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Today we're talking to Tracey Cooper about the value of genuine dialogue with communities and stakeholders, the risks when you get it wrong, and how the mining sector can ensure that the next boom is a real opportunity for change. Don't miss out - sign up for more exclusive content here |
Five minutes with… Tracey Cooper, Executive Director at Mining Dialogues 360 Degrees: A South African based not-for-profit company facilitating dialogue and catalysing socio-economic development in the mining sector.
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2. The second thing is that the people who attend town hall meetings or participate in consultation processes are usually not representative of the broader community and this means you can end up excluding people from the conversation. To be effectively inclusive, you need to reach deeper and beyond those who have the means or agendas for participating in consultations by investing in actively supporting and building community self-organisation.
We’re currently working on a new socio-economic technology platform to address these issues in our sector. The idea is to provide qualitative insights and quantitative linked data with independent and evidence-based research that reaches deeper into communities to really understand their concerns, perceptions and dreams. Do you see an appetite for change in the mining sector? Yes. There is a real boom happening in the mining industry at the moment. Last time the commodity cycle peaked was in the early 2000s and the government, regulatory bodies, companies and social economic development agencies didn’t harness the full socio-economic potential of the massive profits that were generated. So as the cycle starts to spin up again there is definitely an appetite to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes. This isn’t about criticising what happened in the past, but about looking at the future and the benefits and opportunities for long-term development. It’s about framing the conversation in a positive light. How do we bring the right people together? What can be done from a government regulation point of view to enable the private sector in development? How do companies set up and deploy their social licence to operate? What do communities really need and want? What are the alternative livelihood avenues for people in the region that would allow them to become less dependent on mining? How can we help people working in relevant organisations to have the confidence to drive that message and culture shift through their organisation? All these things essentially mitigate risk because when people in local communities have food on the table and have purposeful work, they have the opportunity to develop their own longer term livelihoods and economic opportunities. I see great potential for us to harness that. And if we can get it right in South Africa, where we speak many different languages and contend with deep legacy issues, then it could be a best practice model that can be applied to other countries around the world. The mining sector has the opportunity right now to not just change the narrative through PR and spin but to actually lead the way through good practice to a more sustainable and resilient future. This article first appeared as part of the Social Value Files, sign up here to keep up to date. |
Tracey Cooper is a founding member and Executive Director of Mining Dialogues 360. She leads a collective of experts who produce empirical, evidence based research that provides the basis for frank and robust dialogue on socio-economic issues arising from the extractive industry.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.
All photos are provided with permission by Mining Dialogues 360.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.
All photos are provided with permission by Mining Dialogues 360.