Practitioner versus professional?

Dunedata

Without getting too academic about it all... there is a need for discussion and action on the development of the sustainability paradigmn in Western Australia ... as well as to what such a concept really means to all and sundry not just to a select few experts ,academics,corporates and other allied or connected professional groups.It is a situation in which there must be adopted a praxis and transversalist approach.That is... similar to what is advocated for professionals in 'fields' under conversion to a more sustainable approach...more multidisciplinary and connecting understanding across traditional boundaries.It must go beyond this limited expert approach and field to a transversalist approach that is open,inclusive of the masses of diverse opinioned and practiced workers and other professional groups who have not yet been touched,.. let alone heard of sustainability in all its many guises.Practitioners need to be seen as experts in praxis as well as developing theory.

The danger in developing accreditations,certifications and professionalisation too widely is that it may exclude and not necessarily facilitate a better and broader understanding of and practice of sustainable living...and it is after all, what we are attempting in our many ways to achieve.The example is that we may have many ecologists but this does not an environmentally friendly society make.So what sort of expert do we want?.What sort of proslytiser can we afford?

I think at base one of the problems is that we all have as a motivation of course the ability to be able to survive in a workforce sustainably ourselves.Given the mask and body of professionalisation and a body of gathered knowledge we hope to justify our expert status,as wellas maintain a standard for the ethics of the field and a certain type of control of application of the ideas.In addition though is embedded the notion of holding onto control of this field for experts only.This is something that we as practitioners and promoters of the concept need to come to grips with.How to be inclusive?At base of course is the need for experts to be paid there due and rightly so...this enables them to be sustainable in lifestyle.We dont want to go so far down the track that it excludes other forms and the aim of the understanding of praxis.

Like in permaculture there is room for many levels of training and types of educational practice...the body of knowledge is commonly owned ...but being an expert in permaculture means that you can train and practice acceptably at many differing levels.Ther are many bodies that govern this practice and promote it amongst garden enthusiasts,architects,engineers and many other fields of endeavour.Whether one professional body should determine who is allowed to enter the field and govern training is a delicate and fraught point.Should ethical standing,pay issues,educational levels and certification be set by one body?

Whatever types of bodies that do exist and develop there must be room for many certification levels that allow a progressive and non exclusive understanding of the concepts and principles of body of knowledge called sustainability.

More to follow.