Community Leaders

[Laura Hyde]

This idea is an outcome from the London Stronger Communities, Stronger Economy discussion group on 25 March.
To create community cohesion we need to have non political leaders for each area or local community, who would be a role model. Someone who provides good stories that media desperately need, and could be a personality in their local area. Rather like a mayor. Having this role model would help create community cohesion, and could help change the behaviour of young people and get them to suppor their communtiies.This person would need to be accountable to someone.

[david pinto]

sounds like emergent leadership
and i believe for that
it should be task-defined and time-limited
rather than a fixed role independent of context

[Steve Waites]

That's a very interesting idea -what sort of people did they have in mind? Were they thinking of 'unknowns' with the passion to take it forward and become a force in the community? Or e.g. local celebrities, sports people and so on who are already known and maybe perceived as being able to 'achieve' more in the short term?

Unfortunately, the need for accountability begs the question of who they would actually be accountable to... The local council? That'd blow the non-political part straight out of the water! :)

[David Barrie]

this is a really good idea: a kind of Chief Steward. Though I'm not so sure how it's different to a mayor - or what a mayor *should* be.

[Simon Atkinson]

Interesting - This is what we do with Capoeira in Hackney. Are you going to chainreaction '09? we could hook up