Neat ideas h
eard in workshops:
A brainstorming method: sit everyone on the floor and ask “What would a four year old want?”
“Plan Big” – Bendigo Bank’s fantastic project-crowdsourcing platform, lets people tell their story, get pledges and resources. And there are Help cards.
“Bike Jousting.”
Heard in Perth: Paul Hawking asked a group of Monsanto executives “What would you take to colonise another planet?” They didn’t want to take Monsanto products but they did want to take indigenous people and their stories.
“How can 2 million people be afraid?” Tweet during Cairo demonstration 11/2/11.
“Jargon is evasion.”
“Happy signposts” = things that tell you you’re headed in the right direction.
“Landcare unites a chopped up landscape with a divided community.”
Tranceplant…Techno/Trance Music and Landcare: “300 young people, 120,000 plants. The best 3-4 years of my life.”
Our group’s secret is “A history of great social secretaries. Food is the key thing…and we have historic farm walks, sheering shed musicals, beach walks and BBQs. This year we’re doing hot air ballooning. What’s really important is that we have children come along too…we have a magician in the group. Kids as young as 18 months come to plantings with their parents and have their own prizes at the AGM.”– Libby, Three Creeks Landcare Group, Vic.
“We’ve wiped out entire species before, we can do it again.” Homer Simpson quote as slogan of Tasmanian Serrated Tussock Program.
Indigo Shire engaged 70 ‘champions’ to talk with the community for its 2030 Vision process.
Professor James Reason’s Model of Organisational Accidents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_models_of_accidents
Accidents happen when four factors happen at once: systemic failure, lack of supervision, immediate preconditions, and unsafe acts. [Funny that the same rules would cause bursts of creativity in organisations!]
“Reporting should bring your project to life. Management and CEO love the people stories.” – Megan, NSW agency
“The biggest motivator for parents in our Climate Club was to engage with their children.”
Ghost Chips – NZ drink-driving advert than became a popular hit.
If all you’re doing is sending a message, then the words matter, but if you want it to be acted on, then the messenger’s identity is key. Maybe identity is the neglected element in communication!
Delight = flags of hope.
“Saturday Afternoon Tea Group” – bushcare group operating in the Lane Cove Valley (per Noela and Bill)
“Fish and Chippers” – Berowra Waters Ferry Bushcare Group
“Marshter Chef Cook Off” – by Macquarie Marshes Landcare Group
“Kings of Clean” title for low litter communities (KAB Qld)
“Instead of bribing people with $$$, it would be better if the Australian Government gave people something tangible for their homes they could be proud of.” – participant in aged care industry forum.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” and “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” – Viv Allanson, CEO of Maroba, Aged Care Service on how she sets the bar for her staff.
A blind beggar with a sign “Please help me I’m blind.” A passerby wrote on it “The day is beautiful but I can’t see it” and the beggar got a lot more coins.
Volcano Dreaming by the Iramoo Grasslands Centre. A ravishingly tactile photomontage of the biodiversity of Melbourne’s volcanic plains in 12 huge panels, assembled by a photographer Peter Haffenden who painstakingly collected the images from the field and museums. http://www.volcanodreaming.com.au/home.html
Someone called it a “big friendly puppy” that all kinds of people just want to talk about.
In the world of medicine, there is often a conflict between Eminence (what eminent doctors say) and Evidence (what the researchers say).
Who thought you could mash detective mysteries and mould education…or sci-fi and a community garden…or guerrilla street parties and furniture upholstery?