Ep 44 - Using Play and Creativity to Change the Conversation, with Alex Bonham
Introducing Alex Bonham
Should we be separating work and play when connecting with our communities?
Our guest today, Alex Bonham, challenges the idea that local government can’t be fun. Originally trained in theater and comedy, Alex now serves on her local board and has done her PhD in how we can create more opportunities for play in a city - the topic of her highly interesting book!
She’s also put on a sold-out play called An Extraordinary Meeting, in which she used live theater to help a community understand the different trade-offs that might be involved in a decision.
If you’ve been feeling a bit stumped and stuck in your engagement, this episode is for you.
It will challenge you to explore how you can take aspects of your own personal life, your own strengths and skills that you might not think are relevant to your work, and use those to strengthen the conversations that you're wanting to create.
In today’s episode you’ll learn:
Addressing the myth that local government isn’t fun.
If less people engage in local politics, there will be fewer channels for people to be able to create the city that they want
The ineffectiveness of consulting communities in higher level, intangible language.
How we can bring in more creative ways to work with our communities.
Resources mentioned in this episode
Alex’s LinkedIn profile
Alex’s book, Play and the City
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