New Bank for Community Ideas and Solutions

Simultaneously write at home and display our poems in the street

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I used to participate in a writing workshop and, with the lockdown, we couldn’t get together any more. The facilitator then had the idea of having us write in a common time shared, each at home, and then, during the night, to go and display our poems in the streets of our town or village.

Writing alone at home, I felt the connection with the other people who participated in this experience. It was amazing! Then, by night, I posted my writings on a mobile panel in my village. After two days, someone from the town hall moved the sign but did not remove the poster.

This event taught me that in a common project, we can feel the presence of others from a distance and that the limitations to our freedom of movement can generate unexpected creative initiatives. I don’t think I would have dared to display my poems in the street without this exceptional event.

Pictures and poem translation by Corinne-Lara Tilloy
“He allows himself everything, the world!
From tragic to comic!
Wonder and despair come together in the privacy of our sighs…”

Story shared by Corinne-Lara Tilloy, France

More info at corinne.tilloy@sfr.fr

Be Elevated! Meet your Loved-Ones in Nursing Homes During Lock-Down from Outside

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During Lock-Down nursing homes and hospitals in many countries had to restrict access for visitors and relatives. This causes a lot of isolation and psychological pain both for relatives, patients and residents. An unusual solution has been found for visitors who have been keen enough to get uplifted on to the fourth floor of the buildings from outside. One of the largest suppliers for professional working platforms offered some of their more than 2000 rental working platforms as an innovative visiting device.

Picture by Stephan Rumpf

They place easy-to-use electrical working platforms in front of selected nursing homes. Visitors who wish to communicate with their mother, grandfather or other relatives living in nursing homes, but cannot get access to the rooms due to COVID-19 hygiene restrictions, are invited to get uplifted via the working platform with the help of technical professionals. This is how social isolation in nursing homes and hospitals can be prevented to a certain degree in times of heavy restrictions.

‘Be Elevated’ is a good example for creative partnerships between business and non-profit organizations in times of need. Both parts use their strengths and flexibility to find unexpected solutions for people in need. The example may inspire openness to experiment and co-create innovative solutions linking unusual partners.

Story shared by Wolfgang Stark, Germany

More info here or at wolfgang.stark@stw.de

A virtual arts festival to raise the spirits of people in a neighbourhood

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In our neighbourhood, a place called Chorlton, in Manchester, UK, we (a group of residents, chaired by me a community psychologist) organise a community arts festival every year. This year, after planning and scheduling over 200 artists to engage in creative activities across 60 community places, we had to cancel. Then a local resident came along and offered to curate a digital or virtual festival. This went ahead in October. We worked with 20 of the original artists to prepare virtual galleries, and virtual streets of Chorlton, learning as we went, and opening the festival to all.

Over a 3 day period, residents visited galleries, specially created ‘rooms (one about art-from-rubbish in a rubbish bin!), listened to virtuoso performances and bands on a large screen in a festival field where they could also chat with each other, played games in the virtual streets – and all of this virtual – and free! There were activities for all ages and embraced many different cultures.

Whilst the festival had no barriers to inclusion, of course digital capability was an issue – Like everything else in this COVID year, digital inclusion enabled participation but exclusion did the opposite. If people could not attend uring the 3 day festival, they could access the virtual worlds afterwards. As follow up activities the virtual festival field and local streets were transformed for Halloween. In recognition that not only was digital exclusion an issue, but navigating the virtual worlds was challenging for anyone over the age of 25, we have mounted some learning opportunities in collaboration with a local college.

Story and pictures shared by Carolyn Kagan, United Kingdom.

For more info here or please contact at cmkagan@gmail.com

Interviewing Neighbors During COVID Brought Her Light “When Things Seemed So Dark.”

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Just like everywhere else, COVID-19 came to the small town of Leverett, Massachusetts. And when the town went into lockdown, Jinny Savolainen wanted to do something meaningful. Quarantine was especially isolating for her. In 2019, Jinny lost her daughter. And when the pandemic hit, she lost her job. So, she sent an email to the town listserv asking if anyone wanted to record remote StoryCorps interviews about their life during COVID. StoryCorps is an organization whose mission is to record, preserve, and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs. These Leverett stories were then broadcast on NationalPubicRadio.

Portia Weiskel, a beloved town fixture for more than 50 years spoke with Jinny about a quirky quarantine tradition of a weekly howl at the Leverett Pond that started in lockdown and can be heard throughout the town. Mary Hankinson, a nurse at a long-term care facility, realized when the pandemic first hit how hard it was to access personal protective equipment. She coordinated a group of almost a dozen women who volunteered to make masks. They were hung on a rack outside the post office, where anyone could pick one up for free. Hundreds of these masks were made.

Image from Storycorps

Jinny states “I believe our grandchildren [and] great-grandchildren will want to know how we fared during this pandemic,” “I think they will be in awe of the way Leverett has come together, in the kindest, most humble of ways.” What started with one email ended in a collection of over a dozen interviews.Taken together, these conversations paint a picture of small town life and community during an unprecedented time. As Jinny put it, “Just when things seemed so dark, I found some light in the words of the people all around me.”

Story shared by Tom Wolff, from Massachusetts, USA.

More info here or at tom@tomwolff.com

Culture Delivery Service

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Musicians had no possibility for events, shows and concerts and therefore no income during the lockdown. In Munich they were featured by the so called “Kulturlieferdienst” (Culture Delivery Service) organizing little pop-up concerts in the streets, registered as demonstrations for culture.

Kulturlieferdienst Munich

People had fun joining the spontaneous happening in front of their house, giving donations to the musicians.

The street stage is a real win win situation for everybody!

Story shared by Ina Laux, Germany

More info here or at info@lauxarchitekten.com

Mutual aid, climate action

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Every resident in three abutting streets were connected via whatsApp, facebook or by door knocking. They kept in contact sharing things, ideas and experiences throughout the lockdown. One of the things that everyone agreed on, was the glory of the silence, the lack of traffic the breathable air (in the City), and the opportunities to discover what neighbours were interested in – who played the ukelele, who made jam, who ran a plant swop, who could sew, who could sing, who had a saw and who liked to run. Over time the joys of walking and cycling became clear.

Picture by I love Manchester

We held some Zoom meetings and conducted a survey to be sure of the interest in traffic reduction, and made an application to the Government to close the group of streets to vehicular traffic. Even if this is unsuccessful, the shared interest in traffic reduction that has arisen from the pandemic, is a good foundation for further resident-led climate action.

Neighbours knew who did not have (or use) internet – lesson – get to know your neighbours.
Given a reason to connect, people enjoyed the connections – lesson – find a common shared purpose.
Things (like climate action) do not happen without leadership – lesson – lead: and consider why not you?

Story shared by Carolyn Kagan, United Kingdom

For more info please contact at: cmkagan@gmail.com

Farming in the City

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Many low-income neighborhoods lack nearby sources of fresh food. Frequently there are no large markets in the vicinity; residents must rely on foods available in smaller stores, which are generally less healthy and more expensive.

One strategy for addressing this issue is to persuade more markets to locate in the area – but often that’s hard. A different strategy is to teach residents how to grow their own food, right where they live. That’s the mission of the Urban Farming Institute (UFI), a Boston-based nonprofit that not only teaches farming skills, but also how to set up urban farming businesses.

Image retrieved from pixabay

UFI manages seven farms in Boston city, in the middle of low-income neighborhoods. Every summer, it runs two distinct courses: a 9-week course in basic food systems, and a 20-week hands-in-the-ground course in urban farmer training. Both fill up regularly. Each year 700 trained volunteers come to help do the planting, harvesting, and other farm work.

Over the years, additional program features have been developed: a separate Young Farmers Program; a virtual farm stand; public lectures, workshops, and discussions; videos; and sales to numerous restaurant partners. UFI is growing, and it is thriving.

To build strong communities, it helps to strengthen residents’ abilities to address and meet their own needs — and there’s no more basic need than food. UFI has shown how this can be done despite limited funds, but with a clear sense of purpose, a committed staff team, strong organizational skills, and the provision of meaningful benefits; food you can eat.

UFI believes that “any location can be a place where food is grown for local consumption, local sales and local distribution.” When this happens, economic inequities are reduced, and we have made progress toward a just and sustainable society.

Story shared by Bill Berkowitz, United States of America.

More info here or at Bill_Berkowitz@uml.edu

Children’s Leadership at Racial Justice Demonstrations

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Children, and particularly children of color, are often those most impacted by injustice. But children have both feelings and opinions; and even young children can be quite capable of speaking out and acting in their own behalf.

Several recent worldwide demonstrations for racial justice have featured children, as participants, marchers, speakers, and sometimes leaders. Examples are a Children’s March in Brooklyn, New York, and a Peaceful Children’s March in Boston. In Brooklyn, according to news reports, “Dozens of children, from preschoolers to teens, took turns speaking at the podium, some using a step stool so the crowd could see them.”

Picture by Nick Sansone for The New York Times

It is difficult to measure exact outcomes of activities such as demonstrations, because their effects cannot easily be separated from other events. But some indicators of success are the media coverage that such events have drawn, which also calls attention to the strengths of children; these are both positive effects in themselves. An additional likely positive effect is the empowerment of the children who participated.

Children can be positive agents of social change. They are not just people to be loved and cared for, or future activists in training, but bona fide community assets who can be activated and empowered for causes that affect them and they believe in.

Too often, their strengths are under-utilized. But in the strong words of a Boston child demonstrator: ” I am a force that you can’t hold back. I am young. I am educated and I am proud to be Black. So the only thing I have to say to you is this: ‘Be prepared to be uncomfortable.'”

Story shared by Bill Berkowitz, United States of America.

More info here or at Bill_Berkowitz@uml.edu

Haiku on the Bike Trail

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A paved trail runs through a suburban town near Boston. It is popular both for commuting to work and for recreational uses, such as bicycling, walking, and jogging; it’s used by thousands of people every day.
Some artists in town realized that the asphalt pavement on the trail could be a good location for art, for it was highly visible, eye-catching, and unusual. So they started a Bikeway Haiku contest – an open competition in which residents were encouraged to submit haiku (a Japanese style of poetry, with 17 syllables). The winning entries would be painted directly on the pavement.

Image retrieved from Arlington Public Art

Over 460 entries were received. Of these, 111 haiku were selected for installation. Two samples:

Are you still seeking?
This is the asphalt speaking.
Keep up the good work!

Hope for bicycling
Humbly gets us around town
While saving our world.

Volunteers painted the poems, using stencils, at individually-designated locations on the miles-long trail. Eventually rain and weather eroded the paint, which was expected at the beginning, since this was not meant to be a permanent installation.

The bikeway haiku were a source of pleasure to those cycling or walking by. Part of artistic creativity is deciding where the art can have the most impact; in this case, the planners chose their location well.

More generally, art can be a powerful community-building tool. It can elevate the spirit, and create connections between people through their shared experience. The Bikeway Haiku project also illustrates that art can be part of everyday life, available to everyone, and should not simply be reserved for galleries or museums.

Story shared by Bill Berkowitz, United States of America.

More info here or at Bill_Berkowitz@uml.edu

Kite Oxford Nairobi

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In the last five months, we (a student led organisation) came together to provide food baskets to mentees families. We decided on redirecting our mentorship project funds at first to covid response, seeing that many of the families were in desperate circumstances with most losing their daily jobs as casual workers. The school counselor, the principal and gate keepers of the area assisted greatly in coming up with the names of the needy students this then facilitated our action in providing monthly food baskets to each family.

Pictures by Kite Oxford-Nairobi

So far, we have been able to provide tonnes of food baskets to over 41 families who have an average 5 members living within the home since April to date. We have been able to spread awareness and support each of the families as we check up on their well being when we distribute the foods. Most are hopeful that things will get better while some of the mentees (children) are unsure of their education as schools have been closed with no assurance of opening up again until next year.

I’ve learned that its important to hear the need of the people, at first we thought covid might restrict us in meeting to discuss what the families needed most in terms of foods they eat. Another challenge was most families don’t have phones to be contacted easily, on this we just permanently informed them that we will be distributing the food baskets on first of every month at a particular time (11am) this helped us a lot. We also had to understand how to communicate better in swahili as most parents did not like speaking to us in English.

Story shared by Patricia Ojijo, Kenya

More info here or at patriciaojijo@gmail.com