Transformational Communities

—Making a difference

While billions of people throughout  the world face grand challenges, many of us squander our time on idle gossip, small talk, bickering, attending ineffective meetings, and engaging in other pleasant but trivial and ineffective actions.

Fortunately, at least two authors, Peter Block and Harrison Owen, have each written books that can help us transform our communities.

In his book Community: The Structure of Belonging, Peter block describes actions we can take to transform our communities. He has generously given permission to reprint his book at a glance.  Use this guide, and ideally his book, to hold transformational community gatherings.

In his book Open Space Technology: A User's Guide, Harrison Owen describes an approach for hosting meetings, conferences, corporate-style retreats, and community summit events, focused on a specific and important purpose or task. These gatherings can be transformational. The Wikiversity course Open Space Technology is adapted from his book. Studying that course, and perhaps reading the book, can prepare you to hold gatherings that can transform communities.

Additionally, many courses in the Coming Together curriculum can help people who are working to transform communities. Courses that are especially relevant include:

• Unleashing Creativity—Welcoming new and useful ideas
• Practicing Dialogue—Thinking together

1. Use The Structure of Belonging approach,
2. or the Open Space Technology approach to
3. Transform communities for the good.

Students interested in transforming communities may wish to study the following materials:

• Block, Peter (2009). Community: The Structure of Belonging. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. pp. 264. ISBN 978-1605092775  . 
• Owen, Harrison (April 21, 2008). Open Space Technology: A User's Guide. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. pp. ‎192. ISBN 978-1576754764.