Inclusivity is central to the idea of community engagement, and governments should listen to their people and work together to create equitable solutions. Community engagement should be based on the democratic idea that everyone who is impacted by an issue should have a say in solving the problem for their community. Here are some of the best ways to engage your community.
Use the World Wide Web
Today, people spend much of their daily lives on the internet, especially social media, which makes the web one of the best ways to engage with your community. Utilize mobile integration (which means ensuring all your websites are easily navigated on mobile devices) and create great content to get your community interested in local issues that affect them. Great content doesn’t necessarily mean you have to hire a graphic designer or professional photographer. Instead, just put your heart and soul into what you write and the stories you tell. After all, stories will engage your audience’s emotions and make your points far better than just statistics.
Encourage Discussion
No one person has all the answers, which is why it’s essential to encourage discussions within the community. It will bring in new perspectives to the discussion that you may not have considered, and through that, a more sustainable and equitable solution can be found. Discussions will also foster relationships within the community, strengthening the communal bond you all share.
Participate in the Community
Many communities host local events such as festivals and other events that involve local businesses and organizations. Showing up and engaging is essential. Make sure you participate in the community at their events and not just ask people to help your ideas. Helping out with the local community centers, libraries, recycling committees are all easy ways to start engaging different parts of the community. Additionally, you can help the senior citizens programming, sponsor local festivals, youth sports or local arts programs that are always looking for additional assistance. Like using the web, this can help you reach people who may not have known about you and your organization otherwise.
Be Mutually Beneficial
It’s important to remember that your cause or issue is not the only cause or issue people care about. Community engagement should be a mutually beneficial endeavor because every community has multiple problems that they will need to solve. Furthermore, every person prioritizes these problems differently- they may even notice a problem you haven’t seen before, which is another reason community engagement and discussion are so meaningful.