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To register please print off a registration form and fax or post in.
Download: 1. Program At A Glance 2. Preconference Program 3. Registration Form
Program: keynotes and concurrent sessions
Keynote 1 | Keynote 2 | Keynote 3 | Panel session | Keynote 4 | Keynote 5
| Keynote 6 | Keynote 7
Concurrent session
Choose a concurrent session from A, B, C & D
A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 |A5 | A6 | B1 | B2 | B3 | B4 | B5 | B6 | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4
| C5 | C6 | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7
Please NOTE: the following concurrent sessions are booked out:
A2, B1, B4, C3, D2, D6
Choose an Elective for Friday 5th December
Keynote 1 | Jody Kretzmann, Co-Director, Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University, USA
Building Strong Communities on Six Continents: an update and overview
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute co-founder and co-director Jody Kretzmann presents a summary of the ever-expanding global experience of asset-based community building strategies. With colleagues in Australia and at the Coady International Institute in Canada, ABCD leaders are discovering how different countries and cultures–from Latin America to Africa to Europe to South and Southeast Asia–adapt and customize strength based approaches to their own realities.
In addition, these rich international efforts have begun to connect ABCD-related work to other powerful strategies for building strong communities. Examples include appreciative inquiry, sustainable livelihoods approaches, various micro-credit and micro-enterprize schemes, participatory rural appraisal, resiliency-focused strategies, etc. These exciting new developments are opening up a new set of opportunities for community builders–how can we continue to construct a truly global discussion and a powerful international network dedicated to advancing the idea that local citizens are critical participants in the process of building a more hopeful global future?
About the speaker
Professor Jody Kretzmann is the Director of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, and Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University, U.S.A. The ABCD Institute works with community building leaders across North America, (Canada and the U.S.A.) as well as five other continents to conduct research, produce materials and tools that will support community base efforts to rediscover local capacities and to mobilize citizens resources in order to plan and implement positive futures. The Institute has a high profile international reputation for the development of a wide range of practical resources.
Professor Kretzmann has worked with U.S. and Canadian Federal and State Government Departments, many Local Government Authorities and numerous neighbourhood organizations and has been a keynote speaker at many International conferences.
Professor Kretzmann has made many trips to Australia since 2000 providing Introduction to ABCD Workshops, Effective Facilitation Workshops, speaking at National conferences and working with Commonwealth and State Government Departments. This has contributed to Australia’s understanding of the importance of community engagement for all levels of government, educational institutions and the service sector.
Keynote 2 | Suzi Lodder, Indigenous Business Australia
Building Indigenous Assets
Working with Indigenous communities in remote Australia presents special challenges to community development practitioners, government agencies and the private sector. This paper will outline those challenges, using some practical project examples to illustrate how the application of asset-based community development principles and practices have affected outcomes.
About the speaker
Suzi Lodder has been working in the social policy, action research and community development fields for almost 25 years, focusing on rural and remote Australia. She has held Board positions in many community organisations as well as senior positions in government agencies. She is currently the Queensland and NSW State Coordinator for Indigenous Business Australia, a statutory corporation tasked with enabling Indigenous Australians to build assets and achieve economic independence.
Keynote 3 | David Wilson, (NZ), Heritage Futures International
Utilising local heritage assets to create vibrant and entertaining communities
The creative use of local heritage assets coupled with careful planning, innovation, entrepreneurship and strong local leadership, leads to vibrant and enterprising communities. Discover how to identify the heritage gems of your community and new do-able ways to utilise them as social and economic assets.
About the speaker
David Wilson of Heritage Futures International (NZ ), is a community enthusiast and small town rural change facilitator. He has 22 years of practical field work experience working internationally with communities, local and central government agencies, the heritage tourism industry and private enterprise. He is a specialist in inspiring people to use their personal gift’s and heritage to build their communities from the inside out.
Keynote 4 | Maria Angela (May-an) C. Villaba,
Director, Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation & 2007 Philippines Social Entrepreneur of the Year
How ABCD-Def Works In The Philippine Setting
Assets Based Community Development (ABCD) and the Diverse Economies Framework (DEF) works for Filipino communities. The Philippines is a country with tremendous assets in human resources, natural resources (lands, seas and rivers), social resources (in terms of a historically receptive culture for building relationships), physical resources and financial resources (migrant remittances).
Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation Inc. has applied ABCD and DEF in two communities. Two case studies will be presented. The Linamon community in Lanao del Norte and the Lizada community in Toril, Davao City.
Asset mapping, partnership with the public and private sectors, building entrepreneurial spirit and disaster risk reduction were some of the activities integral to elements of the ABCD and DEF framework in the Philippines. In both communities poor women who averaged a monthly income of P3, 000 to P5, 000 used a credit program to develop livestock production, dry goods store, vending of fish and native delicacies, and food processing businesses.
Asset Based Community Development is facing some challenges in the Philippines. Entrepreneurial management is still weak. This results in inefficient production and operations systems. There is also the lack of capital resources and the slow process of generating capital in the communities. Moreover, there is growing competition everywhere. The community must overcome problems of corruption, bureaucratese and other barriers.
The presentation will discuss the achievements thus far and the efforts to address barriers, especially as they are inherent to a third world country such as the Philippines. It will also look at elements which are being replicated in other communities—Kolambugan Lanao and Pantukan, Campostela Valley.
About the speaker
Maria Angela (May-an) C. Villalba is the Executive Director of Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation Inc., an initiative that channels resources from Overseas Filipino Workers into community economic development initiatives in the Philippines. Social enterprises supported through the Foundation include a coco coir plant and a rice mill. Ms Villalba received the Schwab Foundation’s Philippines Social Entrepreneur of the Year award for 2007, recognising how she has helped develop initiatives that benefit the marginalised and the poor. Ms Villalba has also worked with researchers from the Australian National University to incorporate Assets Based Community Development into the practices of Unlad Kabayan.
Keynote 5 | Bliss Browne (USA), Appreciative Inquiry, Imagine Chicago
Cultivating Hope, Imagination and Community, or A Conversation with the Future or Appreciative Inquiry and Community Regeneration
Bliss Browne, founder of Imagine Chicago will share inspiring stories of building intergenerational community partnerships using strength-based communications and organizing frameworks. Drawing on her experience with Imagine Chicago and the global Imagine movement now on six continents, she will illustrate ways to cultivate hope, imagination and engagement in ways which empower individuals, families and communities.
About the speaker
Bliss W. Browne is founder and President of Imagine Chicago (www.imaginechicago.org), a mother of three, an ordained Episcopal priest, a civic leader, and a former Division Head of the First National Bank of Chicago where she was a corporate banker for 16 years. Since 1992, Imagine Chicago has harnessed hope and imagination for public good by designing and facilitating dozens of collaborative intergenerational partnerships in which uncommon partners have gotten engaged, across well-established divides of age, race, income, culture and class, in transforming families and communities. Imagine Chicago's work has inspired a global Imagine movement of social innovations on six continents. It has also founded a growing and successful global maternal health initiative called Ubumama to save the lives of women dying in childbirth in the developing world.
Bliss is a graduate of Yale University (BA, History 1971), Harvard University (M.Div 1974, in theology) and the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern (MM, 1978, in finance). She is a sought after keynote speaker, facilitator, consultant and trainer nationally and internationally, in civic engagement, leading and managing systemic change, collaborative leadership, youth development and developing the generative capacity of communities–and does consulting work with business, church, health, government and community organizations. Bliss was a member of the 2 year Saguaro Seminar on Civic Engagement in America, convened by Robert Putnam at the Kennedy School of Harvard University that recognized national innovators in developing social capital. She is author of numerous journal articles, two books: "Ten Years of Imagination in Action", a conceptual framework for imagination as a social movement and "Women Alive: A Legacy of Social Justice, " as well as a book entitled "Imagine: A Conversation with the Future" to be published by Taos Institute Publishing in 2009.
Keynote 6 | Constantino Pinto, The Good Crocodile Foundation Timor Leste
‘Crisis as Opportunity’ – Examples of ABCD in Rural East Timor; community development work of Fundacão Lafaek Diak (FLD - The Good Crocodile Foundation) (translated by Inge Lempp Canossian College Sisters of Baucau, Timor-Leste)
How does a community heal, rebuild and develop after centuries of colonial rule, decades of brutal military occupation and total destruction, in a post- and in-conflict context? Constantino Pinto will present the work of The Good Crocodile Foundation, in the village of Triloka, Baucau, East Timor. A clinic and doctor’s residence were renovated in the midst of the violent crisis in 2006. ‘Building’ rather than ‘destroying’ became the motto, and invited many volunteers who were internally displaced persons to do something constructive despite their miserable situation.
East Timor has a long history of destruction and war yet in the midst of it there are examples of people at grass roots level who begin with what they have and what they know and a seed begins to grow. Others gain interest, join in and partner and change begins to happen. Fundacão Lafaek Diak works in the areas of community health care, agricultural, water and sanitation, non-formal education, and income generating activities in rural East Timor.
About the speaker
Constantino Pinto, born in Baguia, Baucau, east Timor, is co-founder and current director of Fundacão Lafaek Diak (FLD - The Good Crocodile Foundation), an indigenous Timorese non for profit, non-government community development organization. FLD works in rural community development in the areas of community health care, agriculture, water and sanitation and community economic development.
Keynote 7 | Peter Kenyon, Bank Of Ideas
ABCD: A Global Concept Whose Time Has Come
Drawing upon his commitment to ABCD philosophy and methodologies over the last decade, Peter will seek to demystify the power of the simple ABCD model - 'discovering community assets, linking such resources and then connecting to windows of opportunities'. His presentation will explore the history and essence of this community model through his involvement with project initiatives throughout Australia and internationally (Asia, Africa, Middle East and North America). These experiences reflect his personal passions - healthy and inclusive communities, vibrant local economies and the pivotal role young women and men can play in leading and teaching the ABCD approach.
About the speaker
Peter Kenyon is a social entrepreneur and community enthusiast. Over the last decade he has worked with over 1000 communities throughout Australia and overseas seeking to facilitate fresh and creative ways that stimulate community and economic renewal. He is motivated by the desire to create healthy, caring, inclusive, sustainable and enterprising communities and local economies. Peter has had a background as a youth worker, teacher, youth education officer and tertiary lecturer. His employment experiences have also included Director of Employment in Western Australia, Manager of the Community Employment Development Unit in New Zealand and Coordinator of the Natal Kwazulu Job Creation and Enterprise Strategy in South Africa. In 2003, Peter was awarded a Centenary of Federation medal for services to ‘Community Development in Rural Australia’.
Panel Session – The Great Debate
Facilitated by Ted Smeaton, Inspiring Communitites
Ted Smeaton is a community enthusiast and a builder of community organisations and civil society. Ted has worked in Australia and Asia assisting communities and agencies to come up with innovative ways of stimulating community and social renewal. He has a passion for assisting in the creation of healthy, caring, inclusive, sustainable, and just communities.
Ted has a background in community work, community education, senior management and as a tertiary lecturer. His employment experience includes the role of senior manager for The Benevolent Society, where he established their first regional and rural program, which in five years grew from one part-time worker to a state-wide program with an operating budget of $25m.
Ted has been instrumental in establishing nine new community-based organisations and developed a number of national programs. He has an extensive history in supporting Australian Indigenous organisations.
Ted is now the Director of Inspiring Communities and partner with Bank of Ideas to promote these important ideas with the necessary facilitation, creativity and skills.
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Wednesday 3rd December 11.30am – 1.00pm
SESSION A - BROADER ISSUES
BOOKED OUT - A1 – Focus: Food & Livelihoods – 30 minute paper presentations
i - Introduction to “Cultural Capital”: A new Asset for studying Rural Livelihoods -Examples from Kandy-Sri Lanka
Ms Chandima Daskon, Department of Geography, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Livelihoods assets includes Social, Human, Natural, Physical and Financial capital, and portrays different tangible and intangible resources available to attaining a desired livelihood for rural communities. In the livelihood approach, these assets are recognized as foremost, for attaining a secure and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods System. Extending the conventional assets framework, this paper introduces culture as another vital asset to ensure the security of Rural Livelihoods System, proposing the concept of Cultural Capital. Recognizing culture as a vital asset in the every day context of the rural communities, the paper elucidates the importance of culture in understanding and defining Rural Livelihoods Systems enabling social-inclusion and ‘social-security’ of the rural people. In this regard the paper draws upon a detailed field research undertaken in few villages in the Kandyan region in Sri Lanka. The paper shows that the peoples values, customs, beliefs, knowledge and skills that have been handed down from generation to generation are crucial in their everyday context providing opportunities to better access to other assets, to build livelihood resilience and in determining their livelihood options available.
About the presenter/s
Chandima is a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, Otago University, NZ. She is interested in Development studies and Development Geography. Currently she is working on the title of Culture, Livelihoods and Rural Sustainability, as her doctoral research. Earlier she has studied at the Norwegian University for her Masters, and The United Nations University in Tokyo. She is a lecturer in Geography, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.
ii - FOOD, HEALTH AND WELBEING: Contributions to Social Inclusion
Megan Guster and John Davis, City of Onkaparinga, SA
Our focus on an asset based approach to our community development programs has provided a significant challenge for the City of Onkaparinga. It has required a re-thinking of the approach to our strategic planning processes.
Our Neighbourhood Development Program works with marginalised and disadvantaged communities in southern metropolitan Adelaide. We support a number of community development projects under the theme of Food, Health and Wellbeing including community gardens and our Cooking Utensils and Non-Violence projects, as a means of enhancing community wellbeing and encouraging participation in community life.
Neighbourhood Development relies on the skills of workers and community members. These skills are well complemented by the infrastructure, economic development and environmental assets we offer to Food, Health and Wellbeing, as our region is renowned as a producer of quality food and wine.
Using examples from our Neighbourhood Development Program this presentation will briefly outline our Council’s traditional approach to community development and the structural and strategic challenges it has faced in accepting the asset based approach.
About the presenter/s
Megan is an experienced community development worker working with the Onkaparinga community for 20 years. She has a particular interest in issues around food security and involving community members in addressing these and having community voices heard.
John has an extensive background in community development and more recent experience in the recreation and sport sector. A major area of interest is in the role of local government in the promotion and facilitation of healthy lifestyles initiatives within the local community.
iii - Knowing Our Place: An Experiment in Regional Development
Robyn Eversole, Institute for Regional Development, University of Tasmania, TAS
Increasingly, policy makers are recognising that different places have potentially very different development trajectories – and that the impetus for creativity, entrepreneurship, and social change often comes from within. While this broadening recognition of the importance of local assets and local knowledge empowers local people and institutions to take a leading role in determining their own futures, there is considerable confusion about how to catalyse and facilitate local leadership, and how to fill the inevitable gaps in local resources and knowledge. Either communities are left to fill their own gaps as best they can, or else outsiders attempt the gap-filling using top-down approaches: still wielding ‘expert knowledge’ and policy directives to guide community action in ‘appropriate’ directions. This paper argues for an alternative approach to mobilising local and regional leadership through establishing an intentional dialogue between ‘expert’ and ‘local’ knowledge as the launching pad for strategic planning and problem-solving at the local level. Through a case study from North West Tasmania, this paper will explore various meeting points between ‘expert’ and ‘local’ knowledge and show how these are becoming sites of mutual learning, creative thinking, and deliberative dialogue.
About the presenter/s
Dr Robyn Eversole is an anthropologist specialised in the study of development issues and processes. She has designed and conducted applied research in South America, Western Australia, Victoria, and the Asia-Pacific region, and has also worked as an international development practitioner. Her books include Participation and Governance in Regional Development (2005). She is now the Senior Research Fellow at the University of Tasmania’s new Institute for Regional Development.
BOOKED OUT A2 –Focus: Environment – 30 minute paper presentations
i Supporting vulnerable communities to be resilient to unexpected change
William Vorobioff, Geraldine O’Connor, Transition Towns Newcastle, NSW
A 30 minute presentation on Transition Towns will provide an overview of the Transition Town movement, its genesis in the great challenges facing the global community, and its relevance to the future of communities. By supporting people to find new purpose and meaning in their lives, the process builds resilience as well as contributing to their overall health in ways that become deeply rooted in the fabric of a community. On Thursday 4th December Geraldine and William will facilitate a 45-minute interactive workshop (Concurrent Session C3), exchanging ideas on how to blend community development and Transition Towns philosophies to build more resilient communities within Newcastle, with particular focus on the opportunities for vulnerable communities to buffer themselves against unexpected change.
About the presenter/s
William Vorobioff is a psychologist who has worked in private practice for over 20 years, working mostly on individual and relationship changes. He is the accidental convener of Transition Towns Newcastle. In an earlier life, he was an electrician, and worked as a professional diver around the world in the oil industry, before making a counter sea change and becoming a counsellor and a psychotherapist.
Geraldine O’Connor is an urban planner with an increasing interest in community development, particularly the possibilities of ‘bottom up’ solutions to drive policy change and the opportunities for cross discipline connections. Transition Towns has attracted Geraldine’s attention because of its potential to capture and harness the energy that lies within communities to develop local solutions that protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of unexpected events and strengthen community connections.
ii Growing Leaders From The Ground Up
Colette Baron, Central Coast Community Leadership, NSW
The COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, is an Area Assistance two year funded project that seeks to build community capacity by seeking out community leaders at the grass roots level and providing training, support and mentors for their various projects.
The project works on the Asset Based model of community development (ABCD) and the project is, in fact, ABCD in action! Our project is unique, and highly successful, and we are looking to roll out a Community Package of the project that can be used as a national resource.
We do not seek iconic leaders, but focus on community members who have ideas and aspirations to create often, simple projects, but not always, that contribute to building community capacity.
Part of the success of the Leadership Project, is that we are able to remain flexible, and grow organically as the requirements of leaders change. Naturally, we are also linking and networking with many organisations and resources that are already existing in the community as per the ABCD model.
The networking that occurs amongst the groups of leaders is amazing as they all have skills, contacts and links within their communities. I have seen leaders working together, sharing resources and knowledge that have helped enhance each other’s projects, and the pool of resources that are available for each.
This project truly enriches our region, with many capable people now having the confidence and resources to put their vision into practice for how they would like to see their community operate, and provide resources that they believe are needed, all in a voluntary capacity.
There is a simple recipe that can be followed to ensure the engagement of community members and the ongoing support and success of their various projects.
They key to working at the grass roots level of community is to not get too caught up on theories and methodology and allow the natural flow of processes to occur. People know their own communities, they know what they want and they have many networks around them. The role of a community worker, is to facilitate that process in a way that provides resources, links and information, without forcing upon it their own expectations and motivations. It is about empowering people to have confidence in their capacity to do it for themselves, not to do it for them.
About the presenter/s
Colette is the coordinator of the Central Coast Community Leadership Development Project (CLDP), and has been employed by the Central Coast Community Council since April 2007. The project is funded through Area Assistance for two years. She has worked on the Central Coast as a Community worker for fourteen years. She has worked in the disability sector, employment, youth, workplace assessment for people involved in on the job traineeships, and coordinated a PSP program for four years. Colette is finalising a degree in Herbal Medicine and she also has a small business. She is involved in many community initiatives in her spare time including Brackets and Jam Inc, CoastFest, Whaledreamers Festival and Coasties 2 Cambodia (an Alternative to Schoolies). The CLDP is a fantastic initiative and Colette feels lucky to work in an area where the ideals and ethos directly cross paths with her passion for bringing people together and creating a sense of community that is holistic and inclusive and celebrates people’s talents and skills. She believes that the ripple effect created by small, positive, community driven projects, can have a huge impact on the communities in which they operate.
iii Social catchments as a potential Asset-Based Community Development tool
Judith Crockett, Charles Sturt University
Social catchments draw on pre-existing place ties and social capital to build common networks and have potential as tools for asset-based community development (ABCD). To test social catchments’ suitability as a ABCD tool, participants at nine community forums held by Landcare in the Central Tablelands of NSW were recruited using a social catchments approach, the effectiveness of which was independently evaluated by the authors. Evaluation focused on (1) the extent to which the forums were held in a central place for the participants, (2) the extent to which there was a sense of community, (3) community assets were visible to participants and (4) the degree to which communities of interest were involved in the forums and able to capitalise on the forum process.
Responses from participants suggest social catchments as an ABCD tool show much potential if more effective communication strategies for recruitment are utilised, comprehensive support of new community projects is maintained by sponsoring organisations, and an extended evaluation phase is deployed.
This paper presents the results of Janine Friedrich's masters research project into social catchments. The project has been supervised by Dr Judith Crockett and Ms Zelma Bone.
About the presenter/s
Judith lectures in social sustainability and sociology at Charles Sturt University. Her key research interests are community based rehabilitation, community development and rural health, particularly farmer mental health.
A3 – Focus: Introduction to ABCD - 45 minute
i An Introduction to Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Workshop
Dee Brooks, John Andriunas, The Family Action Centre, NSW
This paper will introduce delegates to the philosophy of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and will discuss strategies such as how to create a non-threatening space to host deeper, more meaningful conversations with community members and how to lead with a question when developing these conversations and building relationships.
Other key points will be discovering the 6 assets to connect with in a community plus the 2 partnering drivers, capacity inventories, asset mapping, community leadership and the consequences of needs maps. Delegates will be involved in discussions on how to identify people’s capacities, skills, abilities, gifts and ideas as well as strategies on how to utilise these skills and abilities for the inclusion of all community members and the well being of a community at large.
Delegates will be encouraged to; ‘dare to think small’ and after finding what works, how to create more of it plus how to create positive change simply with conversation.
About the presenter/s
Dee Brooks has been a Youth Worker, Community Researcher and Community Development Worker in the Community Services industry for 10 years. She currently works on the ‘Disaster Planning in Park Communities’ project looking at the resilience of park communities during an emergency and assisting with development of evacuation plans for 55 caravan parks in the Hunter Valley. She also coordinates the B.I.G. project with the Caravan Project and facilitates the ABCD Asia Pacific Network. Dee is a parent, partner and passionate community worker.
John Andriunas is the Community Development Worker and Coordinator of the PlayTime project. John was formally the Community Worker/Coordinator with the Fathers in Communities project. He has successfully conducted playgroups and after school activities for families as part of the PlayTime project. John has presented to government and non-government agencies on the work of the Fathers in Communities project and has developed best practice resources to assist other agencies and organisations to facilitate their involvement with fathers. John’s previous work was with young people in residential care. He holds a Diploma in Community Services (Youth Work) and is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Social Science Degree.
ii Moving from Community Mapping to Community Action – three different approaches
Lianne Tasker, Port Stephens Council, NSW
Follow a community journey which began with asset mapping activities and grew into three very different, sustainable community projects. Although the groups are diverse; a seniors singing group, photography group and a chamber of commerce, they all have three things in common – they are firmly grounded in ABCD principles; they began with a community skills audit, they each have a child friendly community flavour. The “takes a community to raise a child” project highlights three different approaches to engaging community to turn identified community skills and strengths into action. The approaches can be described as (1) open invitation (2) interest focused and (3) issue focused. The presentation outlines some of the issues and a challenge associated with the three projects and discusses their contribution to a child friendly Raymond Terrace & Karuah. Participants will also workshop practical tools to assist community members to move from knowing their strengths to using their strengths.
About the presenter/s
Lianne has a Master of Social Science and a Degree in Rehabilitation Counselling. She has over 20 years experience in the youth, disability, employment, family services and education sectors. As a community development worker she has demonstrated her strong commitment to ABCD while working with diverse groups and communities.
Focus: Community Action - 45 minute workshop presentations
i Capacity Building through 'Back Office Support
Adele Johns, Voluntary Treasurers Support Service Inc, NSW
Development of a community based project set up as ‘social enterprise’ to bridge an identified gap in ‘back office’ support to the sector, the project builds capacity through its mentoring process, led by an accountant, the team support themselves in group discussions and team meetings. The presentation will outline the development of this project when ‘funders’ kept giving it the ‘red’ light. The need was clearly identified by community members and an answer needed to be found. With determination and the identification of skill sets available, the project has successfully ran for three years providing the sector with thousands of hours of support
and has now expanded to the mid north coast.
About the presenter/s
Adele Johns B.Com, ACPA, currently studying a Masters in Research of not for profit organisations in Accountability and Governance. Manager of Voluntary Treasurers Support Service Inc. Graduate of Sydney Leadership 2005, extremely passionate about the ability to make a difference and the strength of one voice.
ii Central Coast Community Congress – An ABCD Partnership in Action
Margot Castles, The Benevolent Society and Dawn Brown, Wyong Council, NSW
As the Congress moves into its 10th year our workshop will explore the impact of this dynamic partnership on the Congress Working Party members themselves, their organizations and importantly across the Central Coast Region.
Congress has nurtured ideas and practices that promote and celebrate our Community’s capacity to initiate activities that build on strengths from the inside rather than relying solely on external resources. These activities may appear very different in each community however, the basic tools remain the same.
We look forward to sharing with workshop participants the ABCD journey Congress has taken alongside the Central Coast Community.
About the presenter/s
Margot has worked in the community services field for many years and is currently employed as the Co-ordinator of The Benevolent Society’s Central Coast Community Action Program. In addition she has recently also taken on the role of Community Worker with The Benevolent Society’s exciting “Bridging the Gap” – Social Cohesion Project. Margot is involved in a range of community building projects across the Central Coast region and is also a member of the Community Congress Working Party. Margot holds a Bachelor of Arts with Majors in Political Science and History and has qualifications in Community Welfare. She has presented on the topic of community building and assets based community development in NSW and interstate. Margot is a long term resident of the Central Coast so has a personal as well as professional interest in working towards improving community wellbeing and a sense of belonging in this fast growing region of NSW.
Dawn has been involved in the Community Services Sector for over 20 years and has presented at Conferences and Forums on many occasions on community development and the value of Assets Based Community Development. Dawn spent 11 years working with families with the Family Support Services at Lake Macquarie.
A5 – Focus: Schools and Universities - 30 minute paper presentations
i Changing from problems to strengths and possibilities: the use of a strengths approach with the Full Service Model
Susan Young, University of Western Australia, WA
The Full Service Schools (FSS) Model originated to address disadvantage and serious problems in families and neighbourhoods which affect children’s educational outcomes through the coordinated provision of welfare and health services either on or off the school site. This presentation will discuss how one Primary School implemented the FSS in order to counter local problems of family violence and socip-economic disadvantage which were affecting children’s learning in the class room and changed to using a strengths approach which focused on parental and community participation in school affairs. While the problems of violence and poverty remain, participation and interest in the school has increased after one year of operation. Children see their parents who have been constructed as ‘problem’ parents to contribute their previously unacknowledged and valuable gifts in the school. Parents are actively involved in deciding further activities and projects to be implemented. The next stage of this project is to engage the wider community through a more extensive asset mapping process.
Susan Young is a social work educator with over thirty years experience in working with communities in WA. Among her current projectrs are an international research network considering the community approaches to child protection and a local activity assisting in the Full Service Model of a primary school.
ii Asset Mapping as a teaching tool
Graeme Stuart, Kerrell Bourne, Penny Crofts, The Family Action Centre, NSW
The Family Action Centre and the Discipline of Social Work at the University of Newcastle have developed a number of courses for postgraduate and undergraduate students that use asset mapping as an integral part of the teaching and assessment process. This paper will consider benefits and challenges of such an approach with a particular focus on an undergraduate course for final year primary education students and a postgraduate course on capacity building in the Master of Social Change and Development and a Master of Social Science.
Asset mapping as a teaching tool challenges students to identify strengths within local communities, encourages them to consider ways in which they can draw on these strengths, and engages them in practice based learning. Although some students struggle at first to identify the relevance of asset mapping, generally we find that students are positive about the experience by the end of the course. Where asset mapping is undertaken in an actual work situation (e.g., for students in the workforce) the process contributes not only to the student’s learning but also the functioning of the service. Challenges include the timing of the course in the overall degree, motivating students to see its relevance to their discipline and structuring the learning experience.
About the presenter/s
Graeme Stuart is Team Leader of Community Services Research and Evaluation at the Family Action Centre and has over 20 years experience in youth and community work. He teaches in a number of courses that focus on working with communities and his research interests include strengths based practice and caravan park communities.
Kerrell Bourne - Family Action Centre Team Leader, Community Programs.
Kerrell has extensive experience in service delivery and teaching. For the past three years she has utilized the ABCD framework to provide final year teaching students with an understanding of the relationship between educational experience and family and community contexts. Kerrell oversees the service delivery programs offered by the Family Action Centre.
Penny Crofts is currently Manager of Programs and Operations at the Family Action Centre (FAC), University of Newcastle. In this role Penny oversees the operation and development of a wide range of programs that seek to enhance quality of life for families and communities. The FAC is committed to strength-based approaches to human service delivery, and to ensuring that practice, research and education are integrated through an on going cycle of interaction and mutual learning. Penny has undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in social work. Penny has extensive experience with the development and management of community service programs in the non-government sector and is also an experienced social planner. Prior to taking up her management role at the Family Action Centre in 2007 Penny worked in the tertiary education sector as a social work educator for a number of years. In this capacity her research and publications focused on business-community sector relationships and NGO involvement in social enterprise.
iii Applying an Asset Approach to Improving Primary School Management in PNG
Christopher Dureau, Matrix International Consulting, VIC
The presentation explores the challenge of improving community ownership and the management of basic services in remote communities. The presentation will review the relevance of some earlier insights into promoting autonomous decentralised management where the managers are unable to remain in close contact with those who are delivering the service and compare this with the current centralist approach to managing services in peripheral communities. The presentation will then look at the advantages of using an assets based approach in locating the energy for improvements at the point of service delivery. This approach facilitates endogenous growth through mapping and mobilising community assets and empowering those most interested in bringing about change especially women.
Using a case study of a program to improve the educational environment in more than 2000 primary and community schools across Papua New Guinea, the presentation will describe the key messages, the approach to engagement, the methodology and the tools used to improve community participation in school management and in building local demand for improved educational services. The approach integrates Asset Based Community Development with Appreciative Inquiry and uses Most Significant Change technology for continuous learning and monitoring improvements. The presentation will conclude a brief review of the impact of using these strength based approaches.
About the presenter/s
During recent years Christopher Dureau has been strategic design advisor or program director for several large Australian and Multilateral Agency community development and democratic governance programs in various parts of Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. He also provides ongoing short courses in capacity building, community engagement and program management. In all his work Chris is a strong advocate of using strengths or asset based approaches.
A6 – 90 minute workshop presentation
Surfing the Waves of Community Change
David Craig, Action for Community Living, VIC
This workshop will explore some of the key developments in the story of people with disability in Australia based on reflections of participants who have worked in this area and the stories that have been shared with them by people with the lived experience of disability and community workers. This journey will use an interactive process to look briefly at some of the trends in both how Australian society has responded to disability and how people with disability and their supporters have responded to changing social and political culture. The session will also explore some of the current challenges and disabling characteristics of disability policy and service development and share ideas for how some of these threats can be recycled as opportunities for positive change.
About the presenter/s
David has worked in the disability sector for most of the last 30 years as a community recreation worker, disability services manager, project worker and advocate. He is currently employed as Executive Officer with Action for Community Living Inc. (ACL) where he has worked for the last 10 years
Wednesday 3rd December 2.00 – 3.30
SESSION B - APPLICATION
BOOKED OUT - B1 - 90 minute workshop presentations
Applying ABCD to Project Management
Simone Silberberg, Community Psychologist, NSW
This workshop is for project managers / officers/ coordinators who wish to apply ABCD principles to the development and implementation of community-based projects. Participants will have the opportunity to explore how they can use ABCD tools to define the vision and strategic plan of their projects, to identify the existing services and gaps in their targeted communities and to engage all stakeholder groups in the decision-making processes. Simone will showcase how the principles of ABCD translate into practice and how they can be used to transform pure service delivery/ top-down projects into community capacity building/bottom-up projects. Participants are encouraged to bring case studies of their own projects to this workshop and will walk away with an action plan full of new ideas.
About the presenter/s
Simone Silberberg is a nationally recognised ABCD trainer with extensive experience in community-based project management. She has worked on several government funded community-based projects (including Communities for Children & Mental Health Respite Project) and has provided leadership in the implementation of ABCD to these projects.
B2 – Focus: Young People - 30 minute paper presentations
i Young people working for change through ABCD
Amy Berson, Oxfam Australia, NSW
Oxfam International Youth Partnerships (OIYP) is an initiative of Oxfam International, managed by Oxfam Australia. OIYP is made up of 300 young people, aged 18-25 from around the world, who are called Action Partners. As young people committed to a positive and equitable world, they are working for peaceful, equitable and sustainable social change in a range of different contexts. OIYP works in all regions of the world with these Action Partners over a three year cycle. The current cycle was launched last year through an 8-day event called Kaleidoscope and will continue until 2010.
As young people working for social change within their own communities, many Action Partners have adopted Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) principles. They are being supported through OIYP to do this, through the provision of training materials and mentoring, and the ability to share experiences with other young people working in similar contexts.
Oxfam Australia also applies the principles of ABCD in their coordination of the OIYP program. The program focuses on the strengths of Action Partners and the unique assets each Action Partner brings to the program, through their lived experiences. By focussing on these strengths, Oxfam Australia is able to build capacity of Action Partners through networking and learning initiatives that Action Partners are able to directly influence.
This presentation will feature the work of Action Partners from five different contexts and regions and how they have applied ABCD principles to their work. The positive impact of this will be examined as well as challenges they have faced, particularly as young people.
About the presenter/s
Amy Berson works for Oxfam Australia as the Oxfam International Youth Partnerships Learning and Development Coordinator.
An Australian based Action Partner will also present their personal experiences of using the ABCD approach within the OIYP program.
ii Families And Schools Together
Angela McCann, Education Transformations, The NT Christian School Association, NT
Families And Schools Together (FAST) is an early intervention/ prevention program, with streams available for teenagers, pre-school, primary school children and babies. The focus for the NT Team is the 0-9 yrs age group, however their first High School FAST in Australia is currently running in Alice Springs. FAST has assisted in raising the strengths, confidence and skills of parents and has strengthened relationships within families, schools and the community. Children have been more settled, have had higher attendance at school and are better behaved as a result of the FAST process. In each Territory community where FAST has been implemented it has achieved its goals, the main goal being to empower parents through a relationship building process to-
• Strengthen family functioning
• Prevent School failure by the selected child
• Prevent substance abuse by the child and other family members.
And to
• Reduce stress from daily life situations
Building on a strong research base, the program engages families at risk, and builds local community confidence and capacity to manage their own programs. Through out its implementation in the Northern Territory FAST has mobilized families, school and related health and community services to strengthen family and school functioning.
About the presenter/s
Angela McCann is currently working as a Trainer with the Families And Schools Together Program in the Northern Territory. Prior to this Angela worked in a wide variety of support and training roles with children, families and young people in NSW. Her experience includes Outdoor Education and therapy, city youth work, school-based mentoring programs and support work in a remote Indigenous residential school. Angela’s passion in the FAST Program is to empower parents as they do the hardest job of all- raising strong kids!
iii Community Empowerment: Providing hope for remote Indigenous young people
Andrew White, Education Transformations, The NT Christian School Association, NT
The workshop examines a number of Northern Territory education initiatives that are being driven by communities. A holistic approach is described that integrates the provision of education within a region's social, cultural, economic and spiritual life. The projects have drawn on a strong evidence base that has emerged from the experience of marginalised groups in New Zealand, US and Canada. The Colleges that have been established in the Northern Territory over the past six years at Woolaning, Gawa and the Tiwi Islands and form and emerging community managed school sector. Community control is proving to be the key to achieving educational outcomes in these settings.
Andrew has been involved in education for over 25 years. Following a teaching career in both state technical schools and parent managed schools, Andrew worked for eight years as the National Education Director with Christian Parent-Controlled Schools. In 1995 he worked in Canada in a similar capacity and more recently has undertaken research in North America into community management in a variety of Indigenous settings.
Andrew is currently the Director of Education Transformations established to develop holistic approaches to education for students in remote communities. He has been involved in developing a variety of programmes that include: residential education for Indigenous young people; family strengthening, career and transition, strength-based school cultures as well as establishing new schools working in partnership with Indigenous families and communities
B3 – Focus: Capacity Building - 30 minute paper presentations
i Framework Matters- From Welfare Recipients to Residents in Control
Jan Williams, Jennifer Newton, Barnardos South Coast, NSW
This paper will showcase the introduction of an Assets Based Community Development Approach of working with children, families and community on the Bundaleer Social Housing Estate in Warrawong. This work built upon research conducted between 2000-2006 which identified Bundaleer as an “ Indicated “ community with great pressures which impacted on participation in social and community life. Over the course of seven years Barnardos strengthened the community by working to reduce a culture of fear and building relationships with residents.
In 2007 Barnardos changed its strategies to encompass a vision of residents on the estate recognising, utilising and celebrating their gifts, skills and talents within an ABCD framework. This would mean that residents would no longer perceive themselves as welfare recipients but as residents of a community in which they participate, contribute and ultimately take control.
This presentation will focus on the process, triumphs and challenges of implementing an ABCD approach. It will provide stories of hope that have characterised the lives of residents, both adults and children, since this approach was adopted on the estate. It will highlight the impact of individuals changed perceptions on their broader community. In particular it will explore the power of moving from a deficiencies and needs approach to one which harnesses inherent assets.
About the presenter/s
Jan Williams, BA Dip Ed, moved from her role as a TAFE teacher to Barnardos in 1994. For the last ten years she has managed an Out of Home Care Program and in 2006 her role expanded to include Manager Community Development compassing work as a local housing estate. She is passionate about the asset based work there and the transformation occurring.
Jennifer Newton, BA Post Grad Psychology commenced her current Barnardos role as community development worker on a public housing estate in 2006. She has a strong commitment to incorporating the ABCD framework in her work and a strong desire to see significant and sustainable change in the lives of the residents on the estate.
ii Community Renewal in Northcote Central NZ: A strengths based approach
Jan Maddock, Mrs Dude TuiSamoa, Housing New Zealand Corporation, Community Renewal Programme, NZ
What does a community garden, youth programmes, or “coffee on the deck“ have to do with 320 state houses?
Northcote Central is a suburb in Auckland Cities, North Shore district. Pre 2004 it was a community under siege of drugs and alcohol abuse, family violence, high youth crime, and inadequate housing standards.
In 2004 Northcote Central became part of the Community Renewal programme, which is a partnership between Housing New Zealand Corporation and people living in the area. The over arching goal of the programme is to reduce social exclusion and foster strong communities, and create successful partnerships with Local and Central Government and local communities.
While renewal areas were originally targeted for assistance because they lacked many of the things that build strong and inclusive communities, we have found that it is very difficult to build strong communities using a needs – deficit approach so have moved towards a strengths based approach and now focus on the resources, capacities, assets and aspirations of a community and its residents.
It is now 2008 the presenters invite you to come and hear the story of Northcote – and how a strengths based approach in action is transforming the area into a vibrant sustainable community.
About the presenter/s
Jan Maddock, working with others towards equality, in both a voluntary and paid capacity, has been a major focus in my life both personally and professionally. In the UK I led the development and implementation of equal opportunities policies and community development initiatives aimed at tackling inequality, poverty and social exclusion. This work included the implementation of social policies on subjects regarded as ‘difficult’ due to their political sensitivity and high level of media interest, e.g. family violence, sexual abuse, child abuse and racial, sexual and homophobic discrimination and harassment. Within the Community RenewaI Programme in New Zealand I work with people in diverse circumstances, e.g. unemployed, homeless, surviving domestic violence, beginning new enterprises etc, to create and realize progressive change within organizations, communities and families.
Mrs Dude TuiSamoa, I have worked in the field of Youth and Community Development for many years with experience in Local and Central Government, Not for Profit organisations in paid positions and as a Volunteer. I love the challenges and joys of working with communities experiencing disadvantage and being part of a change process that enables their personal, family, and community development.
iii B.I.G. – Small grants for big ideas – developing and sharing the skills of caravan park residents in the Hunter Valley
Dee Brooks, Cherie Stephens, The Family Action Centre, NSW
The Caravan Project at the Family Action Centre, University of Newcastle, was established in 1986 to support permanent residents of caravan parks and manufactured home villages. We believe that caravan parks and manufactured home villages can be positive options for many people and can provide supportive communities. We aim to build on the strengths of caravan parks and manufactured home villages by providing home visiting to isolated residents; facilitating social activities for children and adults; providing information and referral to managers, residents and service providers; encouraging events that help build a sense of community; and promoting community education.
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) can be challenging when working with transient communities. The dynamics of a group can shift as natural leaders come and go. Workers need to be additionally mindful of crisis situations that may arise for residents in their everyday lives. This paper will explore the mini-grants initiative which the Caravan Project started with an adult social group on a highly marginalised and isolated caravan park in the Hunter Valley. Residents have experienced a shift in program delivery as workers now challenge residents to discover what they care about. Instead of the workers bringing activities and craft to engage in, the ownership of the adult group has shifted and become something that the residents care about and want to develop further.
About the presenter/s
Dee Brooks has been a Youth Worker, Community Researcher and Community Development Worker in the Community Services industry for 10 years. She currently works on the ‘Disaster Planning in Park Communities’ project looking at the resilience of park communities during an emergency and assisting with development of evacuation plans for 55 caravan parks in the Hunter Valley. She also coordinates the B.I.G. project with the Caravan Project and facilitates the ABCD Asia Pacific Network. Dee is a parent, partner and passionate community worker.
Cherie Stephens has been a Youth Worker and Community Development Worker in the Community Services industry for 6 years. She is currently working with the Caravan Project where she engages with families in crisis and explores with them how they can become more resilient. Cherie coordinates the B.I.G. project and she is a passionate and creative worker who believes in people-centred work practices.
BOOKED OUT
B4 – Focus: Transformation in Practice - 30 minute paper presentations
i Children Caught Up In Conflict And Other Organised Crimes: The Opportunities Afforded By A Transformed Community And The Culture Of Child Activism
Tamba Mbayoh, Peace Links, Sierra Leone
On the eve of the new millennium we are witnessing an abomination- an abomination directed against children in the context of conflict. From studies conducted by the International NGOs Coalition in 24 countries worldwide, it appears that more than 300 000 children( boys and girls), are being used as soldiers, thugs, saboteurs, spies, carriers, "wives" and general camp-followers.
This paper traces the impact of conflict on children in the Sierra Leone context; the role played by the community including community based organisations to reintegrate and transformed those children affected by the 11 years civil conflict in the midst of social exclusion, and how those children became involved in to activism advocating for their own rights.
This paper will explore innovative strategies that are required to strengthen the capabilities of communities to share child protection responsibilities. This may require building alliances beyond the family to open a wider range of opportunities for children and a change in the overall perception of parenting to make the unique role of the community in childcare meaningful, viable and sustainable. All the interlocking forces of community intervention discussed in this paper have put added stress on the community̓s capacity to secure sustainable well-being for children in conflict.
About the presenter/s
Tamba Mbayoh: At the age of 10 years, Tamba came face to face with civil war, human suffering and youth exploitation. After the Sierra Leone̓s 11 years war, he began to promote child rights in the community. He was a focal child right advocate for the Enactment of the Child Rights Act. At age 16, Tamba founded the Peacelinks Young Generation, as a peace building initiative to promote peace in Sierra Leone. Because of his excellent service to youth, Tamba has received some awards from UNFPA,UNICEF, Children̓s Forum, plus the Government of Sierra Leone.
Tamba who is about to finish an internship programme with the Young Leaders Network in the United Kingdom, is also a student of International Relations, and a volunteer Social Worker.
ii Talking the talk then walking the walk: shifting thinking in social work practitioners
Nola Kunnen, Curtin University of Technology, Susan Young, University of Western Australia, WA
ABCD and strengths based perspectives increasingly inform a wide range of social work fields of practice, including families, homelessness, and children’s services. These add to a century long involvement with community development. A major challenge has been to achieve and sustain a shift in focus from concentrating on problems and their solution to recognising, identifying and working with strengths in both individuals and communities.
This presentation will draw on four case scenarios where strengths or asset based approaches have been implemented in very different practice settings in Western Australia. Drawing on these scenarios, we identify challenges that have arisen for practitioners using these approaches in practice. We also consider some of the questions that these scenarios raise in preparing student social workers for the workplace
About the presenter/s
Nola Kunnen has more than 20 years community development experience in Western Australia with particular interest in the community sector and homelessness. She is a Senior Lecturer at Curtin University and teaches in undergraduate and postgraduate social work and community development programs.
Susan Young is a social work educator with over thirty years experience in working with communities in WA. Among her current projects are an international research network considering the community approaches to child protection and a local activity assisting in the Full Service Model at a primary school.
iii Using AI as a method to build high quality, inter-organisational communities of practice in the human services field
Tanya James, Blue Mountains City Council, NSW
Social constructionism is one of several theoretical ‘building blocks’ from which the practice of appreciative inquiry was founded. Social constructionism views the organisation as primarily constructed by relational networks from which communities of practice emerge. This paper treats human service organisations as communities and examines how appreciative inquiry can be used to evolve organisational communities towards a style of practice that is (i) collaborative, (ii) outcomes-focused and (iii) intent on changing the system of care multiple organisations together have the power to co-create. The paper draws on two three-year case studies in the child and family field. Theory and practice about how AI can be used to bring practitioners from multiple services to the same table, build consensus & shared purpose, create joint outcomes and objectives and align present and future action will be presented.
About the presenter/s
Tanya James has a background in facilitation, communication management, conflict resolution and social policy. As Blue Mountains City Council’s Child and Family Officer she has lead the development of a locally focused collaborative service system using a number of strengths-based and conflict resolution facilitative processes. Through a scholarship from the Weatherhead School of Management in Cleveland, USA, Tanya is completing a Masters in Positive Organisational Development and Change. Weatherhead has pioneered many approaches to systems transformation including appreciative inquiry. Tanya holds a Masters in Communication Management.
B5 – Focus: Schools - 30 minute paper presentations
i Playtime!: an innovative approach to promoting healthy eating
John Andriunas, The Family Action Centre, NSW
Obesity and healthy active lifestyles are major concerns in today’s society. Many programs have been developed and implemented to educate the general population and to bring about behavioural changes. However, such programs often have limited success partly because ‘top down approaches’ assume commonalities across populations and thus fail to consult with local communities. An innovative project that is utilising a strengths approach to addressing healthy eating and active lifestyle for children and their families is currently being conducted by the Family Action Centre. Playtime is funded by Dept of Health and Ageing with the aim of positively influencing lifestyle and nutrition. The project is working with a school and its diverse community and has established playgroups for children aged 0-5 years and regular after-school activities for children aged 0-12 years and their families. In addition, through a process of consultation with the community, the project has conducted good eating and nutrition workshops. This presentation will discuss the ways in which the teachers, parents and community members have been engaged through a ‘bottom-up’ approach to community development.. The presentation will also describe the activities of the project, the highs and lows of working closely with schools and communities and present initial findings from the project. Examples from a previous project (Fathers in Communities) will also be given.
About the presenter/s
John is the Community Development worker and Coordinator of the PlayTime project. John was formally the Community Worker/ Coordinator with the Fathers in Communities project. He has successfully conducted playgroups and after school activities for families as part of the PlayTime project. John has presented to government and non-government agencies on the work of the Fathers in Communities project and has developed best practice resources to assist other agencies and organizations to facilitate their involvement with fathers.
John previous work was with young people in residential care. He holds a Diploma in Community Services (Youth Work) and is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Social Science Degree.
ii The Magic of ELFTM – Early Learning is Fun
Sheree Limbrick, Berry Street, VIC
The ELF - Early Learning is Fun program was developed by Berry Street in response to concerns about the reading readiness of young children at school entry. ELF is currently being implemented successfully by local communities in 8 localities in rural Victoria with plans to grow Statewide.
ELF uses a facilitated community development model to ensure community ownership & sustainability. Its success is in its capacity to engage the wider community with high levels of participation from broad cross-sections of communities.
ELF promotes early learning through a focus on the significant role that parents & communities play in a child’s development. The program encourages significant adults to read, talk, sing & play with children from birth, supported by the wider community.
ELF provides communities with the resources to implement the program, with each community establishing a Community Working Party & implementing Community Reading Days, Book Swap boxes, community murals & reading at immunisation sessions. Individuals passionate about their children & community are joined by a range of community-based organizations in these activities & events. The program is unique in engaging local businesses, service & sporting clubs as fully as early childhood services, schools, maternal & child health centres & libraries.
About the presenter/s
Sheree has been involved in service development, policy work & research at Berry Street since 2001 and has taken responsibility for overseeing the implementation of ELF in communities across Victoria. Sheree recently oversaw a project to research, articulate & document Berry Street’s framework for Community Development.
iii Port Stephens Library in the Community
Kris Abbott, Vicki James, Port Stephens Council, NSW
Port Stephens Library delivers a variety of programs in the local Government area.
Read and Rhyme time is a successful program for babies aged 0-18 months. It introduces the magic of books and language through rhymes, songs, finger plays and simple stories. Storytime sessions help children 2-5 years acquire early literacy skills needed for ongoing communication and school readiness. These programs are delivered at Tomaree library and Raymond Terrace library but are also taken into the community and embedded into local playgroups and preschools.
Kids Who Read Succeed is an outreach program piloted in Raymond Terrace and Karuah through PS Libraries and HAAS and Communities for Children. This program uses volunteers to visit local families weekly to read to the children and lend a book for the week. Stories in the Park is an annual festival of storytelling involving children 0-5 years and kindergartens from local schools presented by Port Stephens Libraries. It lets children experience story telling through music, drama, different cultures, songs and books. Other programs offered by the library include holiday activities for children 5-12years and night activities for teenagers and youth in the community. There are also book clubs, travel information nights and author nights for older clients.
The paper will present further insight into how Port Stephens is engaging the community and reaching outside the library buildings.
About the presenter/s
Kris Abbott is the Library Services manager at Port Stephens Council. Kris has over 12 years experience in special, academic and public libraries. She has maintained a keen interest in the area of literacy and lifelong learning. Under her management the library has expanded its outreach projects and engaged the community in a variety of interesting and exciting programs.
Vicki James is Children’s Literacy Programs Coordinator at Port Stephens Council. Vicki has a background in teaching. She currently implements the Kids Who Read Succeed Program and works with supported playgroups and in early childhood settings providing positive literacy experiences for children and their families.
B6 – 90 minute workshop presentation
ABCD - Applying Beneficial Characteristics to Disability - facilitating contributions to our community
Amanda Hunt, Recreation & Sport Network, WA
Often, the barrier to an individual’s inclusion in their own community is not their label of disability, but the fact that their potential and abilities aren’t recognised. This leads to people being defined by their deficits – they are not seen as assets in the community, but rather as service recipients who have little to contribute. We can more effectively assist people with disability to discover and express their individual gifts, passions and talents by exploring how we can apply inclusion through this approach. Celebrating the capacities of individuals and communities is best done collaboratively, and would be an ideal opportunity at this session. This session allows those who are dedicated to creating opportunities for people with disabilities to be valued participants in their community to put the asset based approach into practice.
About the presenter/s
Amanda Hunt is the Chief Executive Officer of Recreation and Sport Network, which is a dynamic agency that facilitates inclusion of people with disability into their community through sport and recreation. Amanda represents disability sport and recreation services on the Department of Sport and Recreation’s Statewide Strategic Framework Industry Reference Group, National Disability Services Divisional Committee and the Disability Services Commission’s Standards Reference Group. Amanda is an enthusiastic, but untalented soccer player who is passionate about all people having a good quality of life!
THURSDAY 4TH December 11.00 – 12.30
SESSION C – PRACTICAL TOOLS
C1 – Focus: ABCD in Institutions - 45 minute workshop presentations
i Considered a church as a community development partner recently?
Adrian Pyle, John A Emmett, Uniting Church, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania
Can The Uniting Church be a partner to community development initiatives? Stories about experience of the church as a partner in community development initiatives at an institutional level demonstrate the Church’s capacity as a constructive and trusted ally. Constructive in the strengths she brings to alliances, and trustworthy in relationships. The Church is already active in the public sphere as an asset developer.
How can the community organizations and Church understand work on and reflect together on its role in community development? Are there ways for the Church, in the company of its community partners to be even more effective in its community builder role?
Drawing on a variety of resources, the Church’s Community Development Unit presents a particular approach to assist the Church in Victoria and Tasmania to explore how to participate in community development. Named the SNP, the approach is developed around ‘incubating strengths, enabling networks and curating practices’. The Unit provides resources and practical assistance to advance the Church’s asset based community development partnership with community groups, and organizations as well as with institutions. These include Appreciative Inquiry, asset Mapping and personal awareness raising tools. We seek to share and benefit from consideration of SNP.
About the presenter/s
Adrian Pyle - Director of the Mission Participation Resource Unit. Adrian strongly believes the Christian church should be an accessible partner in local neighbourhoods for community development. He is therefore passionate about finding ways to enable the church makes its offer to the neighbourhood. Adrian previously held roles in information technology in corporate organisations.
John A Emmett. Mission Catalyst. John has experience with education policy and delivery at all levels. He has provided leadership and resources to the Uniting Church’s community development functions. John has worked as an education and community development consultant to Uniting Churches. His passion is for the spiritual well being of the community.
ii Moana Nui Whana – Across the sea we travel
Sara Marita Turner, Lillian Gordon, Cessnock Correctional Complex, NSW
Having been born and raised in Papua New Guinea, where the culture was intact and the people’s confidence, self esteem and belongingness was still strong; I was distressed to see that this was not the case with Indigenous people of Australia. My area of knowledge, experience and culture was more applicable to the Pacific Islanders, who were incarcerated. So I have worked on a Pacific Islander Program within Cessnock Gaol for the past eleven Years. The aim was to maintain, re-establish and prevent the loss of the Pacific Islanders within the system realising that culture is vital to being a positive contributing member of the community I which we live. This meant acknowledging what we bring from our own culture and seeing how it fits in with the Australian way of life. Each six months I work with a different group of men, varying in age, abilities and country of origin. So the course changes to suit their needs, abilities and interests. The workshop will highlight some of the activities and events course that we have completed over the time by using video footage and photos that have been taken over the years.
About the presenter/s
Sara Martia Turner, Diploma of Teaching (Special Education, Diploma of Education (multicultural). I worked in Papua New Guinea for three years. Choosing to have as much time with my children as possible and to combine my commitment to inter cultural understanding, I have tried to choose jobs that meet these principles. Some of these are taught ESOL teacher followed by TAFE for fifteen years, Family Day Care Coordinator and the Pacific Islander Program teacher.
Lillian Gordon Diploma of Education (Sport & Recreation) Lillian and Sara have very similar education and personal philosophies and we support each others work on the above program and all the Koori programs. Lillian worked in High schools in NSW and WA, in after school homework support programmes for Koori students and in a community group. She is the Koori Teacher in the gaol.
C2 – Focus: Diverse Economies - 30 minute paper presentation
i ABCD meets DEF: Using Asset Based Community Development to Build Economic Diversity
Jenny Cameron, University of Newcastle and Katherine Gibson, Australian National University
Just as Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) attends to hidden resources that already exist in communities, so too the Diverse Economies Framework (DEF) focuses on hidden economic activities that people already practice. These hidden economies include a range of labour practices (from unpaid housework to volunteer community work) a range of ways of transacting goods and services (from informal family exchanges to organised community bartering) and a range of enterprises (from small capitalist firms to cooperatives and community enterprises). In this paper we show how ABCD and DEF, as strategies that reframe people and places, can be used to mobilise community interest in community economy projects. Such projects contribute to economic diversity and community resilience by enriching people’s lives and contributing to the sustainability of our societies. Based on our work in Australia and the Philippines, we overview methods for working with community members in disadvantaged neighbourhoods to document both existing community assets and economic diversity. We then discuss ways to support community members harness these resources as the foundation for ongoing community enterprises that offer purposeful employment as well as pathways to employment. We highlight the policy implications of this type of approach to community and economic development.
About the presenter/s
Associate Professor Jenny Cameron works in the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies, University of Newcastle. She conducts participatory research in the area of the social economy, particularly collaborating with community groups develop community enterprises. Along with academic publications she has produced resource materials, including a documentary, for communities.
Katherine Gibson is Professor of Human Geography in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. She is an economic geographer engaged in rethinking economic concepts. As J.K. Gibson-Graham she has written The End of Capitalism (as We Knew It): A Feminist Critique of Political Economy (Blackwell, 1996, Minnesota 2006) and A Postcapitalist Politics (Minnesota 2006). She has directed large action research projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
ii ABCD and Economic Diversity through Allotment Gardens
Ann Hill, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, ACT
This paper presents reflections on a community of allotment gardeners in Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro, in The Philippines. The allotment gardens of Cagayan de Oro were established following the Assets-Based Community Development approach. ABCD was used to map available garden sites, as well as to mobilise people from poor urban neighbourhoods as gardener entrepreneurs. Today there are 100 families benefiting from their gardening practices across eight garden sites. This paper traces the successful development of the gardens from their origin in 2003. More specifically, it examines what these gardens have achieved economically through diversified forms of transaction such as gift giving and barter; diversified forms of labour such as reciprocal labour and neighbourhood work and diversified forms of enterprise such as communal and non-profit. It also explores pathways for building community-based food economies in the barangays of Cagayan de Oro and offers reflections on what we can learn out of the project for other contexts, like Australia.
About the presenter/s
Ann Hill is a doctoral researcher in Human Geography, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University. She is also coordinator of a research project about local economic development through community partnering and part of a team developing innovative research outputs; a training CD-Rom and a film on the use of ABCD for social enterprise development in the Philippines.
iii The Power of the Local: Empowering Local People through an Asset-Based Community Development Approach
Amanda Cahill, Australian National University, ACT
As a method for identifying and celebrating the resources and capacities available to communities to affect change, the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach holds the potential to empower local people to take charge of development processes, shifting the locus of control from formal service providers and workers to community members themselves. In this paper I draw on the experiences of local people involved in starting community enterprises in the Philippines to explore how the ABCD approach fostered confidence among participants to enact change both within the broader community and in their personal lives. I not only examine the processes that contributed to a growing sense of power and confidence among participants, but also describe how these processes challenged the existing power relations within the community as participants became more engaged in the formal political arena. Reflecting on the broader political implications of using an ABCD approach, I conclude by suggesting some practical strategies to support people through this change process to reduce the risk of political backlash and foster sustainable and positive outcomes.
About the presenter/s
Amanda is the Research and Training Coordinator at Engineers Without Borders and has worked on community development projects in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Indigenous Australia. She is completing her PhD thesis at the Australian National University, examining how an ABCD approach influenced the agency of participants in a community enterprise development project in the Philippines.
BOOKED OUT
C3 – Focus: Partnerships - 45 minute workshop presentations
i Supporting vulnerable communities to be resilient to unexpected change
William Vorobioff, Geraldine O’Connor, Tra