It takes a village to raise a person and people to raise a village.
We’ve all grown up and currently live in an environment and neighbourhood that have contributed heavily towards our growth and development as a person. I believe it is important to be an active member of your local community, both as a consumer and as a contributor, giving back to your community in some way or form.
Civic participation is an interesting topic, that involves being an active player within your community, being aware of what is happening in your community as far as solving problems, knowing the names of your neighbours- going round for a drink or for a social gathering. The more connected a community, a neighbourhood is, the quicker problems are solved and the greater the quality of the environment. Social media has provided a great vehicle for bringing greater attention the things happening within a particular community, as well as being exposed to new ideas and stories.
The sharing economy explores the sharing of human resources such as time and ideas. Bartering also taps into the exchanging of items between different people, giving someone something in exchange for what you want, I think things like giving your old products to those within your local community in which you live in, again taps into the sharing economy and enables the distribution of things that may add value to other peoples lives. I’ve had experiences where I have thrown away my old products out in the street or in various charity shops- It would be interesting, however, to have a community based sharing environment where you can drop off used products for other people within the community to have access to.
Greater connectivity within communities would definitely improve the development of a community as far as being able to help each other achieve their goals, providing them with a place to stay during an emergency or are in a time of need.
There are many companies that are having a great impact on the aggregation of communities, bringing people together and helping others become more familiar with the activities within the community as well as the overall culture. Airbnb are enabling people to turn their homes into hotels for people who are exploring a particular city or community, connecting people together. Uber is also enabling people to connect with others as well as providing for others, being able to purchase a ride for someone else. This shows that companies can also have a great influence on the way in which we connect with people within our community and can inspire us to give back to those around us in different ways.
A village certainly has the power to a raise person but I believe it takes large groups of people to raise, nurture and continue to develop a village and that involves people as well as socially driven companies to be able to influence and inject a culture that inspires people to be more conscious of their environment and the types of contributions that they can make towards their local community.
