We see community organizations as major service providers and economic drivers rather than as recipients or distributors of charity, and coordinators of volunteers. Today they constitute what's referred to as 'the social economy'.
Interpretation
Community organizations play a vital role in the economy and society, beyond merely providing charity.
In this quote, Julia Gillard emphasizes the importance of community organizations in shaping both the social fabric and the economy. Rather than being viewed simply as beneficiaries of charity or as mechanisms for coordinating volunteer efforts, these organizations are seen as essential contributors that provide vital services and drive economic growth, thus forming a significant part of what is known as the 'social economy'.
In practice
During a community meeting about local services, I shared this quote to highlight the value of our organizations.
As our economy faces up to potential labour shortages due to our ageing population and as it moves to a new level of sophistication to compete with the rest of the world, we're going to need every Australian on board pulling their weight, rejoining the workforce, gaining new skills. Writing off individuals and communities suffering from poverty just creates a dead weight for our economy to drag along.
If G20 leaders are serious about sustainable growth and job creation and want to stem migration flows and promote long-term stability, education is an essential investment.
As more girls get basic schooling, larger numbers will move up the educational ladder - some to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. That's important because workplaces around the world, especially in many developing and emerging-market countries, are becoming more automated, favouring workers with technical skills.
In fragile and conflict-affected states, education can insulate children from chaos and insecurity and better prepare them to bring about future stability.
If you believe, as I do, that merit is equally distributed between the sexes, then any result that isn't around half and half should be troubling.
Educating the world's poorest girls can only be done with the firm commitment of many stakeholders - both domestic and international - to plan, fund, and build strong, sustainable, and equitable education systems.
Where there is no human connection, there is no compassion. Without compassion, then community, commitment, loving-kindness, human understanding, and peace all shrivel. Individuals become isolated, the isolated turn cruel, and the tragic hovers in the forms of domestic and civil violence. Art and literature are antidotes to that.
My view is that good community management is like having good municipal government: You should be able to have dissenting opinions and so on, freedom of speech, but your grandmother should also be able to walk down the street at night without having to worry about getting mugged.
We must delight in each other, make others conditions our own, rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body.
You create a community with music, not just at concerts but by talking about it with your friends.
Each of us must rededicate ourselves to serving the common good. We are a community. Our individual Fates are linked; our futures intertwined; and if we act in that knowledge and in that spirit together, as the Bible says: "We can move mountains."
There is nothing that says you can't be active and love your community and fight for your community and still do your job.
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