COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SOLIDARITY AND CITIZENSHIP

THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY

The word community is derived from the Latin word “communitus” which is in turn derived from “communis” which
means “common, public, shared by all or many”.
7 DEFINITIONS ON COMMUNITY
1. It is a group of people living in the same place or having a characteristic in common such as norms, religion,
values, or identity.
2. It is a group of people who share the same things, such as; where they live, work and play.
3. It is also a place where people solve problems together in a form of collaboration and teamwork.
4. It could be characterized by age group, race, gender, religion, shared beliefs, traditions, rules, market structure
and location.
5. It is a durable relation that extend beyond immediate genealogical ties also define a sense of community.
6. It defines as social ties in their identity, practice, and roles in social institutions (such as family, home, work,
government, society, or humanity at-large).
7. It refers on the feeling of fellowship with others, because of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.

WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY THE CONCEPT COMMUNITY?

1. It aims to enhance your sense of shared identity and willingness to contribute to the pursuit of the common
good of the community.
2. It enables you to integrate applied social sciences in solving problems and issues into community-action
initiatives.
3. It gives you a holistic perspective in which socialization, collaboration and camaraderie are vital in improving
the quality of live in the community.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF COMMUNITY

Community as an Social Science Perspective
Community as an Applied Social Science Perspective
Community as Sectoral Perspective
Community in Different Perspective

What is a COMMUNITY?

A community denotes a group of people occupying a community is a social group with some degree of "we
feeling," living in a given area. Community is a set of primary and secondary groups in which the individual
carries out important life functions.

Community Structure
Community structure means the internal structure of an employment area, town, city, neighborhood or
another urban area. It includes the population and housing, jobs and production, service and leisure time
areas, along with transport routes and technical networks, their location and relationships. Community
structure development is controlled with land use planning and building permission scheme.
COMMUNITY IN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
 Social Science Perspectives- a community is a congregation of people unified by at least one
common characteristics.

 Institutional Perspectives- the social institution arises from voluntary shared agreements among
individuals that generally shapes their behavior collectively.

 Community Based Perspectives (local and grassroots level)- community is seen as a setting for
intervention, target for change & resource.

 Ecological Perspectives-it perceives behavior not only as a product of knowledge, values, and
attitudes but also views behavior as result of social influences. The ecological perspective is about
how the system or product works within its external environment. It is about how the system or
product is used in its context and how the system or product interacts or communicates with its
environment in the process.

 Sectoral Perspectives-communities are seen as a system which is comprised of individuals and

sectors with diverse characteristics and interrelationships.

 Civil Society Perspectives-defined as a wide array of nongovernmental organizations and volunteer

groups that are fighting for solutions to social issues that continue to worsen the condition of the
disadvantaged sectors of society, especially the poor.

TYPOLOGIES OF COMMUNITIES
Three Types of Community

URBAN
Urban communities are settlements that highly congested because of the dense population that can reach
millions within a limited space.
Some people are living in high-rise buildings because of the limited available space in the area.

RURAL
- Rural communities are located in the countryside. The houses are far from each other and the density of
people living here is the least from the three. - Because there are less people, access to markets and schools
are far and requires a long drive or different forms of transport. - Livelihood are mostly from farming and
livestock raising.

SUBURBAN
-Tread between urban and rural communities. These settlements are located in the outskirts of urban areas
and are less dense than urban areas or are composed of medium-sized population. -Suburban areas are
mostly filled with houses, subdivisions and private estates rather than factories and shops.

Types of Communities
1. Geographic Community or Neighborhood - focuses on the physical boundaries that make it distinct or
separate, such as a river or a street. It has a diverse population with individuals or groups occupying
different physical spaces and each with special attributes such as religion, economic status, etc.
2. Community of Identity -this community has common identifiable characteristics or attributes like
culture, language, music, religion, customs, and others.
3. Community of Interest or Solidarity -this community incorporates social movements such as women's
rights, environment, peace, and human rights. Individuals may be connected to their community of interest
at the local and international levels. It may also be formal or informal or both.
4. International Community - this community refers to individuals that come together voluntarily and
support each other. Members may share the same interest and identity or geographical location.
 TWO TYPES OF SECTOR IN COMMUNITY
1. Formal Sector
This sector is composed of establishments, businesses and other enterprises that are legal based on
their compliance to government requirements such as licenses. They have successfully attained all
requirements. Supervised and protected by the government and its policies They follow the regulations and
also are taxed by the state.

2. Informal Sector
Those who are part of the informal sector lack the requirements and licenses from the government.
They are not also taxed in their income and real properties. They are not supervised, their workers and
customers, in the case of business establishments, are also not protected, limiting their rights once they make
a demand. It is often described by economists as the shadow economy because it exists behind state
supervision.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY ACTION?

-An "act" where a community of people who are experiencing same situation tend to connect with each
other to pursue a common goal and action.

6 THINGS THAT CONSIST OF COMMUNITY ACTION

1.COMMON CONTEXT
2.COMMON EXPERIENCE
3.COMMON UNDERSTANDING
4.COMMON ANALYSIS
5.AN ACCEPTABLE STANDARD
6.AN ACTION THAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMMUNITY

1.COMMON CONTEXT -people live in a similar setting or locality.

2.COMMON EXPERIENCE -people encounter a comparable experience individually or collectively
3.COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF AN ISSUE -people have more or less a similar view of the issue at
hand
4.COMMON ANALYSIS -people went through a process of analyzing the issue and may have a similar
take on the issue partly or in a whole.
5.AN ACCEPTABLE STANDARD -people usually establish a minimum standard in undertaking an
action together
6.AN ACTION THAT IS ACCEPTABLE TO THE COMMUNITY -people discuss and agree on what
action to take, who will take the lead, who will do the supporting roles, and who will do other task.

THE 4 GENERAL PHASES OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION PROCESS

COMMUNITY ACTION ENCOMPASSES:

1. Community Engagement 2. Community of Solidarity 3. Citizenship Building

1. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
-the process by which community benefit organizations and individuals build ongoing, permanent
relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision for the benefit of a community.
2. COMMUNITY SOLIDARITY
Solidarity - is a mutual commitment to one another's well-being.

Core Principles of Community Solidarity

1. Dignity of the Human Person
2. The Common Good
3. Subsidiary and Participation
4. Solidarity Regardless of Ideological Differences
5. Preferential Option for the Poor
6. Economic Justice
7. Stewardship of Creation
8. Promotion of Peace

3. CITIZENSHIP BUILDING
Citizenship - is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law as being a member of a country.
Nationality - denotes a person's membership of a nation (a large ethnic group).

Ways of Acquiring Citizenship

1. Jus sanguinis - parents are citizens
2. Jus soli - born within a country
3. Jure matrimoni - marriage to a citizen
4. Naturalization - process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that
country.

Citizenship Building
Processes that can increase capacity of the citizens to respond intelligently to the changing environment
around them:
1. Servant leadership - either initiative from top or bottom
2. Regularity - periodic intervals
3. Complementarity - using processes together

SOLIDARITY IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM PROJECT

What is the importance of solidarity in community development?

SOLIDARITY -is about regarding our fellow human beings justly and respecting who they are as persons.
• a person is in connection with other people, with the society and with the environment
• a person has to relate responsibilities and act in solidarity in others and with the whole humanity
•In most part of the country and in the world, there is an indication of social in-justice and inequality.
Poverty is widespread. There is also increasing social disintegration and environmental degradation. In this
kind of circumstance, the voiceless or those with less income suffer the most.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLIDARITY

 SOLIDARITY IS MORE THAN UNION
*It’s about working with people on the things that matter to them.
*It is about removing the boundaries that prevent us from working together.
*It is about believing that what hurts my neighbor also hurt myself, that when I need a neighbor I
have no right to expect help if I have not first help others.
*It is both an emotion and a goal, a process and a state of being.
  SOLIDARITY IS DEFYING BOUNDARIES
*These boundaries that get in the way can be race, nation, gender, wealth, indeed anything upon
which a segregation can be created.
*First that people on one side cannot experience the privilege 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 form.
*Without solidarity, without considering the needs of the other, creating a more civilized world will be a
challenge.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM PROJECTS

★ Short term project takes aa few hours, days, weeks to complete.
★ Long term project takes months or years to finish.
★ Effective project managers start by assessing the project need and determining how much time is needed
to meet the desired outcomes.

BUDGET
★ Budget short term projects typically require less money to complete than long term efforts.
★ Short term projects typically cost less, they usually require fewer approvals to get started and completed.
★ Larger, more complex projects might require the use of more sophisticated accounting software packages
to track and monitor forecasting and spending.

RESOURCES
★ The number of resources required for a short term project typically depends on the type of product and
service being developed.
★ Short term project usually requires specialized expertise; you might institute short term project to analyze
a recurring product problem and devised a solution.
★ Large, complicated development projects typically require numerous resources over the course of the
project life cycle to initiate, plan, excited, control and close the project.

COMMUNITY ACTION
Community Action
-refers to collective efforts done by people directed towards addressing social problems in order to achieve
social well-being. In dealing with community action, it involves a lot of activities and processes that
increases the understanding, engagement and empowerment of communities in the design and delivery of
services to the community.
Community Engagement
-refers to the process of developing partnerships and sustaining relationships with and through groups of
people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest for the purpose of working for the common good
and addressing issues that affect their well-being.
The goals of community engagement
1) To build trust
2) To enlist new resources and allies
3) To create better communication
4) To improve overall health outcomes as successful projects, evolve into lasting collaborations.
Solidarity
-is defined as a unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest
and mutual support within a group.
Citizenship

-is defined as legal status defined by civil, political and social rights. This means that a person is free to act
according to the law and having the right to claim the law’s protection.