Inspiration Case 26: Community Hands-on Event

INSPIRATION CASE 26: COMMUNITY HANDS-ON EVENT

Š Clear Village 2011

General Information In the span of just a few days a local community can go from experiencing alarming violence to mobilising an amazing level of support with a decent handson event. Such is the case in our inspiration example, the London CleanUps after the riots in early 2011.

Remarkably, people unite in times of crisis and are ready to overcome their differences, roll up their sleeves and do some work to help other community members who are in desperate need.

Inspiration & Parametres for change a) consciousness for social cohesion During the last decades, more and more communities have become engaged in co-ordinated volunteer work which was formerly left to councils or states.

These communitites prove to be motivated, competent and and equipped with the consciousness to cope with and act on the social problems that they face, all on their own. b) simplicity and flexibility of community organisations When help is needed, the state is often slower and less flexible than the situation demands due to an overabundance of bureaucracy. A lot of time is lost in communication between different departments and in fulfilling formal requirements.

Nowadays, little is needed to mobilise people from local communities to get actively engaged, only social media and a commonly shared goal.

Information and pictures sourced from www.guardian.co.uk | www.abi.org.uk | www.cityam.com | www.bbc.co.uk | www.dailymail.co.uk | www.boston.com | All rights reserved.

INSPIRATION CASE 26: COMMUNITY HANDS-ON EVENT Our inspiring example: Riot CleanUps, London U.K., 2011 Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson. At least 100 homes and even more small local shops were destroyed leading to many people losing everything they had.

The intensity and reach of the unrest shocked many Londoners. But this did not prove to be a paralysing shock.; many communitites subsequently showed determination to take the problem in their own hands and do everything within their power to help and support those who suffered most and revitalise their community.

Hundreds and thousands of people, ordinary as well as celebrities, took time off from work to take to the streets; not merely to clean up but also to give back hope for the future to those who had lost it in losing their livelihoods & homes.

Š Clear Village 2011

How did the London CleanUps work in detail?

Social media like Twitter and Facebook were used to organize the clean-up after the London riots.

The Twitter account @riotcleanup, created by artist Dan Thompson, was set up to organise volunteers starting with just 10 people. Within a short time, more than 68,000 people were following. Soon, communities began to create websites, Facebook pages and their own small groups. In different boroughs and districts around London people were gathering with brooms, bins, dustpans, brushes and rubber gloves ready to muck in and show their support after the devastating riots.

Local businesses provided free tea and snacks for the helpers, and the emergency services pitched in too.

This hands-on community event resulted in something amazing: people became more and more excited and proud of the initiative; community spirit shot up after its plummet at the time of riots. So many people wanted to contribute that some of them had to be sent away because the clean-ups were finished so quickly.

What does this mean for local communities?

The clean-up after the London riots showed in an impressive fashion that a local community is able to address pressing social problems in a co-ordinated, handson approach on its own.

The fact that thousands of people took to the streets was a sign, loud and clear, that a community can be powerful, that its voice will be heard and that its actions matter. In the end, the clean-ups’ greatest achievement was not the cleaning of the streets, which could just as easily have been done by the local authorities, it was in proving that self co-ordination and a hands-on approach is able to produce such a huge impact on community life.

Information and pictures sourced from www.guardian.co.uk | www.abi.org.uk | www.cityam.com | www.bbc.co.uk | www.dailymail.co.uk | www.boston.com | All rights reserved.