Brothers in arms: social capital’s all in the family

Three brothers in complementary careers here and abroad will join forces at their alma mater next week at a roundtable discussion on building community strengths in new communities such as outer-city suburbs.

The forum (1.30pm, July 3) will be part of the InsideOut conference on Charting uncertainty: Capital, community and citizenship from July 3-5, when about 200 national and international delegates are expected on the UQ Ipswich campus.

Dr Geoff Woolcock of the University’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences will chair the roundtable. Dr Michael Woolcock, a senior social scientist at the World Bank and an adjunct professor at Harvard University, will be keynote speaker. And Roger Collins-Woolcock, president of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (New South Wales), will be among the participants.

“We’re especially keen to bring together people who don’t typically mix, for example property developers, social researchers and community development workers, on this critical question of how a sense of community can be created in places with little or no social history,” Dr Geoff Woolcock said.

“In short, we’re asking does the reality match the marketing hype.”

Dr Woolcock said a “sense of social activism” had characterised the brothers’ upbringing.

“Mum was one of the University’s first social work graduates and Dad, a former UQ reader in microbiology, wasn’t afraid to speak out at injustices in higher education,” he said.

“Our younger sisters, one working as a social worker in London and the other as a primary school teacher, carry the same spirit into their work.”

For details on the Social capital in new communities roundtable, visit InsideOut or contact Dr Geoff Woolcock (telephone 3381 1534).