The Art Of Community Mapping
Above all else, when mapping the strengths and assets of a community, make sure you connect, don’t just collect!
Through the Looking Glass
My job now, is not as a consultant; it is to enter a community with open heart, open mind and open will and to continue to offer these blended gifts to communities who are in crisis
2015 ImagineBetter Assemblies – Better Imagined Community
Participant-driven gatherings, authentic discussions and real actions! This is what happened during November when a team of Aussies from the Jeder Institute and Future by Design embarked on a whirlwind tour of New Zealand with the staff of ImagineBetter, headlined by Margaret Wheatley
The Emergence of ABCD in Australia and the Asia Pacific
This is the story that involves many people, over many years, and it tells us of their work and the emergence of the language and the principles of Asset-based Community Development (ABCD) in Australia and some of its’ Asian neighbours
Person-centred, Community-driven (PCCD) Practice
Blending Person Centred Thinking and Asset-based Community Development has been both a natural progression of two powerful strengths focused approaches yet, has also been a challenge in discovering where the intersections and borders are within the stand-alone frameworks and philosophies. Person Centred Community Driven practice delivers an experience for people that shifts mindsets towards a…
Who Cares
Who cares? A few months ago, I started some conversations (which some people might call ‘work’) with 14 multi-cultural community leaders in Sydney who are seeking ways to collaborate and learn from each other plus, share their strengths with the broader community. For example, one of the Afghan leaders told one of the African leaders…
Learning Conversations
One Tree at a Time Late one Friday afternoon, I was talking on the phone with the Regional Coordinatorofa Government Department about the upcoming talk and workshop I would be delivering at their Annual Forum. Being very passionate community workers, we very quickly moved onto talking about the importance of listening, the potential dilemmas caused…
Between Chaos and Control
Between Chaos and Control “Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish in the crowd.” ~ From the I Ching Over the years of working with people; community members, teams, friends, my family, I have observed and reflected on the path between…
Values of Inclusion
Why are the ‘Values of Inclusion’ (developed by Marsha Forest, Jack Pearpoint, John O’Brien and the Scottish Human Services) so important? Start Fragment Everyone is born ‘in’ All means All Everyone needs to be ‘in’ Everyone needs to be ‘with’ Everyone is ready Everyone needs support Everyone can communicate Everyone can learn Everyone can contribute…
The Pub is My Church
I recently attended a one day workshop on Collective Impact in Sydney, facilitated by Paul Born of the Tamarack Institute where he talked about the concept of Third Spaces. The term is not new to me and is what one of my ABCD colleagues, Jim Diers, calls Bumping Places but, it got me thinking about…