Stories & ideas
Reflections, practical guides and ideas from our work alongside young people, communities and practitioners. Looking for project examples? Explore our case studies.
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Longing to Belong: An Experiential Approach to Belonging
By Dimitrios Papalexis
Everyone seems to be talking about loneliness and belonging these days.Maybe we are reaching some kind of collective realisation about how disconnected we have become – and how deeply many of us are searching for belonging.Perhaps. But I don’t want…
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What Kind of Facilitator Are You – Really
By Dimitrios Papalexis
The more I do this work, the more I have come to see myself as a facilitator. A facilitator of people, teams, and communities through participatory, strengths-based, and relational processes. This week, as I train another group of Camp Venture…
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What Christchurch Can Teach Us About Participation, Place and the Power of Experimentation
By Dimitrios Papalexis
At dinner last night after an AANZPA Executive meeting, Simon from Christchurch shared stories about a local initiative called Gap Filler – a creative urban regeneration social enterprise that emerged after the devastating earthquakes in Ōtautahi Christchurch. I found myself…
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Place-Based Leadership: The Practice That Brings a Place to Life
By Dimitrios Papalexis
🌱 Introduction There is a lot of strong thinking in the sector right now about place-based approaches, place strategies, social cohesion, participation, community development and systems change. Across policy and practice, the language of “place” is far more common than…
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