The Maholian Way - Part Four: Building Strong Communities

Most importantly, when students learn from practical experience about community and the benefits of being engaged in it, and when such engagement becomes habitual, they are much more likely to continue this into adult life. Evidence from abroad supports this as well.

Political and administrative structures

The sense of discreteness and distinctiveness of people’s local communities has been enhanced in Maholia by administative changes that align all the different departmental, electoral and judicial boundaries, at one of three levels: the region, the district or municipality, and the precinct or ward. For example, at the district or municipal level, there is one boundary that defines all of the following: the district administrative level for all national ministries (each serviced by a district office), the local government area, the jurisdiction of the district court, and the electorate for the local member of the House of Representatives. This makes cooperative action between different departments and different levels and branches of government much easier, because they are all responsible for the same area, and locals come to know that their locality is defined organisationally as well as physically.

Close-knit without being parochial and oppressive

Local communities – especially if they are independent and close-knit, with a strong sense of indentity – are often portrayed as being parochial and narrow-minded, intolerant and exclusionist. Or they may be depicted as sites of oppression of one group by another. There is often truth in these portrayals, but they don’t have to be like this. Frequently, their undesirable aspects can largely be attributed to other factors, such as low levels of education, a culturally or ethnically homogeneous population, significant social and economic inequality, and lack of communication or interaction with the wider world. But these factors are not prevalent in Maholian communities. There is a high level of equality, as we have seen. People are well-educated, and this includes education about diverse communities within Maholia and around the world. This goes well beyond book-learning and includes cultural exchange programs in which students interact with folk of different localities, ethnicities, ages, occupations and lifestyles. Young people are encouraged to travel and experience the world in all its diversity, and so when they settle down they do so with a reasonable understanding of, and respect for, the world outside their community. Maholian communities tend to be quite diverse, and their members maintain contact with the world outside though media, cultural activities, communication technology, travel, buying and selling, and sometimes periods of work or study elsewhere.

• Page 79

< Prev