The Laedza Batanani Project has been regarded as the pioneering experiment that paved the way for other prominent African Theatre for Development (TFD) projects such as Kamiriithu in Kenya, Murewa in Zimbabwe, Kumba in Cameroon and Marotholi Travelling Theatre in Lesotho. Laedza Batanani (1974-6) aimed at awakening the creative potential of…

Introduction: Our paper describes three examples of how public libraries in at-risk-neighbourhoods have worked with social innovations in order to develop and strengthen their services for minority groups. The libraries were chosen because they are frontrunners in the field of cultural diversity and social inclusion in Denmark. Method: The…

In this article, the author talks about incorporating what those in academia do best--scholarship and teaching--and what government bureaucrats do best in administering housing and community revitalization programs into a strong and sustainable system of community engagement and outreach. He frames the discussion by focusing on some examples of…

There is a growing interest among organizations in identifying and nurturing Communities of Practice. Delineating what is and what is not a Community of Practice (CoP) is not a clear-cut task. One specific area of difficulty is distinguishing between a team and a CoP. Because there are strong similarities between the two, it is often helpful to…

A case study analyzed a special event, AmeriFlora '92, held from April 1992 to October 1992 in Columbus, Ohio. AmeriFlora '92 was established as a temporary organization covering nearly 8 years of planning, operations, and dismantling. The lack of attendance and the resulting financial impact inspired a major effort to examine the role of public…

A study examining school contributions to community development collected data from five rural Australian communities via interviews with school and community members, documentation from school and community sources, and observation. Preliminary findings from two communities suggest that in both, the school was a key player in building and…

This study investigates how 40 working-class women participate as volunteers in the service, political, and social action arenas of their community--Carondelet, on the South Side of St. Louis. The purpose is to show that working-class women who live in transitional areas are capable of politically addressing the urban problems intruding into their…

How one public school used its diversity to foster community, while protecting itself from exclusivity, was studied. This study challenges the assumption that a community-like ethos is impossible in an urban neighborhood public school that has no special admissions requirements. Case study methodology, with almost 250 hours of observation of…

This paper assesses the extent to which Houston's black community has benefited from the economic boom that the area is experiencing. The major issues addressed, using Houston as a case study, include (1) residential housing patterns, (2) black unemployment, (3) black-white income differentials, (4) black business and economic development, (5)…

Efforts of health professionals are shifting away from programs that "deliver health" toward those that build the capacity of communities to work together to create healthy places. The Healthy Communities Initiative (HCI) is a community development model in central Alberta (Canada) that involves the creation of a widely shared vision of…

Public deliberation, sometimes called deliberative democracy, offers alternatives to what are often adversarial governmental debates and hearings. This paper provides a case example of applying the deliberative democracy process to development issues and an analysis of data comparing the effectiveness of the process for creating a consensus for…

The Accelerated Schools Project has the overall purpose of creating the best schools for all children so that every child has the opportunity to become a creative, critical, and productive member of society. The project represents a philosophy and a process for transforming conventional schools into accelerated ones where powerful learning…