Empowering student agency through community engagement
SNIPPET:
The community for us, especially your local neighbourhoods and communities are the perfect learning ground. For children to develop skills in various areas, so not only is it about nurturing and doing good for your community, but actually learning from your community.
JULIA:
Current well-being research in education highlights the importance of school communities engaging with their local community organisations to enhance a sense of belonging.
In this episode, we'll meet Zizi Charida, founder and CEO of Community Minds in Sydney's south west. Community Minds provides a suite of unique community development programs for schools, leaders, families and businesses.
Community Minds walks the talk of asset-based community development with a focus on being a catalyst for inspiring action, community connections, change and the shifting mindset of turning me into we Zizi's passion for designing creative out-of-the-box solutions and initiatives that inspire people and communities to be part of positive change rather than wait for the change they want to see in their communities.
Join us as we unpack how asset-based community development programs can help support strong, resourceful, cohesive school communities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY:
Before we begin, we would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands and airways in which we are meeting and broadcasting today as we share our learning, we also pay respect to elders both past and present, as it is their knowledge and experiences that holds the key to the success of our future generations.
JULIA:
Here we are. This amazing strong person in front of us, who is the CEO and founder of Community Minds. Can you tell us a bit about your journey and how it all came about?
ZIZI:
Sure. Thanks for having me here, Julia. Yeah, look, I think there it definitely is a journey. I didn't just wake up one day and think, OK, I've gotta set up an organisation called Community Minds.
I had a bit of an epiphany on a beach in Hawaii. I was watching this big turtle. And the turtle is looking right at me, you know, a true story, and I wasn't under the influence of anything. I was just sitting there on the beach and it just kind of like dawned on me, Julia, that, you know, I've been working with a lot of charities and community organisations and it's been fantastic. And it's not about putting anyone down or diminishing anyone's kind of work or purpose but it sort of came to mind that I really wanted to work on something that wasn't just about providing a service, a community service, so to speak. But what could I actually do, what could I put out there in the world that would potentially challenge or create or nurture some kind of paradigm shift around how we actually perceive community, but also our role in it.
I think there are a lot of good charities and not for profits out there, but not many are taking on the hard work of actually getting people to think in a different way, because like most changes in in the world or in life or anything that's actually been developed or created, it first starts with a certain mindset and I think that the mindset is really important, hence the name Community Minds.
JULIA:
Oh well, that must be a. That turtle must have been pretty spectacular.
ZIZI:
It was an important turtle.
JULIA:
Yeah, but I love the catalyst.
ZIZI:
Yeah, yeah.
JULIA:
That's amazing. So in terms of Community minds. What are the program offerings? You know, you talked about the mindset and you know the foundations and principles behind it. What kind of offerings are there?
ZIZI:
So as an organisation, you know, in developing and instilling, I guess and promoting Community mindedness for the film. This couple of years of our journey, our community minds journey, we weren't quite clear about what it looked like. So we're clear about the purpose and the vision, but what did it actually look like and what could it look like on the ground was the question that was posed. So from that. I guess the programs were created because people were like, I love the fact that you're inspiring and instilling community mindedness because we need it. But what does it actually look like and feel like on the ground? What's what are you actually doing?
And those kinds of questions as hard as they were to answer, we're very pivotal in the creation and the development of our programs and they're very unique program. There are similar programs out there in terms of. There are some aspects of our programs that people or organisations may be looking at or interested in or working on that in terms of what we cover in those programs, which I'll talk about now, they're quite unique.
So our main programs. Or our flagship program is Community Minded Kids. And that came about. So do. You wanna?
JULIA:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
ZIZI:
So, so community, minor kids. There's a huge rather than, say, gap, let's be a bit more positive in our language. There was a huge opportunity for. To look at how do we really, I guess, engage children and educate children about community, and it isn't about, I guess, wanting kids or young, you know, young people to do good in their community. It's actually a bit more than that.
Because the community for us, especially your local neighbourhoods and communities are the perfect learning ground. For children to develop skills in various areas, so not only is it about nurturing and doing good for your community, but actually learning from your community. Yeah, that's a very key thing and community minded kids in terms of if we have to explain it to someone, it's a school-based program.
It's for primary school at the moment. Now we're looking at kind of like year five and six and we've created a program that looks at, I guess subjects and topics that very beautifully aligned to the school curriculum. The national and both state curriculum in NSW and we're looking at aligning it to other state curriculums, so we're working on that.
But in essence, it's really about grounding, I guess grounding, knowledge and skills that children could benefit from, but not necessarily for the future. It’s actually instilling in children now that they're not in the in the how can I put it that they're not? We're basically trying to inspire them to think that they can actually play a part now, not in the future. Also in the future, but it's really about getting them to think of themselves as valuable citizens now that they can hopefully carry into the future, yeah.
JULIA:
Yeah, beautiful. So developing emerging skills and also in terms of those skill sets. Does it necessarily mean that it's a leadership program because there's this, it seems to be synonymous with leadership. However, does everyone need to play that role to actually be an amazing participant within their community?
ZIZI:
That's a great question. I think we need to start to look at leadership a little bit differently. So that leadership for me is about that child's own self efficacy to believe that they actually have the capacity and ability to create change, that's what a leader. It's not about standing in, you know, the traditional concept of leadership where you're always instigating change with a big group of people. You know, it's not always about that, yeah. And it's not always about being a great public speaker. It's not all those kind of traditional concepts of what we think the leadership is.
If you can actually believe in yourself that you can make change and you can potentially link with other people in kind of making change in your community, that's for me also leadership because you know, you're identifying and I guess appreciating and realising that you've actually got skills, assets, capacities, passions, aspirations that if harnessed right, could potentially change their lives and others. Their community, their new. I guess environment that they're in.
So that's how, I guess I view leadership, but also how in the programs that we that we run, that's the kind of leadership we promote, yeah, and which means anyone can be a leader.
JULIA:
So powerful and empowering, and that would provide so many opportunities for voice as well, which is really important in terms of learning and well-being for students.
So if we can, yeah, circle back to the Community Minded Kids program and also would love to hear more about the other programs that are available through Community Minds. But practically speaking, you were talking about the way a program looks and feels and sounds.
If a school was to take on the community minded kids program, practically speaking, what could teachers expect if they were to come on board?
ZIZI:
Yeah, that's a great question. Well, we've actually. So we've intentionally created a program that is teacher-led not. It's not about us going to be physically in the classroom, but at the moment now, the current model of the program is that we have a a very resourceful, a very, I guess a a, a portal, an online portal that's got a range of resources and lessons.
There are 4 modules in the program and whilst a school doesn't have to do all the modules. If they were to do all the modules, it would probably take a school, a term potentially up to two terms. If they were to spread it out and it would entail, I guess, lessons and activities that teachers could access that online portal, teachers would have direct access to.
But we also provide physical kind of tangible resources like the passbooks for the students as well as, you know the certificates when they graduate. But we also provide little extras also to the teachers in the classrooms, such as our community minded kindness or band. It's a bit of a long, long one there, but our long but basically that banner is put in the classroom and teachers really can do with it what they like. But what we try to do is guide them in how to actually utilise and make the most of these resources. Teachers also undertake an induction training session where it could be done online.
JULIA:
Oh wow.
ZIZI:
Or we could actually physically come out to the school and walk teachers through the program. Go through the resources and also I guess it's an opportunity for teachers to ask questions and to get a deeper understanding of the program.
JULIA:
Ohh, I love that you're applying the principles of community minds in this approach, in terms of the community community minded kids program teaching the teachers to fish so to speak just to then be able to roll it out because they are the experts of their school community and their classroom. So providing that space, is there a a tandem or shadowing program that does the similar things for the students?
ZIZI:
Look, we've got. So in terms of the suite of activities or you know programs, sub programs that fall under Community Minded Kids, there is an opportunity for I guess that taking on the full program isn't always ideal for schools and we understand that.
So we have a Community Explorer excursion where students can actually; it's a day excursion where we link up with an external organisation or group in the community and the students undertake some really fun community building activities. And just get to talk to people in the community and it's a real, experiential kind of learning for students. We also have. Depending on the theme or topics. That schools want to. Explore we could have a we have a ‘me to we’ Boomerang. That's a kind of a tool that's used by one of our mascots, Bungie, which is a quoka.
Speaker
Oh, say.
ZIZI:
And so a school they opt to do a ‘Me to We’ boomerang painting workshop, and. We would obviously engage. Age, you know, Aboriginal artists in that we don't do that cause we're not. The experts in. That but we collaborate with people that are the experts or that are appropriate for that activity. So there's a few things where we can offer.
JULIA:
So it's very it's very adaptable and modular. In a sense. So it's very empowering in terms of the, the process and the choice. If schools do opt for program, you mentioned some of the resources that are available to the program. One of them was the passport. Can you tell us a little bit more about that and how effective is that in terms of being an activity as part of the Community Minded Kids program?
ZIZI:
Yep, I know personally that you love this resource Julia. I think it's a it's a great resource because it's well firstly, just for the listen the listeners listening to this podcast now if you could just visualise, it's the size of a a passport. It’s the same size as a passport and that's also intentional. Because we want the children to feel like they're going on some kind of expedition or journey of discovery? Yeah, because that's really the essence of the program. It's about discovery and for children to actually to embark on that discovery. Right.
So in the passbook, there are 10 entries of Discovers and 10 entries for Do and the Discover part is really about discovering having an appreciative eye, having a really positive eye of looking at their community and seeking out the best of their community. And that could be anything from a story told to them. It could be about discovering a park in their neighborhood. It could be something as simple as discovering a native plant. That they didn't know was growing in their community or had seen it but didn't know the name of it or the health benefits of it. So it's not just about directly, you know, I guess an obvious community asset. Yeah, it could be really anything that exists in your community that makes it a more interesting, more enriching, more beautiful, more positive, whatever it might be. And then the D part. And the Discover comes before the do because we don't know.
I think in order to change our communities or to affect change in our communities, we need to really understand what's in them. So that discover part really needs to come first. The do part is as it's self-explanatory, it's the doing. So they're actually doing something that benefits their community. I mean no. One could argue that that's not. A good thing? You're working. It's a great thing you want children to get out there and actually do something.
Now for students or, you know, children that are limited in where they can go in their community, it could really be something that could be done in their school. Environment, so they may want. Help a teacher you know or help the you know the PE teacher or coach on the field. It could be a range of things that they could do where they're just becoming, I guess it's about nurturing that conscientiousness and that being caring and thinking about others.
So they don't necessarily have to go roaming around in their communities as much as we'd love for them to do that, it could really be any activity that's not about them but about others or helping others.
JULIA:
Right. And serving others. And I love that idea that community doesn't have to be this massive grandiose concept community. It can be a very local level and you know, and it really unpacks also, what is community to a student, to a school community, to the larger community.
And then I love the way that by physically going through that journey, it actually starts to open up possibilities and be able to affect change in a positive manner.
I notice you used some a words here that I really think need unpacking. You mentioned assets and appreciative. So can we unpack a bit of the asset-based community development principles that influence your program.
ZIZI:
Yeah, yeah. I guess you know asset-based community development pretty much has informed and really influenced the way we work because I think that you really need to get a really good hold of what your principles are before designing anything obviously.
So for us asset-based community development, as the name implies is a methodology and approach that is utilised in community development and community work and community building and the focus is on the assets and the capacities of Community as opposed to the needs and deficits of Community. So it's a bit of a. It challenges the traditional forms of service and community develop, which in the past was very top down, very much driven by experts who were the ones that dictate what happens to communities. Asset-based community development, I guess reverses that or flips that on its head and says well, it's actually the community, the citizens that actually, are the experts in their community and they should remain at the center of what we do. And so we carry that through into the program.
JULIA:
Amazing. So you're hearing a diversity of narratives and voices that might not have traditionally been part of that space.
ZIZI:
Correct, and yeah, and as you mentioned, Julia, before voice is really important and you know, being in a democracy. If we're upholding these democratic values, voice should be really it's a very key, if not the most necessary aspect of part of nurturing story, so voice is crucial and hopefully reflected in our in our programs.
JULIA:
Yeah, it's an amazing process. Incredible you. So just on that note, what do you think some of the benefits are in terms of student well-being and school community well-being in regards to community minded based programs question because.
ZIZI:
I love that question because I think the good news is, is that there's more research and evidence emerging that supports the connection between community and our very own well-being and that our own well-being is connected to the broader well-being of community.
And so I don't think they're separate things. You know, like, for example, you know, isolation and loneliness is quite prevalent, even though there is material affluence and we're more connected technologically and we've got at our disposal many tools and resources, yet social isolation and disconnection is growing. And so that's a concern. Yeah, you know.
I don't think our program is a magic bullet that solves that. I think it's part of a; it's an effort and a a very, I guess, important effort on our part to play our role in that. So it's not we're not solving all the issues, but I think it's an aspect or part that we're saying, hey, let's, let's start to look at how do we actually get turn our students into more community beings. Which will obviously and as has been proven, affect their overall well-being.
So to answer your question, Julia, I think we can't nurture well-being and we will not have a healthy sense of well-being if we don't nurture our sense of connection. And community, I think that's a crucial part of well-being, and I think many of your listeners already know this, and I think that now that we know this, what are we going to do about it? That's the question.
What are we going to do in terms of nurturing that because I think you could be very academic and do well academically, but what are we actually doing with the students that nurtures their sense of well-being and belonging and connection and belonging is obviously a huge one.
JULIA:
Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's huge. I love it that we're acknowledging that it's a journey, an ongoing journey and process that can help enable that and how important it is. Absolutely.
Just in terms of feeling inspired, can I just ask, you know, throughout your delivery of these amazing programs, can you think of what an AHA moment or that really moving moment that you’ve experienced or witnessed? How does space fall with students? Or a student in particular.
ZIZI:
Tha happened during the program? Yeah, look, there's been a few. There's been a few, there was a. Student that responded to me in in the class I was. Visiting a school. And obviously won't name who the student is, but I asked the students. So there was two that. Really stick out very simple responses, but I asked the students if they would continue being community minded. After the program.
And one student said to me it's like you're asking us, will we stop breathing? And I just was that just knocked me out, you know, I was just like, what a great response. And that told me multiple things, that response. And one of them was that being a part of community is an innate natural thing for us. Just like breathing is. And so his response was so profound, it just kind of, I just thought about it for days.
And the fact that he just answered it so naturally and just it was just amazing. And I just thought, you know, they're just so smart, right? These young people, these children, are so smart. We as adults don't want to always feed them the answers. I think that we want to create the. Based for them to do that, but I think there's so much that we need to not do to. It was such a I guess this. Is I'm including myself in this is that we always wanting to. And nurture, protect and all that and that's great with children, but. But anyway, so I got off track a little bit there, but another student I was also in another school and we asked the question what is community? Because Community is of, it can mean different things, and that a student again responded and he said community is everyone's. And I just was. You know, if I could have hugged him, I would have hugged him and I just that again was just a, you know, but in terms of an AHA moment, there were times where I think it was, it was more just me being inspired by the student and myself underestimating them. So even though I believe in their power, yeah, and their ability to be amazing citizens and to be, you know, change makers or leaders, there were moments where I was like, wow, I'm really underestimating the power and capacity of these young people. And they're not adults in the making. They're actually amazing beings in the present that can do something in the present and there's very much a mindset that we have in the West and maybe in other countries where there's a perception we hold of children that they're not quite right yet, that they're not quite there yet. But if we tell them you are here and you're, you're good now, and you can do something now that can shift a lot of things for us in the way we teach them. Them lead them.
JULIA:
It's really profound and it really does speak to that notion that we're all on a S growth journey and that we're forever. Learners as well as teachers. And those rolls flip around all the time, no matter what age, what stage where we.
ZIZI:
That's really.
JULIA:
And if we're open to it, we can have some really transformational experiences and situations. Thank you that that were really quite profound and quite moving and it really demonstrates. But there's magic in these programs and how important community development, connecting community organization and community development principles to school communities really Foster and in. And the learning and that sense of. Belonging for all. It's really comes across definitely with your programs. It's amazing. So in terms of all. Community all things community minded. Is there anything else you wanted to share? Anything that we might have missed out on in? Terms of, yeah.
ZIZI:
Look, I'm. I'm.
JULIA:
The conversation.
ZIZI:
There's, there's always a lot.
JULIA:
There's always like I know. There's it.
ZIZI:
There's always got to talk about, yeah.
JULIA:
How do you consolidate it? It's such a huge.
ZIZI:
Look, I think. I think one thing I'd like to say is that, you know, we. Would want to. Hear from other people and talk to. People and and continue. We don't have all the answers to how we instill community minded. And I don't think we want to have all the answers. I think we want to look at how do we can better engage schools, how can we talk to different stakeholders and work alongside them and really think about cause. I think we can't work alone, Julia. I think there needs to be a consolidated effort in how we actually nurture. Our students to be community beings. And I'd like to just as a as a last kind of you know our last remarks in terms of this, this conversation is that we would invite and welcome people to, you know, connect with us, yeah. And if they are interested to learn more about what we're doing or how we could actually work with you for the benefit of your students. We would love to have that conversation.
JULIA:
Sounds amazing. And what an amazing offer as well.
ZIZI:
Yep. Thanks Julian.
JULIA:
So thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your community minded approach, inspirations and I know that we're forever growing on this journey. So thank you so much.
ZIZI:
Thank you so much, Julia. For having me.
JULIA:
Thank you for listening to this episode. For further information on the AISNSW Community Cohesion Podcast series and project or any of our guests, please see our show notes.
