New forum aims to address the needs of Fleurhof community
First meeting successful
The first session of the newly formed Fleurhof Community Business Network (FCBN) was well received by the community despite a late venue change.
“We were forced to make it a closed meeting with no more than 15 attendees, because of concerns that were raised about the floor at the Fleurhof recreation centre’s squash court,” explained Albert Mphele, one of the forum’s founders.
The newly established forum aims to gather a vast amount of information pertaining to the ongoing development taking place in Fleurhof and to identify the opportunities available to community members. “These opportunities will enable members from the community to proactively participate through community initiatives, business and service provision,” Albert explained.
He added that, although the larger focus was on the completion of the development of affordable housing, a large number of other needs have fallen short of the community’s expectations, some of these being business, community and youth initiatives as well as recreation and entertainment.
“The FCBN plans to expedite the integration of the abovementioned points by continuously identifying needs through research and community engagement. We will also formulate accommodative methods, implementation strategies and supporting tools to achieve them,” said Albert.
But, to achieve this, community participation in the following areas will be vital:
– Working professionals
– Aspiring and existing business owners
– Non-profit organisations
– Youth
– Larger Fleurhof community.
In an effort to achieve this, the FCBN is planning to have consecutive sessions on a monthly basis, where all community members will be afforded the opportunity to engage, brainstorm and participate in formulating implementation methods.
“Because they are community members who have the capacity to address these needs, whether independently or through the formulation of partnerships, available opportunities can be grasped and a positive contribution to the development and enhancement of Fleurhof can be made,” he said.
Outcomes from the first session include:
– FCBN’s organisational structure has been formulated
– A central business supplier and employment database, which will be used as a first point of contact for any service/ business labour provision required in Fleurhof, has been established
– Progressive partnerships were fostered
– Community initiatives eligible for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding were formulated
Awareness throughout the Fleurhof community was raised.
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