Public lecture: The good, the bad and the ugly

On Wednesday, September 10, at 13:00, Chik Collins, Affiliated Professor at the University of the Faroe Islands, will give a public lecture on community engagement.

The term “community engagement” – cooperation with society – is today widely used by public authorities, businesses, and universities. It can refer to everything from local authorities seeking to ensure citizen participation when services are organised or new initiatives are introduced, to companies wanting to maintain good relations with the areas in which they operate. Universities are also showing increasing interest in this – both to demonstrate their societal importance and to make research more relevant and useful.

In his lecture, Chik Collins will present thoughts and experiences on this topic. He will give examples from different fields – from local and national initiatives to business and universities – and place the topic in a Faroese context, where there are already several examples of such cooperation.

The aim of the lecture is to contribute to the discussion on how we in the Faroe Islands can further develop and carry out cooperation between the university, citizens, and society as a whole.

The lecture will be held in English, and in his abstract Chik writes as follows:

The good, the bad and the ugly:

Thoughts, experiences and reflections on engaging with communities

Abstract: In this presentation, I will offer some thoughts, reflections and experiences in relation to the idea of ‘community engagement’.

The term came into usage in the UK in the early part of the current century. It has, though, a longer ‘prehistory’ in discussions around, and experiences of, ‘citizen’ and ‘community’ ‘consultation’, ‘involvement’, ‘participation’ and ‘control’ – generally in relation to delivery of social services of some kind, initially in the public sector and then also in the ‘voluntary’ or ‘third’ sectors.

More recently, the idea of ‘community engagement’ has also become important for institutions of higher education and research – where it has been linked to ideas of ‘social relevance’ and particularly research ‘impact’.

It has also become important for private sector institutions, including major corporations operating in diverse international contexts.  

While I am by no means a leading expert on these matters, I understand that the question of ‘community engagement’ is one which has current interest and relevance in the Faroese context – where there are, of course, already many examples of such engagement.

So, in my presentation I will seek, drawing on my own experiences of working with a range of local and national organisations, and in conducting research on community participation and engagement, to contribute to and support the ongoing conversation about developing and doing engagement with communities – a conversation, of course, amongst University colleagues and, hopefully, also between University colleagues and relevant stakeholders in Faroese society.

Chik Collins, Affiliated Professor, Faculty of History and Social Sciences, University of the Faroe Islands.