AASW Recording | Systemic Model and Community Development Principles

This webinar explores community development with Jasmina Bajraktarevic, Community Services Coordinator at STARTTS (The NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors).

State terrorism and organised violence target the very essence of a community: relationships between individuals, families and other social groups. When relationships are affected, communities are likely to fragment and severe lack of trust pervades social interaction. The situation is exacerbated in communities that are already fraught with political, ethnic and religious complexities and divisions as many refugee communities in Australia are.

While taking into account the challenges faced by refugee communities, one needs to acknowledge significant strengths those communities bring to Australia including their culture, social capital, knowledge, skills, resilience, passion and commitment to building a new life for themselves, their families and community. Thus the principles of community work with refugee communities should include recognition of these strengths, understanding of the collective impact of state terrorism and organised violence, consideration of the systemic model, honouring community ownership of the development process, flexibility, cultural sensitivity, integrity of the process, organic and multifaceted approach to community work, willingness to negotiate systems and processes to ensure community ownership and leadership, commitment building and mentoring of community leaders and recognition of mutual learning process. STARTTS believes that community development work has a potential to be transformative on personal, interpersonal and community levels.

This webinar was presented by the AASW NSW Branch in March 2021.

Presenter

Jasmina Bajraktarevic came to Australia in 1993 as a refugee from Bosnia-Herzegovina. She is a Social Worker (Hon 1, University Medal) and the Community Services Coordinator at STARTTS. Her knowledge and expertise range from individual trauma counselling, through groupwork and community development to management, staff supervision, not-for-profit governance, policy analysis and development, project management and tender writing.

Jasmina manages a section STARTTS consisting of over 60 staff including Community Development Team, Youth Team, School Liaison Team, Families in Cultural Transition (FICT) Team and Mental Health Community Living Supports for Refugees (MH-CLSR) team as well as staff covering STARTTS LGBTIQA+ Project, volunteer management, policy analysis and input, community development evaluation, community cultural development, grant and tender writing and community capacity building. Jasmina has significant Board experience and is currently on the Boards of the Refugee Council of Australia and NSW Refugee Communities Advocacy Network as well as a member of the World Pride Sydney Advisory Committee. In the past, she was on Boards of Karitane, NSW Multicultural Youth Affairs Network (MYAN), Immigrant Women’s Speakout and Western Sydney Area Health Service.