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Theme 2m. Community - Building <br />Though community - building is part and parcel of being a sustainable community, the way we <br />interact with one another to build community is so basic to the outcomes we hope to achieve that <br />it seemed appropriate to adopt the concept as a project cornerstone in its own right. <br />Principles of Community Building <br />Community - building is the means by which past generations in a given locale are bound to new <br />generations, and how the current residents relate to one another. Each generation must establish <br />the ways in which it will embody respect for, and give specific meaning to, the following general <br />principles* in order that they and their successors may experience and advance the concept of <br />"community": <br />1. Developing an awareness and understanding of the local traditions, history, <br />heritage and memories; <br />2. Creating and maintaining a sense of identity and belonging; <br />3. Honoring a framework of shared values; <br />4. Establishing and maintaining networks of supportive individuals and a climate of <br />caring, trust, teamwork, and shared responsibility; <br />5. Establishing and maintaining institutional arrangements that diminish <br />polarization, teach diverse groups to know one another, and encourage coalition - <br />building, dispute - resolution, negotiation, and mediation; <br />6. Supporting wholeness within diversity while allowing healthy conflict and an <br />atmosphere of open dissent; <br />7. Establishing and maintaining collaborative ties among leaders of different <br />generations, jurisdictions, communities, economic sectors, and organizations. <br />8. Supporting strong individual communities that recognize and accept responsibility <br />for the larger community's well- being; <br />9. Maintaining the existing infrastructure of neighborhood associations, <br />congregations, citizen groups, youth- serving organizations, and professional and <br />volunteer associations; and <br />10. Fostering a community -wide commitment to the common good. <br />Applying these principles to community issues and decision- making will help people to work <br />together effectively and live in harmony. <br />* Adapted and modified from an influential article written by John Gardner, entitled "Building Community ", published in <br />1996 by Independent Sector, Washington, D.C. <br />NEI <br />