A network is a group of people and or organizations who gather intentionally around an idea, or set of ideas concerning things they are passionate about – to imaginatively and artfully liaise about, discuss, critique and brainstorm about those in order to find out how their pooled resources can be utilised in joint ways to innovatively implement those previously imagined ideas into practical action(s).
A network occurs when individual people come to accept that they need a community (and preferably “communitas”) and cooperation, and partnership with the others in order to mature their commonly reached proposals, visions and goals into the actualization of jointly preferred or envisaged actions and outcomes through (hopefully) healthy partnerships.
The Bible says, “Without a vision the people perish”. And converse logic would suggest that without passionate people who care, the vision perishes. A network needs more than just one person to be a network, but probably (preferably?) involves many joint stakeholders from both similar and dissimilar backgrounds. It accepts that in certain and perhaps many things in life, we just cannot do it all ourselves and need a community of others to assist us in achieving our end goals.
Networks can often be at their most creative best when they act counter-culturally to the dominant status quo cultures of impassibility and ambivalence.
Good networks are:
- hives of artistic and innovative imagination and ideas,
- commitment to sharing of combined/pooled resources among the participants in order to reach common goals and outcomes.
Grace and peace
Andrew Park ICDF Network Coordinator “Creative Arts & Social Concern”