Having run out of volunteers the Vision Group for Sidmouth will no longer be running its Awards and this website has been archived.

If you are interested in taking on the Sidmouth Transition Town project 'Sustainable Sidmouth' and/or running the Awards please contact us through the contacts page.

What is ‘community activism’?

Volunteering is key to the health of the local community:

We need volunteers! – Sustainable Sidmouth Champion Awards

Especially now:

“We will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.” – Sustainable Sidmouth Champion Awards

And there have been some marvellous exemplars:

Showcasing sustainable citizens: Sidmouth heroes – Sustainable Sidmouth Champion Awards

It’s important to recognise what such people do:

“Celebrating the role of local people in our community” – Sustainable Sidmouth Champion Awards

And there are some great people to recognise:

Congratulations Ian Skinner, BEM – Sustainable Sidmouth Champion Awards

Perhaps we need to ask some basic questions about what volunteers are contributing towards:

What is ‘community’? – Sustainable Sidmouth Champion Awards

Although this online article focusses initially on the work of professionals, it does highlight the need for non-professionals to contribute to the health of the local community:

What is community work? – infed.org:

This is from their handout on ‘What is a community activist?’:

Community activism is about people in communities creating opportunities for growth and change and deliberate movement …

What is a Community Activist?

So, how many ‘community activists’ are there in the Sid Valley?

Finally, here’s a word cloud which puts things together quite well:

Introduction – Community Activism – Research Guides at Central Community College