Communities at Work
My range of reference for work on communities draws on my experience in Kosovo as a member of Prime Minister Albin Kurti's cabinet of advisers, with responsibility for communities; consultancy on professional learning; work creating communities of practice to inform education policy with the General Teaching Council in London; co-founding a prize-winning charity working with women and children to transform opportunities in communities of rubbish-pickers in the Balkans; and lecturing on Sustainable Communities at the American University of Kosovo.
Stop talking about teams; start thinking about communities. I share examples of how harnessing the reciprocity of communities can make us smarter, happier, healthier and wealthier
Do you know where the word ‘team’ comes from? If you’ve had enough of being yoked together to pull a heavy burden, maybe you’re ready to stop talking about teams and start thinking about communities? My first Substack shares a glimpse of the life of a community centre in Kosovo and what we can learn from it for other places we live and work. Subscribe to the 'Communities at Work' Substack - link in comments
Albanian has two words for which English can offer only one word of translation: 'support'. But as this Substack piece explains, understanding the differences between 'mbështetje' and 'përkrahje' could transform our supportive community relationships in neighbourhoods and workplaces.
