Glossary of terms

Community development professionals today associate achievements of community development processes with the concept of change. The purely quantitative results (e.g. turnout at a community discussion) are regarded as only partial results, a stage in the development process, while actual achievements always mean some sort of change. In line with the European framework of community development,Continue reading

An institution established for the purpose of permanent retention and archival processing of records with permanent value, and to ensure their use in accordance with their designated purpose. public archives: an archives repository maintained by a public agency which carries out archival tasks – both scientific and administrative – related to undestroyable public records; openContinue reading

One of the key competencies required for life-long learning. ‘Civic competence equips individuals to fully participate in civic life, based on knowledge of social and political concepts and structures and a commitment to active and democratic participation.’ Together with social competence, ‘these include personal, interpersonal and intercultural competence and cover all forms of behaviour thatContinue reading

Modern civil society is a sphere of social interaction between the economy and the state, including publicity and a range of free associations. These are established through various forms of civil initiative and self-mobilisation, and are institutionalised by legislation (especially through subjective rights). Its political role is not to gain power, but to influence andContinue reading

The meanings and manifestations of communities have kept changing throughout the history of various cultures. Community is a basic concept in community development, in which a community is most often defined as the lack of something, as something that does not exist but would be desirable, and whose ‘birth’ should be promoted. The three mostContinue reading

The starting point is the community and its existing and possible cultural values: their exploration, awareness raising, setting them into motion, renewing them and handing them down as legacy with the active participation and collaboration of local communities and cultural institutions. The purpose is to encourage cultural activity, involvement in the organization and shaping ofContinue reading

A sector and the pertaining institutional system of the cultural sphere, which provides for active community education and conveys cultural goods and services. It operates with the help of governmental, municipal and other funds, complying with general and specific legal requirements. The concept also encompasses a system of conditions and activities encouraging and helping culturalContinue reading

Community development has a narrower and a broader interpretation. It is a pedagogical method known in pedagogical science and psychology as a means of fostering children’s personal development and life skills, while in sociology, in the terminology of community activities, it can refer to a method of encouraging participation, a profession, or a movement. InContinue reading

The community exhibition is one way to reach out to and involve the citizens, as it is created at the initiative of the given community, it focuses on local culture, local history, traditions, (individual or community) performances, natural and social values, well-being, the relationship between the individual and the community and the content of localContinue reading

Community learning is a learning process going on in groups in the midst of social activities. In a broader sense, it includes all sorts of learning processes going on in formal, non-formal and informal adult and youth communities and community spaces, as a result of community activities and relations. The shaping of knowledge, skills, mentalitiesContinue reading