Pete's podcast on community development

In this first conversation on right-wing populism and community development, Professor Sue Kenny explains the key characteristics of right-wing populism (mentioning left-wing too), and we explore why it's so important to understand for community development practitioners. Sue, with fire-in-the-belly, starts to describe the difference between community development ways of thinking and populist ways...

In this 3rd and final 23 minute conversation Charlie talks about some of his dreams and aspirations to support the professionalisation of the CD practice profession around the world. We finish riffing off one another - foregrounding the need to hold BOTH CD as a movement and a profession. Disclaimer - as Charlie says upfront, in any mention of the International Association of Community Develo...

Riffing off one another for 20 minutes Charlie McConnell and Peter explore the the possibilities and challenges of professionalisation of community development. As a starting point Charlie describes what he was saying in his opening chapter of the new IACD book (International Community Development Practice, Routledge, 2022), 'The Making of an Empowering Profession'. Peter and Charlie then briefly...

This 1st of three 20 minute conversations introduces the listener to Charlie McConnell. Charlie's had a long long history in CD; was a past president of the International Association of Community Development (IACD), has worked for Schumacher College, the CD Foundation, Carnegie Trust and has been instrumental in national training standards for CD in the UK. In this episode we catch a glimpse of Ch...

In this 3rd part of our 1 hour conversation Cormac Russell explores community as a better narrative than ones institutions provide, moving from discovery to connecting elements of our practice. Telling stories, sharing wisdom, expressing some anger, Cormac provides some potent and poignant analysis of what ABCD approaches to CD can offer. Listeners can learn more by googling Cormac's work, checkin...

In this 2nd part of our 1 hour conversation, Cormac Russell chats with Peter Westoby about the ABCD 'model' and some of the challenges of institutional assumptions and how community development or/and community offers a different way forward. We also start to explicitly draw on Cormac's new book with John McKnight, The Connected Community , which offers a profoundly accessible framework of practic...

In this first episode (21 mins) of a 1 hour conversation (split into 3 episodes), Cormac Russell shares personal and professional parts of his story in discovering community development, particularly the assets-based-community-development (ABCD) 'model'. Loved every minute of this, riffing between Australia and Ireland. I can't wait to meet Cormac over a pint of Guinness in Dublin one day.

In this 3rd and final 24 minute conversation between Peter Westoby and Dee Brooks (Jeder Institute), Dee talks about what some of the global movement looks like, why it is growing (and has been for a number of decades), some of the risks (cookie-cutter/monetising), some of the key questions the movement is grappling with, and also how people can connect into it. 

In this 21 minute episode Peter and Dee explore what the ABCD approach to community development is. Not the '101' version, but the heart and soul of it. Dee describes how she discovered this approach, explains the 'what', gives a story (a key asset in itself). Finally Dee invites people to join the movement (check out Jeder Institute website; or )

In this first of three conversations between Peter Westoby and Dee Brooks (The Jeder Institute), the listener gets to meet Dee the person. Dee, an Oceania representative of the International Association of Community Development (IACD) and a director of the Jeder Institute (bringing the ABCD approach into the world) is a natural story-teller - and here she explores her initial journey into youth wo...

In this conversation, Peter Westoby and Dave Andrews explore Dave's experiences and insight into working across difference. Bouncing of Adam Kahane's book Collaborating with the Enemy, Dave tells stories about his work - particularly interfaith dialogue since 9/11. 

This 2nd episode, as a conversation between Peter Westoby and Dave Andrews, explores Dave's take on how community development practitioners understand their work as amateur (for the love of it), radical and revolutionary. The conversation also considers how we 'de-professionalise' ourselves and work within organisations increasingly concerned with professional roles, boundaries, compliance an...

Dave Andrews, a long-term community worker, has inspired many others with his writing, his local neighbourhood and international development work. With well over 40 years of experience (in places such as Afghanistan, India and Australia), he has been a mentor to myself and many other young aspiring social change workers. Check out this 19 minute interview with Dave, and I'd say the take home messa...

In this 21 minutes [yes, slightly long, apologies] episode, Peter and Tina explore the rich contribution of E. F. (Fritz) Schumacher, who wrote the seminal book Small Is Beautiful (1973). This book and Schumacher's thinking on small vs. gigantic, Buddhist Economics, and appropriate technology, pathed the way for what we now think of as the Community Economic Development (CED) Tradition. We invite...

In this 5th episode, the first of 2022, Peter Westoby and Tina Lathouras pay tribute to bell hooks, who died at the age of 66 in 2021, and also explore three of her key ideas and what they mean for community development. The three ideas include: 'I came to theory because of my pain', the 'work of love' and the 'problem of systems and cultures of domination and white supremacy thinking' (intersecti...

In this 7 minute episode Peter Westoby wraps up for the 2021 podcast series, quickly reminding listeners of the importance of dialogue, soul, participatory work and wisdom/traditions. Peter explains what we'll kick off with in 2022, and invites feedback/ideas from listeners. As such, if you have any ideas about what you'd like Peter to bring to 2022 please contact him on peter@communitypraxis.org

In this 19 minute conversation between Peter Westoby and Tina Lathouras we explore a couple of contributions for community development thinking from Arundhati Roy (with the mantra 'don't fragment solidarity') and Jane Addams (with the mantra 'practice mutual accompaniment). 

This 19 minute conversation between Tina Lathouras and Peter Westoby explores the work of Vandana Shiva (with the mantra 'be a seed saver') and Gustavo Esteva (with the mantra, 'deprofessionalise ourselves'). There are many connections between these two living practitioner-thinkers, including the Gandhian tradition of nonviolent resistance and commoning. 

In this 18 minute conversation Peter Westoby and Tina Lathouras again explore the popular education traditions and the mantras 'start with the people, but don't stay with the people' (Paulo Freire) and 'questions are the art of the gentle revolution (Fran Peavey). Mixed with some stories from Nepal and Australia, Peter and Tina think about the art of questioning. 

In this first episode of Series 4, Peter Westoby and Tina (Athena) Lathouras explore the role of traditions and wisdom's/mantra's in thinking about, and reflecting on community development practice. We focus on the popular education tradition, particularly Myles Horton contribution - and the mantra of 'education first, organising second'. 

In this 17 minute final episode on participatory community development Anthony Kelly explains meta-method - working beyond and alongside, breaking down borders, boundaries and walls. It's working 'beyond the local', structurally building alliances, federations; but is mainly a mindset. This brings an end to our series on participatory community development. Look out next week for the start of...

In this 20 minute episode Anthony Kelly talks to Peter about this most important level of the method-framework - macro-method. Focusing on: 1. how the authority structures (elected and appointed) need to understand the difference between a service-delivery program and a participatory program; 2. the 4 principles of macro-method; and 3. how to incorporate a participatory development program into an...

In 27 minutes Anthony Kelly and Peter Westoby explore the 7 steps of mezzo method - a way for workers to work within small groups. As Anthony says, 'the most exciting part of the method', which includes people sharing stories, discovering the resources, shaping a framework with the people, and finding a pathway forward for action. 

In this 18 minute episode Anthony Kelly and Peter Westoby explore the craft of mezzo group - participatory groups. Building on the implicate and micro-level practice, we explore how we work intentionally with the small group in communities (sub-community of 3-12/20 people) - the mezzo (mezzanine), between household and whole village/neighbourhood. We examine the what, why,  the types of mezzo...

In this 16 minutes conversation Rachael Donovan and Peter Westoby explore the 2nd level of participatory community development - micro-method. Focusing on relationship building, micro-method aims for the worker and community member to be 'alongside' one another, experiencing a sense of solidarity. The episode particularly focuses on the micro-method principle of 'to see what the people see', inclu...