By Dane Waters

Over the summer break I was provided with an opportunity to participate in some extremely valuable extended governance training. One of the key learnings was the importance of good culture in organisations, which is set by leadership. As someone who works as a community development practitioner aiming to help build healthier communities with community media, building positive culture is core business, so it was encouraging to see that filter into the business world.

Definition: culture: the ideas, customs and social behaviours of a community

So, what happens when the cultural social norms of a community are not positive? As a practitioner who advocates for building from the grass roots up, is there a role to speak/ advocate for positive change, particularly if this is not coming directly from the grass roots level?

I am privileged with education and consider it a tool that I can help use to support communities. Sometimes this means helping directly educate and challenge harmful social norms. While it’s not a naturally comfortable role for me, we definitely have a role to play if the system is not enabling healthy communities. Community media is a wonderful tool for these important discussions on positive social norms and we will continue to help communities continue the discussions and build positive culture. #learning