Commissioned by the Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research in Education in Europe (CIDREE), this multi-faceted project was designed to understand the growing interdependence of various sectors of society as we endeavour to find ways to combat social apathy, promote participation and creativity and encourage a sense of well being in society. Common Threads and the methodology subsequently developed from the programme have become CCC's trademark and working philosophy. What started back in 1997 is today very much still going strong with new projects and initiatives under the Common Threads banner being regularly designed by our team.
Click on the links below for in-depth information about the different activities and resources connected with this programme and a description of the methodology underpinning Common Threads.
Common Threads MethodologyCommon Threads Toolkits & ResourcesCommon Threads Conferences
The Common Threads methodology is based on a tested structure designed to coach key players throughout the life of a project. The structure is a process that starts with engaging the stakeholders through customised workshops, focus groups and one-to-one meetings. Based on CCC's 27 years of broad experience and extensive contacts, the Common Threads methodology is designed to ensure the project becomes a model of best practice. Objectives and activities are formulated taking into account the level of enthusiasm, the issues being addressed and available resources. The process leads to the planning of outcomes and outputs and establishes a framework for evaluation and regular feedback. If required, CCC also coaches organisers through the production of outputs and the evaluation. For more information on how CCC could work with your organisation, please contact info@creativecommunities.org.uk
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This exhibition comprising 26 easily transportable panels is designed to complement arts, education and community development projects through its display at conferences and as an adjunct to end of project displays. Themes relating to the values and principles that underpin effective local collaborations and 14 stunning case studies are interwoven with photographs and stimulating quotes. The attractive exhibition comes complete with a beautiful colour catalogue.
The exhibition has toured:
1999-2000
CIDREE General Assembly
International Workshop on Cultural Education, Athens, Greece.
September 1999
Glasgow 1999
UK City of Architecture & Design.
May 2000
Port Discovery Museum
Baltimore, USA
Part of Interactivity 2000: Creativity & Civil Society
Organised by the Institute for Civil Society.
March, 2001
At the Heart conference
Fife, UK
June 2000
SLO
Netherlands
September 2001
Bluffton College
Ohio, USA.
Part of Allen County Common Threads.
October, 2002
Cities and Culture conference
London, UK
February, 2003
Common Threads: an Agenda for Active Citizenship
London, UK
February, 2003
City Festival
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
For more details about hiring the exhibition, please email us at
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This CD-ROM contains all of the text and images of the Common Threads touring exhibition as well as the main speeches from the international conference of the same name held in Glasgow in 1999.
The CD-ROM will be most interesting to those responsible for developing community, arts and education policies; who can tap into new sources of creativity by working with members of groups whose communities and values they claim to support. It advocates collaborations between local community groups, schools, and other organisations; which can create powerful forces for mutual understanding, if these collaborations are inclusive, take the form of full participation, and provide opportunity for real decision-making by all who are involved.
The CD-ROM can be used in many ways:With the Common Threads Participation for a Better World touring exhibition, available for hire from CCC; as a discussion base about building communities and developing local democracy; as a workbook on the study of techniques of community development; and as an illustration of how creativity and learning can become generators of sustainable communities. The CD-ROM is available from our BOOKSHOP.
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The DVD is a record of an open space meeting of 25 international experts that addressed the question: How can the arts and education help make the caring, capable people we need to sustain our communities? In a three-day intensive meeting, people from quite different perspectives negotiated the shape and direction of the Common Threads Programme. The DVD is instructive about the use of Open Space Technology as well as being a fascinating discussion among experts in arts, education and information technology. The DVD is available from our BOOKSHOP.
4-5 February 2003
Common Threads: An Agenda for Active CitizenshipBusiness Design Centre, Islington, London, UK
Organised by the Centre for Creative Communities with the support of the British Council, the Prince's Trust, Parthenon Group and ICI, this international symposium explored notions of citizenship, identity and participation within the context of contemporary society. The event provided over 200 people from 14 countries a unique opportunity to share the latest international thinking on how government, business and non-profit organisations can strengthen communities through cross-sector partnerships. A main focus was on the role that culture can play in fostering civic engagement, promoting intercultural dialogue and in developing active citizenship, both at a local and a global level.
Opened by Lord Filkin, the two day event included the participation of 70 international distinguished political, cultural and academic theorists, researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The symposium consisted of a wide range of plenary sessions, concurrent seminars and an exhibition open to participants. A full report of the conference can be downloaded as a PDF(651 KB)
December 2001
Common Threads: Culture, Creativity and Community for the under 12sGlasgow, UK
An international conference about citizenship and participation, held in December 2001 in Glasgow, Scotland. The event was designed for artists teachers, curriculum specialists and local authority officers concerned with defining and resourcing the development of a sense of community and belonging for children. The conference was conducted in partnership with Richmond Park School, a school for children with physical or medical impairments (whose wheelchair dance group performed for all present at the end of day two).
Among the speakers, Penny Greenland, author of Hopping Home Backwards, opened the second day with a speech advocating the importance of developing each child's physical intelligence alongside his/ her emotional intelligence and cognitive skills.
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1999
Common Threads Participation for a Better WorldGlasgow, UK
The conference attracted a capacity audience of teachers, arts organisations, education and cultural policy makers and local authority officers.
1999-2003/4
Allen County Common ThreadsLima, Ohio, USA
Jennifer Williams, Director of CCC, and Bill Cleveland from the Centre for the Study of Art and Community worked with citizens form Lima, Ohio and representatives of Bluffton College, Bluffton, Ohio to initiate a community dialogue project among locally based projects and the city's larger overview agencies concerned with improving trust among local leaders and the celebration of diversity. A full report of the first few years can be found in the. The project featured two Common Threads conferences in 1999 and 2001.
1998
Common Threads: Creating Healthy CommunitiesCastleton, Derbyshire, UK
This conference conducted in partnership with the Pioneer Health Centre, Community Health UK and the National Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens was facilitated by Open Space Technology led by Jennifer Williams, director of CCC. A Derbyshire youth hostel served as the venue and the meeting attracted a range of people working in creative, alternative and artistically-linked strategies for well-being and health.
1997
Common Threads: The Arts for LifeLiverpool, UK
A conference in collaboration with the National Early Years Network, Youth Arts Network, PlayTrain, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, and Eurolink Age. The conference explored the potential for more cooperation between the arts and informal education institutions. Sponsored in part by NW Arts.
For other CCC/BAAA conferences go to
Conferences
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