The Together project (2019-1-PT01-KA203-060772) has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The Together project (2019-1-PT01-KA203-060772) has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Training Package for University Students



Module 4
CONTEXT AND RELATIONS

Table of Content

Chapter 4.2. Building inclusive and integrated community network
4.2.2. What are the conditions for the establishment of an inclusive and integrated community network?

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines a network as “a complicated system of roads, lines, tubes, nerves, etc. that cross each other and are connected to each other” and also as a “closely connected group of people, companies, etc. that exchange information and not only”.
In our chapter we will introduce the “Community networks” term referring to the system of interactions between human beings in a given space and time even if we are aware that this term, nowadays, refers more often to the possible interactions that human beings have online in the virtual space.
As Peter Day says “It is important to note that community networks are about people and their communities, they are not simply electronic networks. ICT can underpin and aid the activities taking place within a community, but they do not replace and are no substitute for them. Community networks are primarily social networks which harness ICT to provide an additional means of communication between individuals/groups/organisations, etc.”.
A community network can easily be compared to a railway network, as it contains various “knots” (cities, stations, and so on) that are interconnected by lines of communications. In a community network the “knots” are the different actors, and the lines of communications can be identified as the relations between the individuals or groups of individuals.
But what are the conditions to establish an inclusive and integrated community network between Higher Education Institutions and local stakeholders?
To set up an inclusive and integrated community network, it is necessary that the following pre-conditions being present:
- All the stakeholders should have the possibility to share their interests, challenges and contribution, identifying a common goal to be reached together.
- The focus should be on the relations between the different knots (stakeholders) and not on the stakeholders themselves.
- The relations should be dynamic and transformable: if some relations do not exist, they can be established. Some others can be silent for a period of time and revitalised when they are useful for the achievement of a common goal.
- The relations should be horizontal, where power is shared and decisions are taken together, valuing the contribution of everyone.
- The used language should be inclusive, eliminating any kind of micro-aggression and raising awareness on unconscious bias that influence the relations and ways of communication.
- The relations should go beyond the boundaries (i.e. of the space, place, building, sector of intervention), involving different and unusual groups and stakeholders since the beginning of the process, to design together tools and actions to overcome common challenges.

Table of Content