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The definite highlight of my fourth week with the family project was our free family festival. The hours of party planning and event management more than paid off. I believe Sarah, Chris, myself; families and volunteers all walked away having learned something about friends, family, neighbours, or ourselves. The festival allowed people to put the stress of day-to-day life aside and gave space to see people in a different light. It was so refreshing to see parents walk away with a sense of pride that they had been able to share a special day together without the added stress of cost. I think there was room for further improvements or developments in running a family festival however overall it was agreed that the day was a huge success
Recently I found myself in the strange position of defending social innovation to a committed community development worker. It was a strange position because I come from a community development background and his position was much the same as the one I held myself before I started this job only 6 months ago.
"I learned something new about my children today," a mom commented as she left the Family Festival, with three kids, three kites, and three wind chimes in tow. That felt good to hear. We put on the family festival to create the conditions for families to discover, learn, and have fun, together. The 100 or so families that came out to the Rajah Street Reserve last Sunday certainly seemed to have fun, many trying out a flat white or a professional massage for the first time. Yet not all families learned and had fun, together, as a whole unit. At times, kids were sent off to learn from Allan, the cartoonist, or Matt, the sound guy, while parents hung out at the cafe and supervised from the periphery.
Week three has definitely stretched my learning in a new and exciting direction. As a method of developing a holistic understanding of families and their communities, Sarah, Chris and myself decided to host a free family festival with a focus of developmental experiences for the family. Through our ethnographies and dinners we’ve seen that many families operate in silos with little emphasis being placed on the family as a connected group that interacts and enjoys experiences as a whole. Our developmental family festival is one attempt at us introducing this concept to families, what attracts them, what engages them and equally as important, what doesn’t! This theme of ‘togetherness’ is not new to my career, it is something that I have seen or not seen with many families. Its something we know is vital to child development. I know as a child it was something that I craved and has in turn created some of my happiest memories.
Some weeks, you put the intellectual part of your brain to use. Other weeks, you put the practical part of your brain to use. This week was all about the practical: organising a free family festival this Sunday from 12-3pm in the Rajah Street Reserve, Marion.
It was all about honey chicken this week. We sat around dinning room tables, kitchen tables, and perched in front rooms, laughing, sharing, talking, and eating a lot of Chinese food.
Rick, Alan and the crew at Fundbreak have done some great work in developing a new crowdfunding platform for Australia and we think you should check it out. If you're an innovative individual or group looking for a way to fund a project or event Fundbreak might be just the opportunity you need. So we've included a bit of info from the Fundbreak crew below and recommend that you get on over to www.fundbreak.com.au and get involved...
The Katerva Challenge is an annual competition that provides a way for individuals and organizations to shine a global spotlight on their innovation and sustainability efforts. All it takes to compete is a great idea – in embryonic or finished form – and a small team of passionate people. The focus this year is on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
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