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
I want reviews; do you want a pre-release copy of my book?
The First Bllok: the lives of a Kosovan neighbourhood comes out in November. This Substack article shares an extract from the book
The story of a bracelet from Kosovo: how to use Gjelane's question to multiply opportunity..
This Substack article is available as text, audio (my own voice) and a YouTube video
Do you want to be in my new book coming out in November?
Stories of good neighbours in The First Bllok: the lives of a Kosovan neighbourhood - find out more in my Substack article
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.
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.
Neighbouring: the verb. Six lessons from Elvir
The driver at The Ideas Partnership NGO in Kosovo has taught me how to be a good neighbour. Here's my list of the six easiest ways to contribute to your community
What if I told you there was an activity that made 76% of people feel safer, 67% of people feel happier, and had a positive impact on reported health, reduced depression, gave you healthier sleep and reduced the chance of cardiovascular events and stroke… And it doesn’t even involve eating a vegetable. Would you not think that was worth doing? Well get to know your neighbours then. This is the topic of my article, available in text and audio