Inspiration list

See if any of the following list appeals to you - Maybe you could add something.

This list is to help to get the creative juices going. Remember what is most important are your own ideas and how you express them. Don't rely on other people suggestions of what is good for you or what you should think.

The Community Cookbook

Is a collection of thoughts, notions and mini projects that can be used to spark of other contributions

Taking, or giving workshops

Part of the process of compiling information for the manual will be to: Organise workshops to help folk set up their own wee desk top publishing outfits. How to find things out and where to look. How to express ideas in writing, graphics, drawing and computer skills and such like. Remember anyone can set up and run a workshop on their own. We can give you advice on these things at the Chalkboard or come and do a workshop at a place near you.

Workshops can be one-off affairs or weekly meetings. Remember your times your own. If you want to commit one hour of your time in doing something, that's fine. This project will sustain itself on what people can do, no mater how little, rather than burdening their life with more “work”. The idea would be to convert some of the things you already know, have learned, or done, to user manual content. Make your contribution to this project an addition to what you already do. A celebration of participation, not a chore.

Some ideas to get you going

People who know how to do things If you know of anyone in your community who is self sufficient in making, or growing things and would like to help others start or offer advice.

Community centre's and people run groups

How long is the list and what do they have offer. Tell us about what is happening in yours.

People who know things

Information and advice on topics which are fun, creative, interesting, historical, stories, educational. Do you have a local news sheet. (Start one be a bearer of all the good news happening in your community.)

Volunteers wanted, needed

If you really want to volunteer for a project, or you need volunteers for a project, offer your time and talent. Work with others to make things happen for the greater good of Glasgow people.( invent a project )

Weekend things

What's going on at the weekend, what do you do with the kids that is interesting that costs little or nothing. Share ideas with others for pastimes and interesting diversions rather than the shops.

Do_ it _yourself culture

We need to bring more do-it-yourself culture to our neighbors by passing out the information in time for those people to participate. There is a gap between what is sold as "culture" or "entertainment", and what really is cultural and entertaining. Trips and strolls are definitely a way to enjoy learning about Glasgow's many sites and sounds and pleasures. You will see a lot more than if you pass by in a van or car.

Know your rights

Knowing your rights brings empowerment to all. How can you exercise your rights if you don't know what they are. Ignore your rights, and someone else will own you. And you can always help each other out if you know the rights which are basic to everyone.

Public campaigns

If you wonder how things get done for the benefit of ordinary people, it is usually by the actions of ordinary people. Those who campaign need the support of each other both to strengthen their campaigns and share the workload which we all benefit from.

Things to do with your kids

To much of what we do with children is professionalised entertainment. The intervention of the machine used carelessly is creating generational alienation and the sophistication of the technology is being mistaken for the sophistication of the child. The intervention of the tellie, DVD's, iPods, and the like, if used all the time, are a major factor in alienating us from our kids and vice versa. We need to stop buying off our children and start investing our time in making them useful and responsible - not the next generation of passive consumers.

Set up your own community group

There is nothing to stop a group of people with similar interests from forming their own community centers and councils. This is one of your rights. You can plan a schedule of meetings or events, and invite anyone you choose. You can have nights for kids, game nights, nights for chatting about ways to change the things in your community which need attention. Go for it!

Looking for art in all the new places

The user manual will encourage art coming out of the people in the community instead of the art being imported into the community.

Open spaces

We will never have enough green spaces - parks, views, hills and dales, trails and paths, places to visit. We must work on taking care of the spaces we now have, and we must demand more. Creating neighborhood gardens brings a focal point to your streets, and gives those interested in gardening and horticulture fun work. Often there might be a space outside a church or other place where people gather. Keep in mind that, once the open spaces are lost to development, and worse, to developers, they cannot be retrieved.

Self education and resources

You do not need the stamp of approval from an education system to feel you are educated. There are many resources available for self education in your community. Before formal arrangements for education, such as colleges and universities, were formed, education was a social activity. The notion that some people are educated and some are not lives only with the uneducated. Learning is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. Educating yourself cannot be taken away from you. It is important that the User Manual offers many resources for self education in Glasgow, and beyond.

Thinking

Another thing that seems to escape the education curriculum is thinking. Critical thought is sacrificed to conformity and the production of passive citizens. Active citizens are created in the community. We can teach each other. Although many people have been "educated" they can't think. Learning comes from being able to take knowledge and use it for the betterment of society. Thinking "outside the box" is how many new steps are taken century after century, and yet we tell children they must "color inside the lines". Make your own way, and enjoy the path. There are many resources available for self education in your community, and in greater Glasgow. Once you are thinking on your own you can reach those stars.

Directions

Maps / Buses / going places / Get on yer bike / walk / run We need to stop the car before the car stops us. We need to get out and walk, and learn all about our surroundings. Many people do not own a car, and therefore are dependent on public transportation, making them subservient to the decisions made by the bureaucracy. We need to be out on bikes. We need to walk and run. We need to add playfulness back into our daily routines. We need to start thinking about this, since we are finding more and more traffic and congestion in the city of Glasgow.