
What is CLE?
 Its vision, goals and objectives

Community development principles
 CLE methods and strategies
 CLE examples
 CLE networks and resources

Community Legal Education (CLE) is the provision of information and education to members of the community, on an individual or group basis, concerning the law and legal processes, and the place of these in the structure of society. The community may be defined geographically or by issue.
From Guidelines for the management of community legal education (updated
2009) - available on the BBS

CLCs
 Solicitors
 Volunteers
 Students
 CLE/CD workers
 Locally responsive
VLA etc
 CLE unit
 Specialist divisions
 Publications
 Statewide mandate

Intrinsic to all work of Community Legal
Centres (CLC's) and Legal Aid
Commissions (LACs) is the assumption that… access to justice is not equal across society.
The vision of CLE is to increase equality of access to justice, social and legal, to all members of society.


Raise the awareness of the community of the law and legal processes
 Increase the ability of the community to understand and critically assess the impact of the law and the legal system on themselves in society generally and in relation to particular sets of circumstances

Improve the community's ability to deal with and use the law and the legal system
 Create a climate for participating in or influencing the law-making process and for pursuing law reform, through collective action where appropriate

1.
CLE should be informed by community development practice
2.
CLE should be relevant to the community and respond to a need
3.
CLE should be targeted to specific audiences
4.
CLE should be accessible to those who need it
5.
CLE should be appropriate to the targeted community
6.
CLE should be based on consultation and participation with the targeted community
7.
CLE should consider initiatives currently available

8.
CLE should be coordinated
9.
CLE initiatives should be trialed and tested
10.
CLE should be documented
11.
CLE should be evaluated
12.
CLE should be conducted by those with appropriate skills
13.
CLE should be informed by other disciplines when considering service delivery

From Community development: community-based alternatives in an age of globalization . Jim Ife and Frank
Tesoriero, 2006


Holism
– everything relates to everything else
 Sustainability – must be able to be maintained long term
 Diversity – between communities and within communities. Not seeking to impose one world view or ‘right’ structure
 Organic development – respect and value community’s particular attributes

Balanced development
– recognizing social, economic, political, cultural, environmental and personal/spiritual development

 Addressing structural disadvantage – not reinforcing structural oppression but confronting and countering them
 Addressing discourses of disadvantage – eg people with disabilities redefined as contributing members of society rather than reliant on charity
 Empowerment – providing people with resources, opportunities, vocabulary, knowledge and skills to increase their capacity
 Human rights – both protection and promotion
 Need definition – need definition of community themselves should take precedence but should be agreement between various need-definers (inc service users, service providers, researchers, funding bodies)


Valuing local knowledge
– as opposed to engaging an outside consultant or ‘expert’
 Valuing local culture – without disregarding other principles such as human rights or addressing disadvantage

Valuing local resources
– including financial, technical, natural and human
 Valuing local skills – skills developed locally most likely to succeed in that environment
 Valuing local processes
– not imposing specific answers, structures or processes from outside the community
 Participation – provide broad range of participatory activities and legitimize equally all people involved

 Process, outcome and vision – each is relevant and helps to achieve the others
 Integrity of process – the processes themselves should reflect all of the principles outlined
 Consciousness-raising – helping people explore their personal experiences and the links between their experiences and the structure or discourses of power and oppression
 Cooperation and consensus – rather than competition
 Pace of development – community must determine the pace – cannot be ‘sped up’ for those who want to see results
 Peace and non-violence – including addressing structural violence, physical violence (domestic, street, police, corporal punishment) by non-violent means, eg not appropriate to respond to youth crime with harsher penalties because it reinforces violent solutions

 Inclusiveness
– processes that include even those with opposing views so people can change positions without losing ‘face’
 Community building
– bringing people together and emphasizing interdependence


Linking global and local
 Anti-colonialist practice – not taking over the agenda, devaluing culture/experience or stripping people of identity.


Audio
 Campaign
 Capacity building project
 Community arts

Community consultation
 Drama or theatre
 Establish network

Media campaign
 Policy development
 Presentation

Public Event
 Public protest
 Publication

Research, survey or needs analysis

 Social marketing
 Submission
 Translation or work with interpreters
 Video
 Website, social media or application
 Workshop/s, seminar or forum

 Audio (SRV)
 Campaign (CALC)
 Capacity Building (VIOB)
 Community Arts (Clothesline)
 Community Consultation (VLAF)
 Drama, Theatre (Law Week,
Bingo)
 Establish Network (BFVPWG)
 Media campaign (Bendigo Courts)
 Policy development (Missing
Persons)
 Presentation (CLC4GV)
 Public Event (WRD)
 Public Protest (CLC4GV)










 CLE Folder on BBS (under National
Noticeboard/Networks)
 National CLEWS network (quarterly PLU)
 Victorian CLEWS network (meets monthly)
 CLE Made Easy (available on Community
Law)
 CLE & Law Reform Database (to be launched October 2011)
 Victoria Law Foundation – www.victorialaw.org.au
, Legal Publishers
Forum, and Better Information Handbook
(inc workshops)
 CLE & Special Projects Working Group
(VLAF)
 Fitzroy’s Legal Education Portal
 Plain Language Law (Law & Justice
Foundation NSW)