Building Social Cohesion the ABCD Way: Reflections from Culture Waves

At first glance, some people may not immediately connect social cohesion programs like Culture Waves with ABCD (Asset-Based Community Development).

But for me, the links are very real.

Perhaps because I have never experienced ABCD simply as a framework to preach or a workshop to deliver – but something to live and breathe through practice.

Across both rounds of Culture Waves – with the second delivered through a partnership between Waverley and Liverpool Councils – ABCD was not a standalone workshop or theory, but something infused through the process, relationships and culture of the program.

This looked like:

Young people as co-creators, not recipients
Young people were involved in co-designing workshops and shaping the experience – youth-led rather than top-down delivery or messaging.

A Youth Action Group influencing the event
Young people helped organise and influence the broader community event – from MCing and hosting activities to performing and creating resources alongside supportive adults.

Seeing young people as contributors, not problems to be fixed
Their gifts, strengths, and lived experiences were recognised, connected, and mobilised.

Participation and co-learning over passive education
The program was not simply talk or theory. Interactive methods, forum theatre, and experiential learning invited young people to step into situations, explore possibilities, and shape responses together.

Relationships, mentoring, and social capital
Connection across differences was central – with relationship-building, intergenerational mentoring, and dialogue helping grow trust, belonging, and social capital.

Co-creating rather than top-down messaging
Rather than prescribing answers, the process created safer and braver spaces where empathy, creativity, agency, and collective responsibility could emerge.

For me, this is ABCD in practice.

Not limited to asset mapping – but alive through participation, contribution, belonging, and community-building.

Perhaps this matters, especially in social cohesion work.

Building cohesion is not simply about delivering messages against racism or discrimination.

It is about creating conditions where people – especially young people – can connect across differences, recognise one another’s humanity, and actively shape more inclusive communities together.

I am curious how others see the relationship between social cohesion, participation, and strengths-based community development.

#ABCD #CommunityDevelopment #SocialCohesion #CultureWaves #YouthParticipation #YouthWork #Belonging