A vision statement allows the community to collectively identify hopes and dreams for its language. A community’s vision statement guides all language revitalization efforts.
Developing a vision statement can be a great way to bring community members together at the beginning of the language planning process. The statement ensures everyone starts the process from a shared understanding. Here are some suggested steps to guide the process. See Facilitation Methods for more ideas.
- Brainstorm ideas, key words and phrases for the vision statement: This might be done by hosting a community meeting, meeting with Elders or Knowledge Keepers, or discussing with the planning team or advisory committee.
- Do not worry about writing the vision statement word-for-word at this point. The purpose is to gather information and suggestions from those in the community and/or planning team. These suggestions will be used to create the vision statement.
- Draft two or three example vision statements:
- Draft a few versions of the community’s vision statement based on the information gathered from the brainstorming step.
- Each statement is usually a sentence or two long. The community’s vision could also be described through a story, description or set of words.
- The example vision statements could be in both the community’s language and in English.
- Host a community meeting and present the draft vision statements for input:
- Invite community members to discuss which vision statement they like the best. Revise the statements as needed.
- Edit the statements until there is agreement on how to express the community’s vision.