Online Spring Course - Building Community Relationships, spaces still available

The Cultural Resource Management Program at the University of Victoria is pleased to offer the following distance course to help you build strong sustained relationships with your communities:

Building Community Relationships (HA488S)

January 6 - April 13, 2014; Distance offering

Building Community Relationships is designed to provide you with new tools and perspectives for inquiry, and practical understanding. It gives you the opportunity to share your insights with fellow learners, build upon your own experience, skills and knowledge, and critically and creatively meet the challenges facing your organization and profession.

Strong, sustained, and mutually beneficial relationships with communities are critical to cultural and heritage organizations that seek relevant, positive, and socially responsible roles in society. However, while the benefits of meaningful community partnerships are generally recognized across the cultural heritage sector, the knowledge and skills associated with effective community cultural and social development activities are not widely understood or applied.

Course Objectives

This distance education course explores the complex factors that are reshaping relationships with communities and its goals are to strengthen your capacities to:

• identify and assess personal, professional, and organizational readiness to initiate and sustain community partnerships
• begin gaining the personal, professional and organizational skills and knowledge required for community cultural development
• identify community characteristics and needs
• define potential community roles and relationships appropriate to your organization
• build and sustain reciprocal, mutually beneficial relationships with diverse groups through a range of appropriate and collaborative initiatives
• interact with communities in respectful and culturally appropriate ways
• include and balance diverse perspectives associated with effective community cultural and social development activities
• facilitate debate and resolve conflict
• measure the effectiveness of community partnerships
• use new communications technology to share experiences and engage in meaningful dialogue
• develop a valuable network of professional colleagues who can provide support and advice long after this program ends.

Instructor: Elizabeth Kidd is a community arts consultant and former Arts Programmer of Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Community Centre in Vancouver where she worked for 11 years.

Registration Options: Non-credit and credit registration available. Please note that credit participants must be admissible to UVic. 

Fee: $630.36 CDN. A $100 CDN registration deposit is required by the registration deadline to hold a seat in the course. Remaining fees due by January 31, 2014. Please refer to our registration and withdrawal policies. UVSS Fees will also be assessed to credit students only.

Note: To participate in HA488S, it is expected and strongly recommended you have access to a current professional or volunteer role in a cultural organization in order to undertake a range of assignments. Please contact the Program Office or Distance Program Coordinator Miranda Angus directly at mangus@uvic.ca if you have any questions or concerns.