Waving Not Drowning

Waving not drowning Report on the ‘Govan Wave of Change’ facilitated community dialogue (Saturday 23 October 2010, Pearce Institute): for the Govan Culture & Heritage Campus Steering Group, supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund, A Scottish Wave of Change and the Scottish Government’s Community Learning and Development Division.

Culture is a locus for meaning and creativity the means by which we shape it. (Ivey, 2009) Waving Not Drowning / Summary................................................................................................ 2 Who we are / Community ............................................................................................................ 2 Where we are coming from / Context .......................................................................................... 3 What we did / Experience............................................................................................................ 4 What was revealed / Reflection.................................................................................................... 6 What we learnt / New Awareness ................................................................................................ 8 What’s next / Action .................................................................................................................. 10 Works Cited .............................................................................................................................. 12

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http://www.wordle.net/ Word Cloud from notes of conversations at the Govan Wave of Change.

Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg1of12

Waving Not Drowning / Summary Going back to being myself I’ve been searching for riches I had all the time Happiness is just a state of mind. . . .

Zippin’ up my boots goin back to my roots yeah To the place of my birth Back down to earth Lamont Dozier, Going Back to My Roots 1977 A half-day spent with some of the ‘inhabitants’ of Govan, voicing their truths and what matters, is inspiration and energising. While people are aware of what’s wrong, they are also clear on what’s needed: among other things they display courage and friendship, truly Olympian values.

There’s a huge amount happening in the area both top down and from the grassroots.

Passionate individuals are working together, with a shared vision to achieve many things, in all corners of the community.

Questions are alive around how best to coordinate and contextualise all this activity, as well as how to get on with essential practical tasks around the place.

People-centered development is about increasing, not decreasing, choice. If it is about enabling people to become more conscious, to understand themselves and their context such that they are better able to take control of their own future, if it must leave people in more control of their circumstances, whatever those may be, and not subservient to those circumstances, however advantageous these may be, then it cannot narrowly define itself as poverty alleviation in the conventional sense. (Kaplan)

Who we are / Community The Govan Cultural and Heritage Campus (GCHC) Steering Group (Steering Group) is a strong, yet informal, intention based collaboration of people passionate and committed to Govan; ‘inhabitants’ of the place, whether by domicile, work or vocation.

These people represent vibrant and visionary local organisations: The Pearce Institute (PI), the Galgael Trust, the Centre for Human Ecology (CHE), Govan & Linthouse Parish (GLP) including Govan Old Parish Church (Govan Old) and Fablevision.

So far this coalition has taken an ad hoc approach to effectively capitalise on opportunities which support the exploration and development of a shared vision for their proposed physical, conceptual and spiritual heart of Govan: The Cultural and Heritage Campus.

With this in mind, the ‘constellation model’ of partnering was developed. Bringing together groups from multiple sectors to work toward a joint outcome, the focus is on action. Public education, service delivery, research and other tangible social change activities are handled by ‘constellations’ or small, self-organising teams. These teams thread into an overall partnership, which is held together with a framework that shares leadership between the partners. (Surman & Surman, 2008) Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg2of12

The Steering Group members lead projects from their areas of expertise, often in partnership with other appropriate actors as well as with fellow members, which are then branded as and feed into the collective endeavour.

In this process the steering group are able to weave many related and emerging threads of development locally into a more coherent tapestry of action, activities, reflection, learning, meaning, context.

‘A Govan Wave of Change’ is an example of such a piece of work. Fablevision caught hold of the opportunity to work with Gerry Hassan as part of the Scottish Government supported, wider Cultural Olympiad initiative ‘A Scottish Wave of Change’. As a result Govan has become one of three localised case studies for this grassroots, story gathering, future visioning project which aims to illustrate the potential of a people centred, culture first approach. The Wave of Change aims to express the Olympic values of excellence, respect, equality, courage, determination, inspiration and friendship.

Fablevision places cultural resources, people and creativity at the heart of planning and policy to effect real transformation in communities.

The mission of Fablevision2 since 1984 Similarly Fablevision secured support from the Scottish Government Community Learning and Development division. Their input allows for the reflection and recording of the current yearlong process of visioning highlighting relevant learning for the training of Community Development professionals.

3.2. We set ourselves a huge task: during 2010 we will involve every inhabitant of Govan in the visioning process. Together we will shape and refine the emerging vision for a cultural and heritage campus here – a Govan “school” -an eco friendly example of global significance – the “how ” to deliver a world heritage centre which serves the local area, creates its own energy, grows its own food and provides applied learning and educational programmes which are accessible to all. (Fablevision/Pearce Institute, 2010) With a co-creator model at it’s core the steering group understand that only a whole system approach will allow them achieve their ambitions; which means welcoming into the process the broadest range of Govan ‘inhabitants’, literally inviting ‘everyone’ around the table as equally valuable actors in this transformational approach.

Where we are coming from / Context This is a House of Friendship.

This is a House of Service.

For Families.

For Lonely Folk.

For the People of Govan.

For the Strangers of the World.

Welcome The motto of The Pearce Institute3 since 1906 2

http://www.fablevision.org/annual-reports/2009/the-vision.html Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg3of12

For the last 27 months (since mid 2008) the Steering Group, supported by other relevant, local organisations, have been exploring the potential for the physical space around the PI, Govan Old (the oldest place of worship in Glasgow4) including the churchyard and the site of the travelling show people.

At GalGael, we have created a cultural anchor point around which local people are rekindling skills, community and a sense of purpose. While our boats imaginatively reconnect elder and youth… people and place… urban to rural communities, the insider and the outsider… old ways and new… our past to our future. They serve as a powerful metaphor for transformation - recreating an inspirational folklore for the modern age.

The essence of the Galgael Trust since 19975 .

They have also been exploring the conceptual space of culture, heritage and voice, learning and expression in Govan; what might that hold for people centred, sustainable, community development, grounded in how we make meaning in our lives and led by the transformative power of the democratic intellect and a belief in something bigger than the self?

Could the Heart of Govan be heritage, expression, artistry, reason and transcendence?

Drawing on a holistic understanding of environmental and social systems, we develop practical solutions and influence new thinking. Committed to enduring, systemic change, our approach engages head, heart, and hand – integrating reason, passion, and action for a better world.

Welcome to The Centre for Human Ecology since 19726 This investigative visioning process while focused on the collective goal of the GCHC has equally illuminated the form and functioning of the Steering Group itself. Questions of how best to take this vision and the work of achieving it forward are alive amongst the members. There is concern about creating form to follow funding and the potential for that to skew the original intentions; balanced by the reality that resourcing is a prerequisite to further action on the ground.

Following on from the recursive nature of the development process, alluded to above, a further defining characteristic, one which sets development apart from quantitative growth, is its non-linear nature. (Kaplan)

What we did / Experience 8.4. A third Govan Conversation on Saturday the 23rd October – the World Café Conversation aimed at attracting as broad a representation from the inhabitants of Govan as it is possible to fit into the Pearce Institute.(Fablevision/Pearce Institute, 2010)

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http://www.pearceinstitute.org.uk/vision.aspx http://www.govanold.org.uk/ & http://govanlinthouseparish.org/ 5 http://www.galgael.org/index.aspx 6 http://www.che.ac.uk/mambo/content/view/30/1/ 4

Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg4of12

Planning Having run two previous Govan Wave events, aimed at smaller audiences, the Steering Group engaged the services of two respected community development practitioners to facilitate the third Govan conversation, and report on the experience. With three days to go the group were challenged to act when the practitioners withdrew from the contract.

Many Steering Group members are familiar with the World Café format and all have a wealth of experience in engaging with communities, by Thursday mornings meeting the decision was made to go ahead regardless. Round the table there was a mix of Steering Group members, associated volunteers and a coordinating community development worker who had been engaged through a synchronistic meeting the night before. Details for the day were worked out in dialogue.

Seven questions, which had previously been discussed, were explored and agreed on. These questions echo the central role people and place hold in the work of the Steering Group.

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What makes Govan special for you?

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Imagine you’re stepping out a time machine to this spot in Govan 2025. Everything you had imagined, wished for, hoped for has happened. When you look around, what do you see?

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What was the glue that held the community together and what’s needed now?

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What skills & initiatives do we need to build the Govan of tomorrow?

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What two things need to happen in the next year to rekindle community?

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What local initiatives are you aware of, part of and what do you value about them?

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What sort of Govan do you want to be part of?

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Guidance for table hosts and scribes was formed. The practicalities were covered. Tasks were assigned. A programme for the time on the day emerged. Some questions went unanswered: What values do we bring to the process? Why are we doing this? What would success look like?

How representative are we?

Hosting Slightly nervous, yet displaying new found resolve, all arrived on Saturday morning at 9.30am and mucked in to get set up. Soup was made, the rooms were rearranged, tables were set with questions, note taking resources, and bouquets of flowers. Hosts and scribes chose questions.

We briefed ourselves: Today is about active listening, hearing people speak their truths. We are not here to solve or address. We want to model a new way of being and doing. We sit round the table as equals with a genuine interest in one and other, eager to discover what is revealed.

The collaborative directors find that active listening leads to a deeper understanding of an audience's values and to the development of strong relationships with community members. As one director noted, “When engaging the community, we start every conversation with the question, ‘What do you value?’” (Nelson, 2008) The doors opened at 11am and our 19 strong team welcomed in over 40 Govanites to hear what they had to say in response to the invitation for ‘tea and chat about their vision for what is right for the important spiritual heart of Govan in the 21st century’.

Feedback Upon closing at 2pm, and during clearing up, informal reflection was active and inspired. The team had enjoyed the day, which had a great feel, revealing stories heard, connections made, new ideas formed, hunches firming into theories, calls to action.

10 days later the members of the Steering Group met for 2hrs, along with two volunteers and the coordinating community development worker to go over their experience of the day, along with the lasting lessons and ideas.

What was revealed / Reflection ‘Heritage’ reminds us that we belong; ‘voice’ offers the promise of what we can become. It is, I believe, reasonable to assert that an individual life that exhibits a balance between heritage and voice can be thought of as rich and empowered and, as a corollary, of high quality and capable of happiness. (Ivey, 2009) Each table had a host and a scribe; instruction was given to record one idea per card and to keep notes brief. The word cloud at the start of this report was created out of the notes from that which was ‘voiced’ at the tables (Word Count: govan 66, people 58, community 29, place 16); all quotes are also taken from these notes.

Looking at some of the themes evident across the conversations gives us an insight into the undercurrents of the culture of Govan as understood and lived out by the folk who took part on the day.

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Special Govan ‘The people make Govan special’, ‘An incredible sense of heart and spirit here’ A sense of belonging is strong, to a place, a community, and an identity almost mythical. Warmth is recognised of value, the character of the place, an authenticity. This character is also linked to the history, both recent and more ancient, personal and pan social, practical and spiritual.

Facilities are appreciated, the town centre, the park, the local projects, organisations and places.

Govan 2025 ‘Eradicate hopelessness’, ‘Healthy inhabitants – victims of success’ There was a desire for increased self-esteem, quality of life, purpose, smiling faces, social education, work opportunities, facilities, shopping choice, and a renewed environment. A focus on the absence of current problems – poverty, negativity, addiction, apathy, neglect, difficult behaviour, and vandalism - illustrated the challenge of picturing a hopeful future.

Community Glue ‘Everyone in the same boat, had nothing yet sharing together’, ‘Shared set of values’ The extend family, up the close and along the street, where you knew everyone, justice was local, people were accountable, you were invested in each others lives and because of shared circumstances you trusted them. With the catastrophic loss of work went meaning and worth as well as the wage: co-dependency with an authoritarian state replaced self-help communality and community ties. Respect and the skills of ‘right relationship’ with self, other and environment, along with a common ground are needed now to rebuild trust and response ability.

Future Skills ‘Proactive instead of reactive’, ‘More Govan folk working in Govan’ Meaningful local/localised employment and education that contributes to a more sustainable world by valuing and celebrating the unique skills and abilities of all individuals. Identify and mobilise the existing skills base in innovative ways – mentoring, skill sharing, volunteering - look at food, transport, housing, energy and cultural industries.

Two Things ‘Need to address the spirit in the place and give people a sense of their own agency’ Empowering and educating caring for the people of Govan young and old. A local shop, more social housing, a massive free community event, cleaning up the environment. Build on things that are already happening. Engender a sense of unity, hope and the possibility of change.

Valuable Initiatives ‘Govan Centre, it’s a place that is a place’,

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A comprehensive list of projects and places were recounted, though little detail was captured about what was valued. There is a lot happening in the area, though some people did not know about some of it. What is valued is the ability for projects to bring people together.

Your Sort of Govan ‘Development benefiting the community’, Building on local distinctiveness’ A place with more spirit where people have purpose and meaning. More meeting places, communal areas, apprenticeships, opportunities for work. Better use of buildings, a variety of shops, safer streets, an appreciated youth. A Govan that has room for all its ‘inhabitants’.

What we learnt / New Awareness Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader. . . We are the ones we've been waiting for.

Hopi Elders Prophecy, Arabia, Arizona June 8 2000 Evolution of the Steering Group With the consultants pulling out what at first seemed a set back in fact turned out to be a gift. The Steering Group and volunteers enjoyed the process of working together, ‘pulling together’ and they identified they want more opportunities to do that, to strengthen and make visible the existing links.

And how do we work together? What frameworks do we use to relate?

How do we gain knowledge from we experience to deepen our learning?

What ‘does it mean to be an emerging community of interest?

There is a sense that this process is leading some-where, but where? What does it look like? It’s clear that some are more able than others to articulate the pulling together of many threads into a ‘central vision’. It can be confusing without this clear picture to see where’s next and what’s the point? ’ The ability to respond to what is emerging in a grounded, effective and efficient way is essential to resilience: the collaborative tapestry approach to development allows for the process’ that sustain ability demands. The Scottish Government agrees, The concept of ‘collaborative gain’ can be drawn upon to help shape the way that partnerships approach the task of delivering enhanced outcomes more effectively . . . . In short, it is about achieving ‘more than the sum of the parts’. (McGuire, 2010) The ‘shared and complimentary’ visions have got them this far, how will this fair in the future?

Where does the GCHC fit in the ‘ecology of local organisations’?

How best to facilitate our own resourcefulness towards achieving the vision? What is the capacity to continue without some further resourcing? The current sets of actions come to an end soon, what will 2011 look like for Govan’s Cultural & Heritage Campus?

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Managing Expectations It was clear in the table conversations that people know what they want, opening up the dialogue to the ‘grassroots’ was good, and ‘peoples feedback and ideas were surprising’.

There is also concern about what is the point of these dialogues, what is to come of it? There is a ‘real urgency for change’. The Steering Group ‘need to be seen to be different, not just part of the same systems from before’. Coming to collective action through dialogue, where all round the table are valuable and part of the solution. Increasing the imaginative capacity of the wider community and mobilising tangible progress in tandem with ongoing dialogue. Interdependent coorigination.

It was clear there is a desire for a good community shop in Govan ‘people feel the loss of the cooperative’, and lament the older history of the loss of 300 shops. Energy around that, and a community owned shop has the potential to bring people together, healthy eating, role model good relationship behaviour, be a hub for information flow. How best to take this forward?

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Measuring Success Direct experience tells us this approach works, some round the table inspired to action as the result of community empowerment delivered a decade ago. Tools to better measure these 7

Word Cloud made at http://www.wordle.net/ from notes of the feedback meeting.

Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg9of12

impacts are currently being developed, Social Return on Investment is one way of proving the value. There’s been a need for this work to make the case for more support locally.

Doing Dialogue Even with questions of legitimacy, the capacity to carry things forward and concern over unrealistically raising expectations, the most doubting member was ‘energised’ by the event.

Some who arrived tired left inspired and refreshed. There was good energy and good conversations, with a shift over the time from the ‘concrete to the philosophical’. People made sense and meaning through dialogue.

Training for table Hosts and Scribes would further deepen this transformational communication.

Learning how to hear and hold difficult emotions - anger, disgust, grief - and then be able to move on respectfully making sure everyone round the table is heard. Making note of what’s said in a comprehensive yet succinct way, checking in with the voices your recording.

The final session focusing on what stood out and what was worth celebrating brought a great closure to the days energies. Facilitated with care and inviting contributions from around the circle with a focus on giving room to the quieter voices.

Spreading the Word With personal recommendation bringing together people from the Steering Group members organisations ‘there was an interesting cross section’, a sense of ‘having done well’ even ‘impressed by the range of people who came in’.

Plans are to reach the whole of Govan over the course of the year: How to reach Govan’s newest inhabitants? How to reach some of Govan’s most hardened inhabitants? How to keep the dialogue actively ongoing?

Posters and flyers ‘help create a buzz’ however a variety of communication formats are needed to reach the whole population.

Heritage needs to be decoupled from its associations with nationhood, transcendent belonging, permanence, place and origin myths, and instead be open to difference, complexity, ambiguity, plurality, global movement and an awareness of cultural myth making. (Naidoo, 2009)

What’s next / Action We’re discovering in nature that simplicity often lies on the other side of complexity. So for any problem, the more you can zoom out and embrace complexity, the better chance you have of zooming in on the simple details that matter most. (Berlow, 2010)

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Steering Group There is a need to illustrate the conceptual and practical territory that the Govan Cultural and Heritage Campus Steering Group are occupying. Use this process and the resultant map to improve communication and understanding within and out with the collaboration.

Mitch Millers ‘dialect gram8’ offers a new view on the mapping of territory,

Defining the vision, values, approach and working relationships will allow best-fit opportunities to be picked up as they emerge. Who else should be involved and in what way?

Individually and collectively members of the Steering Group can take steps now to support the ongoing emergence of the concept in action.

This ability to read is therefore not to be gained on training programmes, although these may provide a useful starting point. This set of abilities must be achieved gradually, through guided reflection on action, through facilitated self-critique, through mentoring and sharing with peers, through observing one's own development and through learning to make use of alternative modes of description in order to penetrate beyond - metaphors, similes, images and narrative. (Kaplan) A Govan Wave There is an appetite for more conscious focused dialogue. How to implement this strategically?

How best to continue the conversations? What is that Wave?

As Hamid van Koten9, lecturer and research in the Department of Design History Theory and Practice at Dundee University says in his interview on the Transition Scotland 3rd Annual Gathering site, ‘it’s connecting all these conversations together, I think that’s going to be the future, I think that’s what the future is about’.

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http://dialectograms.co.uk/about/ “The term ‘Psycho-Geography’ applies, but put simply, they are made by talking to people, sharing ideas and processing them into visual forms – a diagram, a dialogue, a dialectic, but also a dialect of technical drawing – hence, Dialectogram.”

9 Koten heads up a Scottish Universities Insight Institute programme, ‘Designing the transition to sustainability: resourcing community resilience’, Feb-Aug 2011. http://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/Currentprogrammes/CommunityResourcing.aspx Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg11of12

Govan & Linthouse Parish Church The Parish is developing its communications function. Could they publish something that offers a voice for the Steering Group? Helping publicise the member’s work, facilitate better coordination and increased reach in the community. How might other mediums of communication, like social networking, be put to best use?

Galgael Enthusiasm here to explore the energy around a community owned shop, linking into a nation wide movement, taking interested people on an inspirational visit to an existing organisation10.

Centre for Human Ecology Providing learning support to where the energy is right now, building in the learning to the action working with the Steering Group members, their projects and others in the community.

Formulate what it looks like to work in this way, to provide learning to a community in this project and people centred way. And in dialogue define how to make it happen and how each of the steering group members can play their part.

The alternative development perspective demands a more developmental approach to building the capacity of its practitioners; it demands the original skills but adds abilities, which may perhaps - by way of contrast - be described by analogy as artistic.(Kaplan)

Works Cited Berlow, E. (2010, 11). How Complexity Leads to Simplicity. Retrieved 12 06, 2010 from TED: Ideas worth spreading: http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_berlow_how_complexity_leads_to_simplicity.html Fablevision/Pearce Institute. (2010). The Future of Our Past: Interim Report for the Heritage Lottery Fund. Glasgow.

Ivey, B. (2009). Expressive life and the public interest. In S. Jones, Expressive Lives (p. 18).

London: Demos.

Kaplan, A. The Development of Capacity. The Proteus Initiative.

Lammey, D. (2009). Rewriting the rules of expression. In S. Jones, Expressive Lives (p. 27).

London: Demos.

McGuire, A. (2010). Briefing Paper 6 Achieving Outcomes Through Collaborative Gain. The Scottish Government Improvement Service. Glasgow: Scottish Centre for Regeneration.

Naidoo, R. (2009). Heritage and the struggle for cultural democracy. In S. Jones, Expressive Lives (p. 72). London: Demos.

Nelson, A. L. (2008). The Art of Collaboration: Promising Practises for Integrating the Arts & School Reform. Washington: Arts Education Partnership.

Pettie, S. (2010). A Govan Wave of Change Conversation Notes. Glasgow: Fablevision.

Surman, M., & Surman, T. (2008). The Constellation Model of Collaborative Social Change. Social Space .

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http://www.plunkett.uk.net/ ‘national site and network for community-owned rural shops’ Report on A Govan Wave of Change 23/10/10 Author Susan Pettie, Prophet Scotland 17/12/10 pg12of12