Blog – Soulgen

🔥 Why I Don’t Run “Traditional Workshops

Dec 11, 2025

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And How Experiential, Participatory Approaches Help Learning Come Alive People often notice that my workshops feel different.Less lecture. More connection. More movement. More conversation.More… life in the room.There’s a reason for that.Slides and handouts absolutely have their place – I…

🌿 Beyond Empowerment: How ABCD Activates Youth & Community Potential

Dec 7, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

Across councils, youth services, libraries, neighbourhood centres and community organisations, one aspiration is repeated again and again: “We want meaningful youth participation. We want community engagement, we want empowerment. We want youth-led practice.”But in the rush to “empower” young people,…

🌿 The Heart of a Community Builder

Dec 5, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

People often ask me what it takes to be a good community builder.I usually answer: a lot of heart. 😄Community builders (yes, youth workers too – though this piece is speaking mainly to the community-development crew… and maybe also to…

🌿 Being With, Not Fixing: A Soulgen Approach to Critical Incident Response

Dec 3, 2025

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dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

How People Reconnect with Themselves Again After Rupture 🌱 A Note Before You Read Most people know my work through Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), co-design, youth participation, social cohesion, and strengths-based practice. But alongside this proactive, community-building work, I also…

🌿 From Data to Dialogue to Concert: How Lithgow’s Young People Reimagined Their Town

Nov 30, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

When we talk about regional youth development, it’s easy to get stuck on the familiar list of challenges – boredom, long distances, substance use, limited activities, employment scarcity, family pressures, and service gaps. It’s a story many regional towns know…

🌿 Cultural Humility: When Cultural Competence Isn’t Enough

Nov 27, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

Whether we’re working with multicultural communities, First Nations peoples, newly arrived families, interfaith groups, or long-established neighbourhoods across Australia, we often hear the same phrases: “cultural competence,” “cross-cultural skills,” “culturally appropriate practice.” These terms suggest that culture is something we…

Lean In or Hold Back: The Unconscious Group Dynamics Behind Authentic Engagement

Nov 25, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

and Why It Matters for Strength-Based Practice In my last reflection, Here We Are: When Relationships Became the Practice, I named a realisation that’s been brewing for years – one that many practitioners, leaders and changemakers across our ecosystem are…

🌱 The Problem With Empowerment – And What To Do Instead

Nov 13, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

Why “giving people power” often backfires, and what agency-centred practice offers instead The word empowerment is everywhere.We talk about empowering young people, empowering communities, empowering staff, empowering “the vulnerable.” Empower everyone. But if we look closely, empowerment often carries an…

🌿 Here We Are: When Relationships Became the Practice

Nov 12, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Uncategorised

A reflection from a session I ran recently at the Youth Work Conference – when relational practice came to life in the most unexpected way.When the Threads Came Together Last week, I had one of those moments where what I’ve…

🌿 Appreciative Inquiry: Asking What’s Strong to Inspire What’s Possible

Nov 11, 2025

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by

dsoulgen

in Frameworks for Change

In youth and community development work, the questions we ask shape the worlds we create. Developed at Case Western Reserve University, Appreciative Inquiry (AI) offers a strength-based alternative to traditional problem-solving approaches.Instead of asking “What’s wrong, and how do we…

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