Community Development
Community development is the process where community members are reinforced and supported by agencies to recognize and take cooperative action on the issues that are essential (Ledwith, 2020). The development of community empowers the members of the community and thus makes stronger and greater associated communities. It is a holistic method grounded in social justice, human rights, self-discrimination, empowerment, collective action, and inclusion. These elements aid the community members to become experts by the virtue of gaining wisdom and knowledge that adds value to the community (Ledwith, 2020). At very initial stage, community members are leading the community development programs by providing analysis and determining numerous issues for implementing and selecting evaluation and actions (Banks et al., 2018). The major focus of community development is to provide a better quality of life and solve problems of rural areas. This essay will shed light on community participation, community development importance, and the worker's role in the community development process. This essay further sheds light on the principle self-determination that helps to build community development in the project.
Community development is essential as it provides the basic foundation for a state to maintain and improve lives of people. It helps to make diverse and strong communities that can keep and attract talent, grow and start businesses. Also it helps to overcome issues arising in the community (Banks et al., 2018). Effective community development helps in decreasing the rate of crime, aid to curb down disparity among citizens, availability of jobs, effective and capable workforce etc. Community development not always helps solve the issues, rather helps to increase growth opportunities (Johnstone & Schowengerdt, 2022).
Community participation benefits society because community involvement activities in non-separated spaces help individuals acquire and learn new skills or advance their hobbies (Roberts, 2019). It also helps individuals in improving and building their confidence. It paves the way for contribution and development. For example, when a person participates in a project that is directly giving benefits to society, it helps in the achievement of pleasure and meaningfulness (Roberts, 2019). Participation gives numerous benefits like wellbeing, better health, and development, adoption of new skills, recognition and acceptance. Along with that the advancement in social support, increased social network, indorses sense of belonging, improving lives and skills, project involvement that is advantageous to the commodity is also observed (Marston et al., 2020).
The main role of community development workers is to help families, individuals to bring social change and improvement the life in local areas (Roberts, 2019). Community workers act as a bridge between communities, authority of local and voluntary sectors breadwinners like social workers, police, and teachers. They provide support and care to the people and help allow people to live independently (Roberts, 2019).
Self-determination is an important principle that works in the same regard. Self-determination is a process of community and philosophy that flows to support the people to have responsibility. It also provides them the right to choose and direct the services and supports impacting people's lives (Ryan et al., 2021). Self-determination of Aboriginal community is an ongoing process for ensuring communities like Indigenous can meet their cultural, social, and economic needs. It is not all about making a distinct state of Indigenous community (Ryan et al., 2021). Self-determination is usually based on the acknowledgement that people of Indigenous community are the first people in Australia, which is also recognized by the historical law of Mabo judgement. If self-determination were not there, it would be impossible for Australian Indigenous to overcome the inheritance of dispossession and colonization fully (Rosnon et al., 2019).
Self-determination in practice, in numerous contexts, including the management of the natural resource, health care, economic development, child protection, care and education. Self-determination refers to the transfer of control, power, decision-making, and resources from the Non-Aboriginal service sector and government to communities of Aboriginal and organization (Rosnon et al., 2019). Self-determination realization in Victoria's family and child services sector. For example, Aboriginal people have to relocate from the place where they have limited resources and influence. Also they avoid places where they have no control over the situation in the decision-making process pertaining to Aboriginal families and children (Reed et al., 2020). Self-determination practices in Aboriginal employment in the Victorian public sector are practised by senior level positions. They aid to strengthening employment of Aboriginal and this helps in supporting the future leader of Aboriginal development for the public sector and organization controlled by the Aboriginal community (Reed et al., 2020). Ensuring rights of Aboriginal people to culture are upheld and respected. Self-determination is a clear commitment, creating a strong commitment to the safety of culture reflected in the physical environment. In the decision-making process involvement of Aboriginal people also ensures that they have a strong voice in business (Reed et al., 2020). Partnering and consulting with Aboriginal people when designing programs and services for Aboriginal people is a must. For example, the treaty is a tangible and practical way for the government of Victoria and Aboriginal Victorians to work, combined with self-determination in Victoria (Dudgeon et al., 2020).
Self-determination prioritizes culture and cultural identity that allow Aboriginals to accomplish positive outcomes. This allows them to practice the right to culture as it is important for Aboriginal Victorians' positive self-identity and wellbeing (Thorpe, 2019). Supporting healing and addressing trauma is also essential because the welfare or wellbeing of Aboriginal families is fundamental in communicating with the system and structure that help provide support. During the time of colonization, the system and structures established have excluded Aboriginals and their customs, laws, and traditions, which resulted in rooted structural and systematic racism (Thorpe, 2019). But today, mainstream organizations, governments, and services must provide support and mechanisms for Victorian Aboriginal families, people, organizations and communities to participate in the policy's development. Universal and targeted services and systems should be safe-culturally, accessible, relevant, and responsive to the communities (Charvet, 2018). This allows Aboriginal people to make decisions in their life. Aboriginal people should know what is suitable and best and suitable for themselves and their communities and families. Resourcing and placed-based decision-making at the local and state level allow communities of Aboriginals to lead the implementation and development of relevant responses (Charvet, 2018). This enables communities of Aboriginals to hold the government and mainstream organization.
Hence, it can be concluded that community development workers aids in undertaking the issues or problems they face in today's society. The theory of community development needs complete elimination of every form of exploitation, inequalities, and social injustices with economic, cultural, and human rights must be promoted. Indigenous have the right of self-determination. They have the virtue of determining their social, political, economic, and cultural development. Self-determination is essential for Aboriginals because they need to overcome the numerous disempowerment and disadvantage facing in their lives. Community development approaches are now recognized globally; their approaches are recognized for cultural, social, economic, and political development by organizations like WHO, UN, World Bank, OECD, Council of EU and Europe. The basic fundamental of community development was to provide position and power to ordinary people for the welfare of society.
References
Banks, S., Hart, A., Pahl, K., & Ward, P. (2018). Co-producing research: A community development approach. In Co-producing Research 1-18. Policy Press. https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/abstract/book/9781447340775/ch001.xml
Charvet, J. (2018). What Is Nationality, and Is There a Moral Right to National Self-Determination?. In National Rights, International Obligations 53-68. Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429498756-4/nationality-moral-right-national-self-determination-john-charvet
Dudgeon, P., Bray, A., & Walker, R. (2020). Self-determination and strengths-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide prevention: An emerging evidence-based approach. In Alternatives to suicide 237-256. Academic Press. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128142974000121
Johnstone, C. J., & Schowengerdt, B. (2022). More than skills: The importance of social and community connections in youth development. Prospects, 1-13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11125-021-09586-2
Ledwith, M. (2020). Community development: A critical approach. Policy Press. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8yjJDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR8&dq=What+is+community+development+&ots=qrnGU8ghzg&sig=W-RexbuNo7dAkoOD9f_kgre0YiE
Marston, C., Renedo, A., & Miles, S. (2020). Community participation is crucial in a pandemic. The Lancet, 395(238), 1676-1678. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31054-0/fulltext
Reed, G., Brunet, N. D., & Natcher, D. C. (2020). Can indigenous community-based monitoring act as a tool for sustainable self-determination?. The Extractive Industries and Society, 7(4), 1283-1291. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X20300381
Roberts, H. (2019). Community development. In Community Development. University of Toronto Press. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.3138/9781487575151/html
Rosnon, M. R., Talib, M. A., & Rahman, N. A. F. W. A. (2019). Self-determination of indigenous education policies in Australia: The case of the aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 27(1), 267-284. http://www.pertanika.upm.edu.my/resources/files/Pertanika%20PAPERS/JSSH%20Vol.%2027%20(S1)%202019/18%20JSSH(S)-0979-2018.pdf
Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., Vansteenkiste, M., & Soenens, B. (2021). Building a science of motivated persons: Self-determination theory’s empirical approach to human experience and the regulation of behavior. Motivation Science, 7(2), 97. https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/mot/7/2/97/
Thorpe, K. (2019). Transformative praxis-building spaces for indigenous self-determination in libraries and archives. In the Library with the Lead Pipe. https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/handle/10453/140810
