There’ll be many who don’t know me, but I’m excited to be part of the View from the Paddock team!
My interest lies in rural small businesses and community organisations and how we can build vibrant and viable communities we are proud to call home.
I bounce around the state as a result of different projects and committees I am part of and in recent months have found a common theme in conversations that communities have been having, which is:
What does our community look like now, and what do we want it to look like in 10 years?
Unfortunately these conversations often occur at a time of crisis, when there has been a negative event or decision made that divides the community.
The difficulty for us as community members at this time is that emotions are high, people are divided and the only options that seem to exist are “either” or “or”.
Like any family, the most productive time for us as community members to have these strategic conversations is not when we are in crisis mode, but when we have time and space to reflect, think big and plan for what we want to create, together.
This is when previous “either, or” options can become “and” ideas, where we are able to focus on a spectrum of opportunities.
So, if I think about my community of Goondiwindi and what I would like to see in 10 years’ time, it’s a mixture of infrastructure and cultural advancements.
Here’s a few of the cultural advancements as an example:
- I’d love to see our community articulate clearly our values and expectations of each other, and develop several community mottos including “there’s room at the top for all”, “collaboration trumps competition”, “a challenging conversation is better than no conversation at all”, etc.
- We value and welcome the richness of diversity and understand we benefit from new skills and experience in our community.
- Our younger generation are well educated, well-travelled and have chosen to call Goondiwindi home where they are building the regional economy and raising their families.
These ideas are all achievable. It needs people to have a conversation and agree on what we want to see and feel in our communities now and into the future.
Over to you – what will your community look like in 10 years time and what’s your role in making this happen?
– Julia Telford, Engage and Create Consulting
