• Be participatory
• Recognize the thin line between what is legal and what is legitimate for community development work.
• Be sustainable

• To transfer lessons from training and learning from one context and country to another
• Build on the specific experience and expertise available from a range of settings to work out common guidelines for action and policy on Training and Learning for Community Development
• Build up sustainable networking on Training and Learning for Community Development, which can cross local, national and European borders and boundaries.

1. Is our experience of Training and Learning for Community Development from our organisations in our countries relevant to your organisations in your countries?
2. If so, how is it relevant?
3. What are the key points that we share?
4. What can you add from your experience?

The Laboratory will combine guidance on Training and Learning from different national contexts and test it in the transnational setting using innovative methodology, based on active participation. Partner organisations are invited to draw out the transnational lessons which are suitable for further dissemination and which will lead to sustainable networking.

I am here representing France's Inter réseaux dévélopment social urbain (IRDSU), a private non-profit organization, created in accordance with France's law of 1901 which regulates certain types of non governmental structures called "associations" (loi du 1er juillet 1901 relative au contrat d'association).

The IRDSU, a national network of 18 regional networks, is extremely pleased to participate in this project of training and learning for community development because questions relating to local social development are now being actively debated in France, and there is a new context which may be increasingly favorable to collective action and projects.

In France, however, the term community development (développement communautaire) is rarely used. Instead we usually employ expressions relating to social and urban development (ex. développement social), and traditional social workers often speak of social intervention in the public interest (intervention social d'intérêt collectif). But today, this may be changing.

1. Some information about the IRDSU, in particular about the actors involved and the type of activities such a network can produce; I will use as an illustration the manner in which it helped me prepare for our relay meeting;
   
   
2. A short analysis of France's changing social and political context, the parameters favoring community development but also the obstacles, all of which explain important needs for training and learning;
   
   
3. Finally, whereas individual and family services have been largely predominant, I will talk of methods and techniques to facilitate the greater involvement of public agencies and professionals in social development/collective action.
   
   

The network, officially created in 1997, describes itself as a community of professionals and of peers with people of varying professions, levels of training, functions and missions. In fact, there are at least 25 different titles for people who work as local developers. The community is completely open, and anyone involved in local development may submit his name and E-mail address to connect. The idea of mutual learning and resources is essential, and any person may suggest a topic for discussion and /or action.

The IRDSU has various types of activities: it presents propositions to national and local administrations, conducts studies and helps structure community development careers, offers forums on Internet, runs a resource inquiry service, conducts face-to-face meetings with exchanges relating to professional practice, and provides technical assistance for emerging development projects. Hundreds of people are connected in one way or another.

Similar to the CEBSD, the IRDSU has links to other organizations. Mention, in particular, the network's participation in a large "professional platform" lead by a national federation (the Union nationale des acteurs et des structures de développement local, UNADEL). In 2005, this platform conceived a document for local developers, presenting the different dimensions of community work and the specific skills that come into play.

IRDSU also participates in informal groups and several of its most active supporters recently created a seminar concerning the relation of social work to community development, deliberately using the term "community" (the seminar is entitled Travail social et développement communautaire). In 2007, IRDSU promoted a major survey relating to the tasks of urban project managers throughout France, and a second more detailed study has begun; this will help, among other objectives, to better understand the needs for learning and training.

The majority of the people involved in IRDSU have already had some kind of educational and/or experiential preparation to work in local development, some in the university, some in schools of social work, many within various types of non profit organizations including neighborhood centres sociaux (community centers). The executive director is an economist, who has previously worked as a teacher, in a housing rehabilitation organization, and in the highest administrative organisation of the State.

The various endeavours of the IRDSU are designed to promote sustainable, participative, socially cohesive and caring community development initiatives, words that mirror many of the objectives of this European CEBSD project. If one thinks of social development in terms of social change, citizen participation, representative democracy, and social engineering within the context of government programs (see the diagram conceived by G. Hautekeur), one might qualify the IRDSU as being particularly concerned with citizen participation and social engineering in the context of national and local programs.

In order to prepare my presentation today, I sent out a message on the IRDSU's website, the resource inquiry service, asking about the needs for training and learning in local development. 16 people reacted the first day, and their profiles illustrate the heterogeneity of professionals involved in community development and in the network: city project managers, a doctor, a person in charge of day care services, two social workers, the agent of a national housing organization, independent consultants, a municipal agent for economic inclusion, staff of small private non-profit "associations"…

Since I then responded to several of these professionals, asking further questions, one could say that we are already engaged in a mutual learning process !

So the ideas I am now going to present are based not only upon my own experience but also upon the suggestions of my colleagues and upon the document produced by the professional platform. I should also add that there are now in France a number of organizations which promote community development, and it would be difficult to identify one as being more representative than others.

Which leads me to Part II of my presentation. The very existence of an increasing number of organizations promoting social development and the document produced by the "professional platform" point to the changing social and political context in France.

Certainly, in our country, there have always been nonprofit organizations, labor unions and political parties. Diverse groups have continually advocated for the role of civil society and autogestion (self management). But the French system has historically been one of a strong state, and the role of intermediary organisations, including non-profit associations, is relatively limited in the policy making processes. Furthermore, national and regional development (aménagement du territoire) has long taken priority over local development.

In the early 1980's, the interest in local development grew with decentralization, particularly with respect to disadvantaged urban neighborhoods following urban violence, and the first measures of what would become the politique de la ville, a series of national orientations and policies for urban areas, were adopted.

From the start, the politique de la ville has intended to promote, among its principal objectives, global development projects and coordination of activities (health, education, security…), public/private partnerships, and citizen participation. Pluriannual contracts are signed between the State and territorial administrations (most often cities), for the implementation and financing of local programs which materialize national orientations. The latest generation are called "urban contracts for social cohesion (2007-2112)". Therefore, in France, social development projects are primarily carried out within government programs by public agencies and nonprofit organizations highly dependent upon public financing.

The politique de la ville has evolved over the past 25 years, with recent governments placing the accent upon urban renovation and housing and taking into account the fight against racial discrimination. But the objectives have been only partially met for various raisons, some reflecting social policy in general and others French political culture : the predominant role of the State without the balance of a non-profit civil society, the emphasis on legal rights, republican elitism, relatively bureaucratic and compartmentalized public administrations, inexperience in the methodology of collective social action with neighborhood people (group work, community building and organizing)…

Whatever the political evolutions, the IRDSU has steadfastly pursued its objectives, and at this point in time further decentralization and recently passed social laws offer new opportunities. For example, the concept "social development" has been introduced for the modernization of social welfare and to encourage user involvement. The expression has also been introduced into the curriculum for the largest group of classic social workers (assistants sociaux) who, starting with their first year of training, will be exposed to collective intervention methodology. A new plan for the most disadvantaged urban areas will be presented by the government in February 2008. In addition, the idea of lifelong learning (formation tout au long de la vie) is increasingly accepted and put into practice.

It is important to use these new opportunities, knowing that obstacles to community development definitely remain. Training and learning can obviously contribute, starting with basic programs, which help elected officials, public organizations and professionals overcome their reluctance and even their fears. For example, given their traditionally individualistic approach, social workers are particularly apprehensive, and field placements must be designed accordingly; theoretical knowledge must be articulated with real situations.

In order to demystify social development, basic learning and training programs must also cover main principles and concepts. The "professional platform", referred to above, proposes a 5 point system of reference with essential skills for community development. They include the understanding and prioritization of local problems, project management, intervention methodology, strategy and decision-making. But it is also important to underline that these subjects, and particularly the question of citizen participation, are not necessarily consensual when put into practice. Training and learning must allow for debate, for confronting ideas.

Professionals in France continually ask how best to enter into contact with people in neighborhoods and how to launch effective concrete action and projects. It is therefore important to show that individual and group work can be mutually reinforcing, that they use many of the same techniques, and that solid experience in group work is a foundation for collective action. It is not a question of either/or, but of synergy. For example, techniques of collective intervention can improve access to legal rights for individuals.

The idea of "community" must be thoroughly explored in France, where it too often implies, in a negative perspective, only racial, ethnic and religious groups. One big question now being asked : to what degree should social programs and development projects be actually run by such homogenous "communities"? I myself have used European terms to define community (ex. shared interests and identity, residents of a geographical area) and met with considerable resistance among professionals. To quote a recent E-mail response I received, "we have our own intellectual constructions and not a "community culture" ; words do not have the same meaning and a consensus is more difficult to obtain [in France]".

The term "empowerment" is also difficult to apply in the French context because, in my own view, influenced by experiences in the United States, the word goes far beyond the development of new capabilities for expression and initiative, raising questions of power, advocacy and community control which may indeed challenge public authorities. There exist a few examples of empowerment in France that help think about the role of civil society and the position of local development agents in relation to government and to other actors.

On another level, the IRDSU 1997 study of city project managers points towards increasing specialization (expertise in health, education, security and/or other fields). It is therefore not surprising that many requests for training and learning are quite specific : how to identify psychiatric problems, suffering in adolescents, questions of ecology and sustainable development, etc.

Community development is also prevention with an interdisciplinary character. For example, health projects may create a real social dynamic, and the prevention of violence is a major transversal objective. In order to produce social change, actors must learn to deal with complexity and to design projects with multiple objectives, even if very simple activities can be quite motivating and lead to other activities.

• ways for non-profit organizations to develop their own financial resources and become less dependent upon government funding (including information about European funds)
• knowledge about the economic environment and the possibilities of economic inclusion
• connecting schools with the community.
.

It clearly appears that training and learning is essential for all people involved in community development whatever their functions : some colleagues insist upon continuing education for administrators and developers who run the politique de la ville in each city. Others wish to involve elected officials. Still others put the accent on training actors who work on the front line : social workers, personnel of community centers, leaders of non-profit organizations. Since actors of community development learn from each other, training must bring people together and fully recognize the specific and legitimate role of each person. Respecting a community development principle, it is essential to consider the requests of the actors involved, paying particular attention to the words that are used.

This remark leads me to the final part of my presentation and to insist upon the importance of both formal and informal education. Community development is largely learned by working in the field, but there are also different theories and approaches to know and understand when being introduced to collective action. For example, in my own training in the United States, professors distinguished between social planning, locality development, and social action, identifying corresponding strategies.

And I must insist, it is essential to reflect upon the relationships between social development and political action. Because collective methods are often perceived by administrative and political decision makers with suspicion, it is important to show relationships between social development processes and government programs. Even if elected officials are not actually trained in community development, it is important that they understand its benefits.

• going over processes and seeing where problems arose, objectives changed, etc.
• debating ideas of what worked and what did not work
• discussing what could be done differently another time
• cost/benefit analysis…

On other levels, as we all know, there are many classical techniques for training and learning in formal settings. Both individual and group supervision can be helpful. Students in France particularly appreciate groups which enable them to reflect upon their field practice. But to be most supportive for social development, I feel that "process recordings", detailed written transcripts of social intervention, particularly with small groups, enable supervision to be optimized. In order to analyze processes of social development, written minutes of meetings can similarly serve as useful educational tools.

For the building of partnerships, which do not necessarily form spontaneously, it can be interesting to rotate events from institution to institution, to visit each other's institutions, to say how each person perceives the other's organization, to examine the laws and documents which open doors to multidisciplinary action and social development. A major study which has just been published in France shows that a social law of 2002 has effectively favored user involvement in several ways; such positive results can encourage even further citizen participation and have a snowballing effect.

But in France, as we have seen, collective action in the context of local social development has not really been part of the culture. Valid internships for students are still few and far between, so mutual training and learning is absolutely necessary. More experienced workers are being called upon to help those who are just becoming involved. The computer can help, but it sometimes means that actors search for quick answers to questions as opposed to really thinking and debating with partners in their immediate settings.

To change mentalities and encourage social development, it is often necessary to invent innovative approaches. In France, film making and interactive theatre are increasingly used, often within a formation-action, semiformal training involving all the actors in a geographical area. Such techniques may indeed help demystify the idea of community.

Well run social development projects themselves are important to motivate and educate actors. For example, my own agency created an itinerant health exhibit, public agents and citizens' groups going to different places all around the city. A second example, another health project, still a proposal, "What is a body ?", using the title of the first exhibit of Paris' new primitive arts museum. Such a project would permit groups of all ages and origins to work together, and a disadvantaged neighbourhood could work with a national museum.

Projects of this type can involve hundreds of citizens, and the preparation, over months, provides a form of mutual training that citizens and local developers can reproduce in other settings. They can bring different neighborhoods together. In other words, projects for training as well as for imaginative community development…two birds with one stone ! But it must be said that such projects require at least one or two experienced actors.

Equally as important as the content of projects themselves, are the goals. With the objectives of social development in mind, it is possible to seize upon opportunities of various kinds…An example that made a big impression upon me personally : One day a group of preadolescent boys were very disappointed and angry that the makeshift hut they had built was torn down by the city: my agency helped them deal with their disappointment, understand the reasons behind the city rules, and then created with these very same youth, a project concerning the city's image.

Indeed, training and learning for community development also has to do with the releasing of creative energies…those of professionals and those of the people with whom they work.

In Conclusion…

• political will,
• possible partnerships,
• institutional and team support,
• financing,
• citizen involvement,
• technical capacities to achieve stated goals…

The IRDSU expresses the hope for the construction of a strong European social and urban development network. However, since there exist varying definitions of social development, I am adding my own definition (in French) in annexe A.

New technologies can help create a network as long as they are effectively used, but they are not enough. International face-to-face meetings, symposiums, and "people exchanges" should promote community development with a greater understanding of the stakes involved and of what really works. An active network is also a motivating force, capable of forming a representative alliance.

Community development has considerable potential for reinforcing human rights and for contributing to participatory democracy. But it must also be understood that societies cannot do without structural reforms for sustainable development and for combating poverty and social exclusion. Contact: Carole Dane: carole.dane@free.fr

The Community Development Foundation (CDF) has been working with CEBSD's for over 20 years on a range of projects. CDF is also a Board member of CEBSD's. Since November 2007, following a meeting in the Netherlands, CEBSD's has been developing further work with a consortium of partners on the theme of 'training and learning for community development'. .

The Consortium hopes to assist activists, community workers and others in the practice of Community Development. We discussed the Guidelines on Training and Learning for Community Development produced in 2006 and how they can be used in the a range of meeting that will act like relays as one person from each meeting will attend the next. These meetings will be in Belgium, then Hungary then onto the UK then Slovakia then onto Berlin and from there to Sweden.

The meeting in the UK is currently set for 12-14 March 2008 in London and moving to Wales. We are particularly interested in organisations working in community development in sending a representative.

1. To develop the European dimension of the consortium, providing feedback on the application of the core principles of Community Development to training and learning systems at a national level within the context of the Lifelong Learning Programme and making connections with other member states.
   
   
2. To set up an interactive network, combining Relay visits, electronic networking and increased mobility for exchange of learning and good practice linking the national and European level, with a focus on links with Grundtvig actions.
   
   
3. To animate the interactive network by establishing multipliers who are in touch with local level trainers engaged in training and learning for Community Development and identify 150 named multipliers in national and/or European networking by mid 2009.
   
   
4. To increase networking from practice to policy specifically in relationship to the draft European guidelines for training and learning for community development developed in Budapest in 2006.
   
   
5. To extrapolate shared lessons on data collection and analysis for core indicators: Civic skills and Professional Development from exchanges in line with the Open Method of Co-ordination.

• Between process led and outcome led approaches to Community Development
• Between commitment to "bottom up" participation and ensuring that we work to high standards, best practice and shared principles.
• Barriers caused by potential opposition from institutions and others who are not willing to engage with empowerment, equality and commitment to social change.

• Involvement of other organisations with good experiences
• Field Visit or trips
• Workshop
• Participation in Concrete Activities e.g. after school club or movement action or training (This must not be artificial but part of work of host or its network)
• Involve students, graduates in CD programmes, policy makers or others in the host network.
• Involvement of activists **** (important to people who are from local communities from "public" who are doing Community Development. It is important to get their views on how they would be affected by TLCD
• Reporting from relay visits - hosts should also write a report.
• Up to 20 people in a group