Almennur fyrilestur: Tað góða, tað ringa og tað ljóta

Mikudagin 10. september klokkan 13:00 fer Chik Collins, adjungeraður professari á Fróðskaparsetri Føroya, at halda almennan fyrilestur um "community engagement"

Hugtakið “community engagement” – samstarv við samfelagið – verður í dag nógv brúkt, bæði av almennum myndugleikum, vinnulívi og universitetum. Tað kann snúgva seg um alt frá staðbundnum myndugleikum, ið vilja tryggja luttøku frá borgarunum, tá tænastur skulu skipast ella nýggj átøk setast í verk, til fyritøkur, ið vilja varðveita góð sambond við økini, har tær virka. Eisini universitet hava alsamt størri áhuga fyri hesum – bæði fyri at vísa á samfelagsligan týdning og fyri at gera gransking meira viðkomandi og gagnliga.

Í framløguni ber Chik Collins fram tankar og royndir um hetta evnið. Hann tekur dømi frá ymiskum økjum – frá kommunalum og nationalum átøkum til vinnulív og universitet – og setir evnið í føroyskan samanhang, har vit hava fleiri dømi um slíkt samstarv.

Endamálið við fyrilestrinum er at stuðla undir kjakið um, hvussu vit í Føroyum kunnu menna og fremja samstarv millum universitet, borgarar og samfelagið sum heild.

Fyrilesturin verður á enskum, og í samandráttinum skrivar Chik soleiðis:

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.