Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2008

Volume

1

Issue

2008

Publication Title

Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement

First Page

8

Last Page

30

Abstract

Community Engagement has become a familiar term in the Australian higher education lexicon in recent years. Professor Sir David Watson (2007, p. 1) from the University of London claims that now 'hardly any university, anywhere in the world, would dare not to have a civic engagement mission. The question is: how real, and how effective are these?'. A vital strategy to building and sustaining democracy lies in the unique constellation of intellectual, social and financial capital existing within the modern university. The key lies in the expertise embodied within the university, the socialisation role of mass higher education and the promotion of social cohesion in sustainable democratic societies. Universities and communities have the resources and capacity to co-produce and co-create powerful strategies for firstly, solving global problems manifested in the local community and secondly, helping both to become national and global leaders, which includes defining their identity, building a foundation for teaching and research, delivering social and economic benefits, and also providing social, cultural and physical capital and infrastructure.

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