ABCD for Inclusion Workshops

JULY 2008 | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | BRISBANE | NEWCASTLE

Two-day ABCD for Inclusion Workshops will be facilitated by Ted Smeaton and Mike Green, who have written, developed and implemented ABCD for Inclusion projects and workshops throughout North America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Mike and Ted are affiliated with Jody Kretzmann's and John McKnight's Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, North Western University, USA.

WHAT IS ABCD?

Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is a powerful approach to community development that will focus your effort on discovering and mobilizing the resources that are already present in a community. When a group of people discover what they have they find power. When people join together in new connections and relationship they build power. When people become more productive together, they exercise their power to address problems and realize dreams. Together we are better.

ABCD is a particularly strong approach for supporting a productive and inclusive life for people with a disability, older people, marginalised young people, refugees, long-term unemployed and people with a mental illness.

Our approach recognizes that people learn best how to build “community partnerships that work” successfully by learning from their own experience, by having clear principles of practice, and by learning from the experience of other community builders.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The workshops are for social innovators actively working to build more inclusive communities. This includes community builders, management and learning and development staff, state and local government agencies (hospitals, schools, libraries, social service agencies) and people who support the full inclusion of people they support. There will be a blend of short presentations, practical skills exercises, and small group discussions about practical action.

WORKSHOP CONTENT

Each two-day workshop covers the following topics:

• Finding and mobilising community assets
• Person centered planning and community centered ABCD organising
• How agencies and communities can work together more effectively
• Building a growing circle of people and groups working together for inclusion
• Practical steps to find and engage community assets
• What agencies can do to help communities become more inclusive
• What families can do together they can't do alone
• Strategies that work; circles, connections, mapping, mobilizing
• Developing your plan of action

FACILITATORS: Mike Green & Ted Smeaton

MIKE GREEN offers ABCD training and consultation to organizations to engage their local communities as partners for collective action. Mike teaches and consults throughout North America focusing on the practical implementation of ABCD principles. Whilst training director of ABCD Institute's Neighborhood Circle, Mike developed a learning partnership of twenty community organizations across North America exploring “what works” in ABCD.

Mike has recently published a book and DVD about ABCD implementation for successful community partnerships: When People Care Enough To Act: ABCD In Action. Mike's daughter Annie is a person with developmental disabilities who inspires his work. His deepest dream for ABCD is that more people come to see that 'there is no one we don't need' and that a community without a place for everyone really has a place for no one.

TED SMEATON is a community enthusiast with a strong history in supporting inclusion of people with a disability. Ted has been instrumental in establishing nine new community-based organisations and developed a number of national programs. In 2007, Ted was the principal facilitator for the National Assets Based Community Development Facilitators' Training Program.

Ted has an extensive history in supporting Australian Indigenous organisations and is the author of a national landmark report on the needs of Indigenous people with a disability. Ted is a former executive member of the NSW Disability Council and was the National Community Legal Centre Representative to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act.

ABCD for Inclusion Workshops

• Sydney 21-22 JULY 2008 (9.30am-4.30pm, rego @ 9am)
  • Benevolent Society, Level 1, 188 Oxford Street, Paddington
• Melbourne 24-25 JULY 2008 (9.30am-4.30pm, rego @ 9am) 
  • William Angliss Conference Centre, Building A, Level 5, 555 La Trobe Street, Melbourne
• Brisbane 28-29 JULY 2008 (9.30am-4.30pm, rego @ 9am)
  • Queen Alexandra House, Alexandra Conference Room, 347 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo
• Newcastle 31 JULY-1 AUG 08 (9.30am-4.30pm, rego @ 9am)
  • Quality Hotel: Apollo International, 290 Pacific Hwy, Charlestown

COST = $770.00 Incl GST + lunch, morning & afternoon tea plus 'When People Care Enough To Act: ABCD In Action'

Download a registration form now.

FURTHER TRAINING OPTIONS

FROM MAPPING TO MOBILISING WORKSHOP

A practical workshop designed to help CD practitioners increase their skills and the effectives of their CD initiative. The workshop will focusing on your own project as a case study to assist you to create practical steps forward. If your organisation is interested in having an ABCD Oceania Facilitator come to your office to do customized training with you. Email Dee.Brooks@newcastle.edu.au