Forum inspires community action

COMMUNITY and business representatives are being urged to attend the second Coffs Harbour Community Forum, and begin putting words into actions.

COMMUNITY and business representatives are being urged to attend the second Coffs Harbour Community Forum being held next Wednesday, September 21, and begin putting words into actions.

The forums, a joint initiative of Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour City Council and the Coffs Coast Advocate, are designed to stimulate public discussion and provide a road map for the future of the city.

The second forum will focus on developing working groups covering key themes in alignment with Coffs Harbour 2030 strategy such as healthy communities, education participation, environment, cultural creativity and discovery, growing business, creating jobs and community infrastructure.

Professor David Lynch, head of Southern Cross University's Coffs Harbour campus, said the first forum, which attracted up to 180 people, had identified a range of key themes.

"There was a lot of really interesting discussion and a range of key themes which emerged from the first forum. What we need now is to develop a plan for action," he said.

A number of community and business representatives will be invited to lead discussions across the working groups, with the aim of developing some core goals and a framework to achieve them.

Professor Lynch said he would be leading a group focused on education participation.

"It was really clear from our first forum that members of our community want to see some action," he said.

"We don't want to just keep talking about the issues, we need to develop a clear plan for how to achieve our goals. We also need to continue to engage with a range of community representatives to ensure we can keep the momentum going."

The Coffs Community Forum will be held in the D block lecture theatre, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour campus, on Wednesday, September 21, at 5.30pm for 6pm start.

Interested participants are asked to register their attendance, nominating an area of interest, with Deborah Hoiles on 6659 3341 or [e-mail].

Originally published as Forum inspires community action