FORMS OF COMMUNITY

ENGAGEMENT THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH SOLIDARITY
MELC
• MELC: Explain forms of community engagement that
contribute to community development through solidarity
 Discussion: COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT AND SOLIDARITY
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
• The United Nations defines community development as
"a process where community members come together to
take collective action and generate solutions to common
problems."
• It is also defined by Melegrito, M.L. & Mendoza, D.
(2016) as a process wherein community members come
together to take collective action and generate solutions
to common problems and pursue community well-being.
 SOLIDARITY
• Solidarity is defined by Oxford Languages as unity or agreement of feeling or action,
especially among individuals with a common interest, mutual support within a group.
• Solidarity is also defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a feeling of unity between
people who have the same interests, goals, etc. It is about our fellow human beings,
justly and respecting who they are as a person. Based on the perspective that a person
is a relational being, a person is in connection with other people, with the society and
with the environment. This means that a person has to relate responsibly and act in
solidarity with others and the whole humanity. (Melegrito, M.L. & Mendoza, D. 2016).
• It is removing the boundaries that prevent us from working together rather it unifies
the members of the community to achieve their common goals in community
development. Solidarity can also be associated with cooperation and collaboration that
is each member of the community is taking and sharing its part or role in fulfilling the
targets of the community development. (Melegrito, M.L. & Mendoza, D. 2016).
 Discussion: COMMUNITY ACTION
AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY ACTION
• Community action is a manifestation of a collective grasp
and ownership of a situation—a situation that generally
has an effect on them. This means a situation that
touches their sense and sensibilities as individual and as
a group. Community action has three forms namely,
community engagement, solidarity, and citizenship.
(Melegrito, M.L. & Mendoza, D., 2016)
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
• Engagement, as defined by Melegrito, M.L. & Mendoza,
D. (2016), denotes interaction, sharing and relationships
at different level.
• It can be defined as the partnership between two parties
such as academic institutions and local communities for
mutual benefits and is characterized by reciprocal
relations.
Community engagement has a four-part
definition:
• Active collaboration
• Builds on the resources, skills, and expertise and knowledge of
campus and community
• Improves the quality of life in the communities
• In a manner that is consistent with the campus mission.
This involves a paradigm shift from traditional mode in which an
educational institution works. From being ivory towers, the
educational institutions are expected to become a link or channel
between the academic and community life.
 Discussion: 8 FORMS OF
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
1. DIRECT
SERVICE
Giving personal time and energy to
address immediate community
needs.
Examples include tutoring, serving
food at a shelter, building, or
repairing homes, and neighborhood
park clean-ups.
2.
COMMUNITY
RESEARCH
Exploring a community to learn
about its assets and how it is being
affected by current social problems.
This form of community engagement
provides knowledge that other
efforts can build upon.
3. ADVOCACY
AND
EDUCATION
Using various modes of persuasion (e.g.,
petitions, marches, letter-writing to
convince government or corporate decision-
makers to make choices that will benefit the
community.
Raising public awareness of social issues by
giving speeches to community groups,
distributing written materials to the general
public, or providing educational activities in
schools.
4. CAPACITY
BUILDING
Working with the diverse
constituencies of a community and
building on existing assets to solve
problems and make it a better place.
Creating a space for everyone in the
community to have a say in what the
community should be like and how
to get there.
5. POLITICAL
INVOLVEMENT
Participating in processes of
government such as campaigning and
voting.
This includes keeping informed about
issues in the local, national, and global
communities in order to vote
responsibly and engaging in discourse
and debate about current social issues.
6. Socially
Responsible
Personal and
Professional
Behavior
Maintaining a sense of responsibility to the
welfare of others when making personal or
professional decisions. Using one’s career
or professional training to benefit the
community.
This category describes personal lifestyle
choices that reflect commitment to one’s
values: recycling, driving a hybrid car, or
bicycling top work; buying or not buying
certain products or choosing to work for
companies with socially just priorities.
7.
PHILANTHROPIC
GIVING
Donating or needed items;
organizing or participating in
fundraising events.
8. PARTICIPATION
IN ASSOCIATION
Participating in community
organizations that develop the
social networks that provide a
foundation a foundation for
community-building efforts
including civic associations,
sports leagues, church choirs,
and school boards.
 CLASS ACTIVITY #1:
CHARADES
1. DIVIDE THE CLASS INTO 3 GROUPS. EACH GROUP WILL STAND IN LINE.
2. IN A RELAY, THE FIRST MEMBER WILL ACT OUT THE WORD WRITTEN ON
THE PAPER AND ONLY THE SECOND MEMBER IN LINE WILL GUESS THE
WORD.
3. IF THE WORD IS GUESSED CORRECTLY, THE FIRST MEMBER WILL GO TO
THE END OF THE LINE AND THE SECOND MEMBER WILL DRAW ANOTHER
PAPER FROM THE BOX FOR THE NEXT MEMBER IN LINE TO GUESS.
4. EACH GROUP ONLY HAS 2 CHANCES TO “PASS” AND THE GAME TIME PER
GROUP IS 1 MINUTE.
5. THE GROUP WITH THE MOST NUMBER OF CORRECT ANSWERS WINS AND
WILL CHOOSE A DARE OR CONSEQUENCE FOR THE 3 LOSING GROUPS.
 IMPORTANCE OF
SOLIDARITY IN
PROMOTING NATIONAL
AND GLOBAL
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
Discussion: WHAT IS SOLIDARITY?
SOLIDARITY
• Solidarity is about regarding our fellow human beings justly and respecting
who they are as a person. It is based on the perspective that a person is a
relational being: a person in connection with other people, with society, and
with the environment. This means that a person has to relate responsibly
and act in solidarity with others and the whole of humanity.
• It is removing the boundaries that prevent people from working together;
rather, it unifies the members of the community to achieve their common
goals in community development.
• Solidarity can also be associated with cooperation and collaboration, that is,
each member of the community is taking and sharing his part or role in
fulfilling the targets of community development. (Melegrito, M.L. &
Mendoza, D., 2016)
SOLIDARITY
• Solidarity is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards,
and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or
classes. It refers to the ties in a society that bind people together as
one. The term is generally employed in sociology and the other social
sciences as well as in philosophy and bioethics. It is also a significant
concept in Catholic social teaching; therefore, it is a core concept in
Christian democratic political ideology.
• What forms the basis of solidarity and how it's implemented varies
between societies. In developing societies, it may be mainly based on
kinship and shared values while more developed societies accumulate
various theories as to what contributes to a sense of solidarity, or
rather, social cohesion.
 Discussion: Importance of
Solidarity (from Graham’s
Grumbles)
Solidarity is more than Unions
• Solidarity is about more than unions. It’s about working
with people on the things that matter to them. It is also
about removing the boundaries that prevent us from
working together. It is about believing that what hurts my
neighbor also hurts myself, that when I need a neighbor, I
have no right to expect help if I have not first helped
others. It is emotion and a goal, a process, and a state of
being. I try to tear down the fence that prevents others
from experiencing the wealth and opportunities I
experience, but I also act for them here and now.
Solidarity is Defying Boundaries
• These boundaries that get in the way can be race, nation,
gender, wealth, indeed anything upon which segregation
can be created. These walls create several effects. First,
that people on one side cannot experience the privileges
that are largely arbitrarily awarded to people on the other
side. Second, that those on the latter side cannot
appreciate life on the first side, and therefore feel they are
justified in their current position. Third, it creates
resentment, often both ways.
Solidarity is from Communication to
Action
• Solidarity can flow from communication, but it requires action to become a
real and present force.
• Sometimes, that action needs to be confrontational to improve the lot of
one group relative to another, and sometimes it needs to be conciliatory,
taking down the walls and bringing people together as equals. I cannot
claim to be an expert in deciding which is without Solidarity, without
considering the needs of the other, without looking at what I have and
realizing there are few valid reasons that I should have so much when
others have so little, is a necessary step towards creating a more civilized
world. The endless pursuit of profit at the expense of others, or the
maintenance of these divides simply prevents us from relating to each other
properly as humans. As such, they prevent us from experiencing life in all
its fullness.
 ACTIVITY #2:
On a sheet of paper, answer the following questions, after
which, submit your papers and do the activity on the next
slide:
1. DO YOU AGREE THAT SOLIDARITY CAN POSSIBLY ALLEVIATE
POVERTY IN THE COUNTRY?
2. WHAT EFFORT WOULD YOU, IN THE GRASPS OF YOUR ABILITY
MOST LIKELY DO TO HELP ALLEVIATE POVERTY?
3. DO YOU THINK SOLIDARITY IS EVIDENT IN THE PHILIPPINES?
WHY OR WHY NOT?
4. WHAT IS THE ROLE OR RELEVANCE OF SOLIDARITY IN NATIONAL
AND GLOBAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT?
5. SHARE YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES IN WHICH YOU CAN SAY YOU
WERE IN SOLIDARITY WITH OTHERS AND FOR WHAT CAUSE?
 CLASS ACTIVITY #3:
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
FROM THE SAME GROUP AS THE FIRST ACTIVITY, COME UP
WITH A SCRIPT SHOWING SOLIDARITY IN A COMMUNITY
AND ACT OUT IN FRONT OF THE CLASS. EVERYONE IN THE
GROUP SHOULD HAVE A ROLE.