
Collaboration
We promote and facilitate collaboration between interest groups, governments and citizens.
In the RCCD we mobilize resources for a good community development that helps people to recognize and develop their ability and potential and actively respond to the problems they face.
We work to support the establishment of strong communities that control and use their own assets to promote social justice and help improve the quality of community life. We strive to enable community and public agencies to work together to improve the quality of government.
Community development is a way of strengthening civil society by prioritising the actions of communities, and their perspectives in the development of social, economic and environmental policy.
- It seeks the empowerment of local communities, taken to mean both geographical communities, communities of interest or identity and communities organising around specific themes or policy initiatives.
- It strengthens the capacity of people as active citizens through their community groups, organisations and networks; and the capacity of institutions and agencies (public, private and non-governmental) to work in dialogue with citizens to shape and determine change in their communities.
- It plays a crucial role in supporting active democratic life by promoting the autonomous voice of disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
- It has a set of core values/social principles covering human rights, social inclusion, equality and respect for diversity; and a specific skills and knowledge base.
Structure & By laws
OUR community development values
Community Development Purposes:
People want to live in healthy communities, where they:
- feel able to be who they are
- have positive prospects for their future
- experience respect and equal and fair treatment
Community Development`s Focus:
To develop a community that:
- creates wealth and gives everyone access to its benefits
- cares for all its members, when they need it, throughout their life span
- provides an environment that is safe and attractive
- enables people to express and celebrate their creativity and diverse cultures
- enables everyone to participate in decisions that affect their lives
Methods of Community Development:
Supporting people to contribute to the creation of such a community that promotes:
- opportunity for people to learn and develop their own skills
- reaches out to and involves those who may be excluded or disadvantaged
- helps communities to create organisations that can tackle their needs and represent their interests
- works to promote engagement and dialogue between communities and agencies that affect their lives
RCCD contributes and subscribes to:
- The Budapest Declaration on Community Development;
- The Common European Framework of Community Development
- The core values of community development from the ABCD model.
RCCD also collaborates with the European Community Development Network, which establishes a shared understanding of community development across Europe.
WHY WE FOCUS ON community development
Find out more about our statuses and our structure
Programs
Mission + Vision
Learn more about current and planned programs.
Find out what drives us to do what we do.
“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.”
― Idowu Koyenikan