Community The Power to Change

A Retrospective of Community Activity 05 After a period of ‘Top-down’ activity designed to raise awareness of sustainability, we understood that the real goal is for the community to participate, act, and initiate. We realized that we must find a way to enable the community to take action. We started with one work platform, and as time passed, we changed it based on the comments we received from the field. Platforms for Community Action Community Initiatives

The circulation of a ‘call for proposals’ for communal–environmental initiatives has proven to be a tool that enables many residents to make their dreams a reality, from community gardens to a second-hand shop. The call for proposals invited people with passion for long-term involvement to come and implement their passions. Dozens of referrals were received, indicating the readiness of the community to enter the process. Description of the process of establishing the community projects: 1. Circulation of a call for proposals 2. Establishment of a committee with representatives from all the surrounding localities. 3. Determination of selection criteria: • Support for the value of sustainability • Feasibility of the execution and ability to reach independence • Connecting the communities and cultures – networking • Addressing the various directions of the activity of The Partnership for Regional Sustainability • Innovation 4. Personal meetings with the entrepreneurs to develop ideas and assist in meeting the selected criteria 5. Admissions Committee 6. Signing a contractual agreement 7. Submission of an annual work plan that includes a budgetary breakdown 8. Beginning a process of personal support for the accepted entrepreneur participants The personal support is the starting point for the process of building community ties in the area and for the establishment of local leadership.

In a different conceptual field, this would be called an ‘adaptive management': managing reality at the same time as conducting a formative and continuous evaluation. This is not a ‘recipe’, but rather a presentation of some work platforms or tools that encourage and facilitate community action. It is important to understand that what is right for a given place at a given time, may be less suited to a different place at a different time. After over five years of community action, it can be said that at least in some of the localities, caring and committed local leadership was developed, which has encouraged continued activity.

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