"It's (still) the system, stupid"
Yes, of course we know “it’s the system, stupid”. But it's still hard to resist the siren song of silver bullets.
Look at the debate over youth crime in Alice Springs. Politicians are arguing about the relative advantages of policing VERSUS alcohol control, and whether Voice to Parliament would make a difference.
By comparison, here's how Iceland successfully tackled its entrenched youth drinking problem. It adopted a diverse mix of strategies, including:
(1) Parent organisations in every school (community organising)
(2) A national curfew for young people (policing)
(3) Greatly increasing the number of youth recreational programs (services)
Notice how DIVERSE that mix is.
And so, of course, youth crime in Alice Springs won’t be tackled by police OR alcohol bans OR the Voice, but by a diverse constellation of strategies like food kitchens, a lot of recreational activities, local leadership, alcohol regulation, policing, the Voice to Parliament, all those things and more, plus curiosity, patience and a load of listening.
So, at the start of new year of tackling our own wicked problems, let's reflect the value of a diverse mix of strategies.
Here is my favourite diverse strategy thinking tool:
Happy change making folks.
Think broader, act deeper, regenerate TODAY ThinkActRegenerate.com
1yGreat resource - and applicable to all dimensions of regeneration. 🙌
Global Consultant, Faith-based Specialist
1ySystems thinking is under-rated in development. Thank you for this. Indigenous systems thinking has been around for ions - see Tyson Yunkaporta (Sand Talk) - would be good to engage/overlay Donella's systems thinking model.
🌍 Empowering youth through action learning programs: addressing their concerns 🤝, linking them to experts 🔍, solving community issues important to them 🏘, and amplifying their voices in decisions making 💬
1yApril Browne great follow up from Les Robinson for our conversation today
🌍 Empowering youth through action learning programs: addressing their concerns 🤝, linking them to experts 🔍, solving community issues important to them 🏘, and amplifying their voices in decisions making 💬
1yHow grateful are all the people who ever wanted to drive change no matter how small discovered the wisdom of Les Robinson as early as possible Cc Jo Newton OAM Dione Howard Meg Rice Sharna Holman
Impact measurement innovator | CEO & Founder at Clear Horizon Consulting | Loves complexity | Co-author of the Most Significant Change User Guide
1yGreat example Les Robinson