January 2024 - Parks & Recreation - 10

PERSPECT I VES A MESSAGE FROM NRPA' S LEADERS
Opportunities for Learning
in the New Year
Welcome to 2024 and all
the possibilities that a new
year offers! It's fitting that
we are kicking off the new
year with a Parks & Recreation
magazine issue full of information
on trends, technology
and social media. I look
at the theme of this January
issue as " what's new in our
world " and, more importantly,
how we can leverage
what's new to serve our missions.
In the park and recreation field, there is always
something new coming our way. It is a field that
touches on a remarkably wide variety of issues
and topics, each one with its own set of norms,
practices, knowledge and opportunities. There is
just no way that any one professional can be an
expert in every aspect. After all, we do everything
from maintaining cemeteries to managing tree
inventory, ensuring safety in our playgrounds, developing
programs for people with disabilities and
everything in between. One of the beauties of this
field is that if you are curious about or interested in
something, chances are it is relevant to parks and
recreation, and we want to help you do it right.
At NRPA, in addition to keeping a watchful eye
on trends, we are systematically going through areas
of expertise and specialization across the field
and determining how we can best deliver knowledge,
training and guidance to you. In some cases,
we can do this ourselves, and in other cases, we
partner with subject matter experts. In fact, we are
actively building out a new partnership model to
support you better. NRPA is exploring educational
partnerships with organizations that provide learning
opportunities that fill content and subject matter
expertise gaps. Two currently in development are
with Move United (moveunitedsport.org) and the
National Conflict Resolution Center (ncrconline.
com). Move United uses the power of sport to push
what's possible for people with disabilities, envisioning
that every person, regardless of ability, has
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an equal opportunity to participate in sports and
recreation in their community. The National Conflict
Resolution Center empowers individuals, organizations
and communities with the skills and resources
needed to address conflict, intolerance and
incivility in our society. Through these educational
partnerships, members and state affiliates will have
access to additional learning opportunities that support
skill-building and programming guidance.
As we continue to watch and respond to trends
and identify better ways to support your needs for
guidance, learning and skill-building, I hope that
you will reach out and share ideas for how we can
continue to serve you. One such example that we
heard and are responding to is the desire for guidance
around technology, data and artificial intelligence,
or AI. The dramatic rise in AI applications
has revealed a lot of questions and opportunities.
In response to this trend, we added content at the
NRPA Annual Conference as well as to our online
learning offerings. At its most basic level, AI is another
form of automation - a way of saving time
and effort in the work that we perform. Much like
automation advances in irrigation systems, waste
management and other operations areas, AI offers
ways of freeing us up to do other things. Just like
other forms of technology, it comes with a lot of
questions, concerns and costs. Managing Editor
Lindsay Collins takes a look at how AI is being
leveraged in the field of parks and recreation in
" AI: Here and Now " on page 36. Like so many
other aspects of our work, we will continue to
source information and guidance, as well as share
learning to help you on your continued technology
journey.
I hope this issue inspires you as we step into
2024 and the wonderful opportunities that lie
ahead.
KRISTINE STRATTON
President and CEO
http://www.moveunitedsport.org http://ncrconline.com http://ncrconline.com
January 2024 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2024 - Parks & Recreation
