The THIRD Space
What is the concept of the THIRD Space? Commonly, our homes are known as our first space, an intimate safe space that we share with our families and close friends. In the modern context, the second space is usually our place of work. This is the place where we spend most of our daytime and usually 8+ hours. This is a stark difference from our homes in both our level of comfort, ro
le, and social interactions. The third space then is usually the space in which we interact with the rest of society and community in mostly social or functional settings. Third spaces often end up being the gym, a religious center, malls, clubs and the like. However, in most third spaces, the explicit purpose is not to provide a social space but rather this is a by-product. In our context, the 3rd Space is an intentional community-led and driven safe space that brings an intergenerational group of community members together
The mission of a third space is to offer a place where youth can enjoy a safe place, of companionship, content and understanding without feeling out of place. It's intention is to provide a place where people can come to meet and talk openly about relative topics regarding, community, lifestyle, culture, religion, as well as foster new friendships. It's a space distinct both from work, place of worship and home life, where communication can tend to be functional and stereotyped. 3rd spaces are well known for encouraging sociability, not isolation among the community. It's an open space where everyone feels safe to express his/her ideas. It's a great way for a community to develop a rich sense of identity and cohesion. 3rd spaces are usually identified as an easy going, informal space where any group of people can feel comfortable expressing their feelings. Third spaces are vital to any community that is seeking to keep the youth of this time engaged and participating on a wider scale. It's been shown that these spaces give disenfranchised youth a place of comfort and belonging. It enables them with confidence and encourages them to give back and be a socially relevant part of their community. In a time where many people feel isolated, a third space becomes essential to any community seeking to make a difference. Why is the 3rd Space important? In countries across the world, we are finding younger generations have fewer and fewer safe spaces in which they can gather for something positive. When we say safe, we don’t only mean physically safe but also safe in terms of hearing people opinions and catering to different levels of emotional and mental health as well. Young people and most people in general, do not want to walk into a community space to be judged. With our modern technologies, megamalls, and social media cultures, we have less interaction with our neighbors and often fail to build community. The 3rd Space thus can play the role of community building or community transformation. In bringing together groups of people, the explicit purpose is of community building, idea and resource sharing, and having people of different generations and backgrounds naturally interact with each other. Although there can be programmes and the like at 3rd Spaces, and in essence the 3rd Space could move to different locations, we believe it is crucial to have some foundational 3rd Spaces as physical cornerstones of the community. For this, it is critical for community members to lead the physical development of these spaces. Often large institutions, governments, religious bodies, and other well-intentioned organizations try establishing third spaces, but if we go into most of these places from mosques to community centers, we will not find the type of youth or community these places may intend to reach. You will find youth in malls, clubs, streets, and possibly negative spaces. It’s thus critical for 3rd Spaces to exist that resonate with youth and community, and this is especially true for Muslims across the globe. How do we build successful Third Spaces? The success of a 3rd Space is first measured by both the number of people it attracts and the diversity of those people. The next measures are qualitative and include surveying the people who come, creating focus groups and committees and measuring the impact on the regular attendees and visitors. The final measure is the change created in communities by the presence of the 3rd Space. If all of these measures and goals within them are met, the Third Space is successful in its first phase of existence. So how do we ensure it’s successful when so many large institutions and big money have not been able to? Simple…We start from the ground up. A Third Space will be successful when it’s built by the community for that community. It cannot be led by a single leader who believes he/she knows what’s best for everyone. Rather, needs assessment needs to be conducted by committee and servant leaders need to be designated to lead the charge. Regular evaluation along the process needs to be paired with community input through feedback sessions and gatherings so that the targeted communities truly feel that the 3rd Space is “theirs”. Programmes
Art/Culture -
Music / Poetry / Dance / Artwork / Design / Film / Books / Paintings / Cultural
Spiritual/Humanity -
Talks / Dialogue / Discussion / Friendship / Counseling / Classes / Seminars / Drug Free / Hang out
Social -
Community works and participation / Permaculture / Skills Training / Social and Political engagement / Welfare work / Entrepreneurship / Servanthood Leadership
