🌿 Starting from the Inside Out

Often, people refer to me as one of the go-to people for ABCD (and youth practice) in NSW, which is both humbling and affirming. Of course, I stand on the shoulders of giants – too many to name here – but over time I’ve brought my own style and flavour to it.

What I offer isn’t just teaching (or preaching!) about ABCD – it’s the creative, lived application of its principles in diverse, often messy real – world contexts. Over the years, I’ve learned so much about facilitation, adaptability, and the art of bringing people together – professionals, communities, and organisations alike – around shared purpose and possibility.

Will ABCD or “community” fix everything? Maybe yes, maybe not. The question I often ask is: Are we actually broken? In many systemic layers, yes. But within the fabric of our communities and neighbourhoods, I see the opposite – life, connection, compassion, generosity, kindness, care, and, above all, hope.

That’s why I believe in starting there – in the local, the tangible, the human – and growing the movement from the inside out, bottom up. Systems change, policy, advocacy, and capacity building all have their place (and I engage in those too), but meaningful change begins when people and organisations come together to rebuild trust, navigate constraints, and find what they care enough to act on – using their strengths, gifts, and collective energy to create shared action and transformation.

🌊 Reflection
How do we rebuild trust and possibility in the places we call home?

Maybe it starts – as it always has – from the inside out.

Dimitrios Papalexis
Founder & Director, Soulgen