Presentation 1: Empowering Community Development Associations by Networking- Experience in Taipei
Yu-Chieh Cheng (Supervisor) and Yi-Ting Kuo (Coordinator) from National Association for the Promotion of Community Universities (NAPCU).
In Taiwan, Community Development Associations (CDAs) were widely initiated by local governments for policy implementation at neighborhood level. Generally, current CDAs face challenges such as relying on government funding, aging of volunteers and leadership, and fading community identity especially in urban area. NAPCU regards it is the transition timepoint for neighborhood-based community to be connected with broader social issues and diverse interests. Networking with organisations becomes the crucial strategy adopted by Community Empowerment Center (CEC) in southern Taipei City to support CDAs’ sustainability.
Major interventions to be presented include bridging resources and needs, regular meetings about specific service population, and joint application for grants. Details of tasks/methods, impact and limits will be introduced in the cases. Nuances about community organisation capacity building in urban settings are discussed.
Presentation 2: Fostering inclusiveness in social housing community: Strategies of Social Services Centers in Taichung Taiwan
Yi-Yi Chen (Associate Professor) from National Taiwan University and Ying Lien (Director) from Eden Social Welfare Foundation.
Recent social policy in Taiwan aims to enhance affordable housing for the less-privileged population and eliminate their social exclusion in the neighborhood. The supply of government-owned social housing units will reach 120,000 by year 2024. Priority goes to people under poverty line, raising three or more children, with disability, aged 65+ or/and in other needs. As a pioneer project, Taichung City Government sets up Social Services Center (SSC) within each social housing site. Local NGOs are recruited to provide supportive services for tenants and develop inclusiveness.
This presentation investigates how SSCs support tenants’ inclusiveness based on interviews with 11 staff of 5 SSCs and 400 online surveys of the tenants. Inclusiveness is defined as one’s feeling of being a member of the community and supported by the other members, disregarding his/her identity/status. The SSCs operate differently according to their organisation background, such as higher education, church, hospital, elderly care and social welfare. Individual supports for prioritized tenants and monthly activities for all are required by the City Government. Additionally, SSCs adopts methods include community garden, neighborhood market fair, exercise groups, library for children and parents, co-cooking lunch, etc. The survey analysis finds that tenants having more frequent interaction with SSC reports higher sense of belonging and responsibility to the community. The possibilities and limits for a SSCs to foster inclusiveness in social housing community are discussed.
Open Discussion:
- Comparison of community development approaches between urban and rural area
- Transitioning definition of community and issues of community development
- Strategies to foster community identity, cooperation, and social inclusiveness
- Challenges of community-based organizations and services in Taiwan, Australia, and the world