Our members often ask us what sort of work our IACD Regional Directors do, so we decided to follow our Regional Director for Oceania for one month. Dee Brooks joined IACD in 2015 on behalf of the Jeder Institute, and she became a Regional Director in 2016.
A Month in the Life
25th – 27th September: Three days of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and Art of Participatory Leadership training in Sydney, Australia. Dee says, “What an amazing week! Over 3 days we welcomed 20 practitioners and community members to sit in practice together through dozens of patterns, practices, processes and principles of participatory community building! We had a core team of 7; myself, Michelle, Renae, Vanessa, Dean, Om & Dimitrios with a dash of gorgeous young energy from Marley who we welcomed into our team, by proxy! There’s so much we all learned (& taught) each other and the overwhelming sense of the practices that held us was evident at the final check out – people either didn’t want to leave or wanted to leave quickly to not delay the emotional goodbyes! Thanks to everyone and we’re looking forward to seeing you again next year!”
3rd – 4th October: Deadly ABCD in Sydney. Dee says, “After 4 & a half years, we completed the prep journey today and launched our first #DeadlyABCD conversation and received rave reviews! Exciting times ahead. After 2 massive days with a team of Jeder trainers looking at developing a 2020 training calendar and finishing the week with the Deadly ABCD work, it’s time to flit off! Ciao Sydney!”
5th October: Dee takes a well-deserved break to catch up on her reading. She says, “I’m having a lazy Saturday and re-reading one of my favourite books; IMPACT written by my wonderful friend, Al Etmanski!
I often get asked what I do for work and, part of it, is supporting people to have generative, sometimes difficult conversations and find solutions for the common good! It’s also where the lines between facilitation, Hosting and training is drawn…
On page 86, Al suggests that part of a host or facilitation role is to patiently wait for emergence, trust that it will come and help everyone else believe that, too!
It’s like waiting for the best Christmas ever; every day, every gig, every community… be disciplined enough and Rudolph, Krampus, Mrs Claus, the Little Drummer Boy, Ebenezer Scrooge and the 3 wise (wo)men will all show up – and they’ll bring their mates – who will, through hard earned efforts, work towards common solutions!”
7th October: In Moreland, Australia. Dee says, “We had an amazingly spacious day in Moreland today! The AI story sharing and ABCD asset mapping were in beautiful flow and created the conditions for deep connections and resonant learning!”
12th October: On 12th October, Dee and Michelle (IACD Country Correspondent for Australia) hosted an IACD Members meet-up in Perth.
14th – 16th October: Dee travelled to Western Australia for the event, “Stepping into practical Asset Based Community-led Development to support community led action.” After the first day, Dee says, “a super chill day one, full of many laughs and learning! We’ve seriously pulled back to create a more spacious 2 day experience instead of a jam packed 3 days and it’s working, again! So glad to be in this experiment with Michelle.”
Day two, Dee posed the following Q and A after reflecting on the progress made:
Q: What happens when you chuck 42 people into a participatory community building circle?
A: You successfully build individual and community capacity by giving them the skills and tools to do it themselves!
18th October: Dee left Perth, saying she “will return to “City of Albany conference and a sneaky session with Petra along the way…”
29th October: Big news from Dee! She says, ” Almost 6 months after being approached in the UK, I just pressed “send” and emailed my draft proposal to a book publisher! I’m already cringing and want to take it back and fix stuff! Eekk!”
Upcoming Opportunities for IACD Members in Oceania to Connect with Dee and Michelle
Dee and Michelle are hosting the following events next month, all are welcome to attend!
Sydney: 7th November from 2pm – 4pmLocation: Hyde Park Cafe3 Elizabeth St, Sydney (on the corner, behind Museum Station)
Melbourne: 23rd November from 2pm – 4pmLocation: Henry and the Fox525 Little Collins St, Melbourne (walking distance from Southern Cross Station) https://www.henryandthefox.com.au
To attend, please RSVP to Dee @ dee_brooks@icloud.com
