Community Mobilization
Collaboration in Action: Mobilizing Local Wisdom for Collective Impact
Community Mobilization is an interactive training designed to build the capacity of peer recovery specialists, community leaders, and helping professionals to drive sustainable, community-led change. Participants will explore how local individuals, groups, and organizations can plan, implement, and evaluate collective actions that improve health, education, safety, and other essential community needs, whether initiated from within the community or supported by external partners.
This training defines community mobilization as more than advocacy or outreach, it is a participatory and inclusive process rooted in equity, empowerment, and local leadership. Participants will learn key concepts, models, and real-world applications, and walk away with practical tools for building trust, engaging stakeholders, organizing around local priorities, and sustaining impact through collaboration and shared power.
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By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
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Define community mobilization and distinguish it from related approaches like social mobilization, advocacy, and community participation.
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Identify the key components of effective community mobilization, including leadership, communication, sustainability, and adaptability.
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Recognize the roles and responsibilities of community mobilizers, including trust-building, facilitation, and supporting participatory decision-making.
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Use strengths-based strategies such as appreciative inquiry, asset mapping, and positive deviance to engage communities in solutions.
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Apply a step-by-step mobilization process (assess, plan, act, evaluate, sustain) to real-world community health challenges.
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Demonstrate strategies for engaging stakeholders, including crafting targeted messages and maintaining long-term relationships.
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Discuss the ethical and political challenges of community mobilization, particularly when working with systemically marginalized groups.
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