The Power of Knowledge Sharing

I am now in Broome in the state of Western Australia. It is taking us - being Scots- a bit to adjust to the overpowering heat . Our schedule is flat out. Yesterday we were on the go from 5 in the morning till after midnight. But the learning and connections we are making, both with each other and with Australian social enterprises, are now deepening and becoming the basis for future action. I have been very impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of the projects we have visited. Everything from medical services supporting remote communities (and in the context of the size of this continent I mean remote!) to employee apprenticeships and training programmes for young marginalised indigenous people. As is always the case with such inspirational community based projects it seems it works best without government intervention or dependency on government grant. In housing terms though it is clear that the community housing movement is in its early stages of development. People here are hungry for information and advice from the Scottish delegation. The power of the knowledge sharing and the enhanced networking capacity that I am getting (and hopefully all SFHA members will in due course benefit from) from this trip will become even clearer when we are all back home.