What's On

Community Development Queensland (CDQld)

Community Development

Seminar Series 

The world in which we practice community development is changing and this seminar series will provide opportunities for practitioners, community members and other interested people to discuss and debate practice issues in this changing context. 

You are invited to attend a series of six seminars on contemporary issues in community development practice.  They are hosted by CD Queensland, Griffith University (School of Human Services) and University of Queensland (School of Social Work & Human Services).  

The seminars are a precursor to the joint CD Queensland (CDQld) and International Association of Community Development (IACD) Conference which will be held in Brisbane, June 17 – 19 2009. 

Each two hour seminar will address a contemporary issue with particular reference to the questions:

1. What is happening to local communities in this context?
2. How can local communities enable themselves and sustain their efforts to address the issues?
3. What can we learn for contemporary community practice?

There is no cost for attending the seminars.  For further information see the CD Qld website: www.cdqld.org or email one of the seminar organising group:

Ann Ingamells – a.ingamells@griffith.edu.au;   Ken Morris – ken@jabiru.org.au

Tina Lathouras – t.lathouras@uq.edu.au Peter Westoby - p.westoby@uq.edu.au 

October 15^th 2008, 4-6pm: Conflicting in Communities: Difference, Dissent and Dialogue 

Presenters: Peter Westoby (University of Queensland – Lecturer in Community Development),

and Polly Walker (University of Queensland, Australian Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies).  

Peter has worked in development practice within South Africa, PNG, Vanuatu, the Philippines and Australia. Some of this recent work is focused on peaceful development practice within Vanuatu, social cohesion and community conflict practice within Australia and the application of community development within school settings. His PhD research theorizes social healing within resettlement contexts in Australia, suggesting an approach that considers the key domains of culture, community and power within refugee healing processes. He was recently awarded a Churchill Fellowship enabling him to investigate innovative community approaches to the problem of intra and inter cultural youth conflict and violence. He lectures in community development theory/practice, methodology, frame-working and training.

Topic: Within community development praxis how should we frame conflict and the role of purposeful conflicting? Peter will consider such a question through reflecting firstly on the historical and conceptual links between CD and conflict and secondly on some stories of practice and research that he has been engaged with during the past 10 years. These stories include working with Sudanese refugee groups in Australia, with customary leaders within Vanuatu and with groups of young people from culturally diverse backgrounds. A framework of practice will be proposed that offers ways forward for dialogical community work.

Polly is of Cherokee and Settler descent and grew up in the White Mountain Wilderness, the traditional country of the Mescalero Apache. She has worked in conflict transformation processes within Australia, Vanuatu, The Solomon Islands and The United States. Her research focuses on transforming conflict between cultures, and she has a particular interest in the role of Indigenous conflict management traditions. Her PhD is entitled ‘Mending the Web: Conflict Transformation between Aboriginal and Settler Australians’. She is currently researching the role of ceremony in transforming conflict between Indigenous and Settler peoples in Australia and the United States. Polly is a postdoctoral research fellow with The Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

Topic: Too often in community conflicts, difference is unacknowledged, dissent is stifled and true dialogue is therefore unattainable. Polly will explore the role of world-viewing skills in respecting difference, in facilitating spaces for dissenting voices, and for supporting genuine dialogue in communities. Polly’s doctoral and current research highlight the importance of being able to see through the cultural lens of others, at least to some extent, and to work to improve world-viewing skills. The presentation will outline a framework of cultural fluency that may assist communities in creating intercultural dialogue, preventing conflict, and developing more effective communication across difference.