Conferences
The Queensland Community Development Conference has been held biennially since 1974 in different regional locations across Queensland.
The Community Development tradition in Queensland has maintained its role as a field of practice committed to a vision, and is rooted in values that include the pursuit of social justice and human rights. These aims begin when ordinary people commit to dialogue and solidarity building - through discussions at home, in their workplaces, with their neighbours, in their community groups and organisations. Driven by Community Development (CD) QLD and hosted by regional partners, the aim of the conference is to inspire, celebrate and develop a shared approach to citizen-led community development. CD is a field of practice that supports community members or citizens to bring about positive change in their local communities.
This state-wide conference is the main vehicle through which CD practitioners and community members can come together for professional development, to share stories of best practice, and to support each other in their community development and positive change efforts.
These two documents tell the story of the conferences:
The Community Development tradition in Queensland has maintained its role as a field of practice committed to a vision, and is rooted in values that include the pursuit of social justice and human rights. These aims begin when ordinary people commit to dialogue and solidarity building - through discussions at home, in their workplaces, with their neighbours, in their community groups and organisations. Driven by Community Development (CD) QLD and hosted by regional partners, the aim of the conference is to inspire, celebrate and develop a shared approach to citizen-led community development. CD is a field of practice that supports community members or citizens to bring about positive change in their local communities.
This state-wide conference is the main vehicle through which CD practitioners and community members can come together for professional development, to share stories of best practice, and to support each other in their community development and positive change efforts.
These two documents tell the story of the conferences:
Previous Les Halliwell addresses
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2023 Moreton Bay Region
The 2023 Queensland Community Development Conference, was held at Sandstone Point, Moreton Bay Region, Monday 16 - Wednesday 18 October, 2023. The theme for the conference was: Regenerating Community: Getting Our Hands Dirty!
Conference Program
Conference Program
Special Edition of New Community Journal about our CD Conference
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
At our state conference last October in Moreton Bay, presenters and workshop facilitators were invited to write for publication in a special edition of the New Community Journal about the conference. New Community is Australia's only journal dedicated solely to the practice of community development. With four editions each year on a variety of themes relevant to Social Justice, Sustainability, Community Development and Human Rights, the journal aims to build analysis about a socially and ecologically sustainable world and provide a space to stimulate discussion about theories and practices of community development.
26 presenters at the conference have contributed articles for the special edition, showcasing an amazing array of CD practices across Queensland. Below, are listed the authors and titles of the articles. If you were at the conference and missed these workshops, or if you missed the conference itself, you can get a taste of what we are all very lucky to experience every two years at a CD Queensland Conference.
New Community Journal is very affordable with both 'waged' and 'unwaged' subscription rates, for either an electronic version or a hard copy version. This is the link to subscribe: https://nc.org.au/subscriptions/
From the Index:
Regenerating Community: Getting Our Hands Dirty! by Athena Lathouras (Guest Editorial)
Building Better Communities, Les Halliwell Address by Howard Buckley
Planning from the Heart: A Conversational Reflection of the Queensland Community Development Conference
by Bailey Wemyss and Micah Lean
A Call to Action for First Nations Justice: Will Community Development Practitioners go on the journey?
by Stephen Corporal, Emily McConochie and Kylie Dean
The Future of Community Development Plenary Panel - Reimagining Community Development: Contestations and Opportunities
by Carmel Daveson, Naomi Spooner and Peter Westoby
Queensland Neighbourhood Centres and Community Development – Remembering Our Past and Adapting for the Future by Chris Mundy.
Reimagining Practice through an Autobiographical Tale by Isabel Stankiewicz
Eunoia: Collective Narrative Arts for Women’s Empowerment by Athena Lathouras and Priyanka Hemmadi
Loss, Meaning, Mortality and the Creative Arts: a case study of ‘Sometime Soon’ by Mira Chorik and Kelli Dendle
Weaving Community Threads: The Journey of The Forever Garden by Helene James
Beyond the Doorstep: Doorknocking the “Old School” Style of Intentional Community Development by Paula Callaghan and Sandiellen Black
Nothing About Us, Without Us: Lived Experience at the Heart of Community Development
by Rachael Donovan, PJ Humphreys, Jody Blackburn, Ana Greenfield, Kim Romanova, Ian Campbell and Athena Lathouras
Addressing Housing Precarity for Older Women: The Journey of the Housing Older Women (HOW) Movement by Maggie Shambrook
Responding to a Housing Crisis: Community Leading the Way by Tanya Stevenson and Dimitra Lattas
Benarrawa Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Solidarity Group: A Community Development Solidarity Story
by Laraine Hinds and Paula Callaghan
Encountering Nature: Exploring a Practice that Resists Manic Machine Culture by Rachael Donovan and Peter Westoby
Jam Circle: A Recipe for Developing and Preserving Communities One Jar at a Time by Kelli Dendle and Mira Chorik
Grassroots Community Building for Food Sovereignty: The Samford Edible Garden Trail (SEGT) Story
by Christine King, Peita Haycock, Susanne Engelhard, Vanessa Spotswood, Ceri Benson, Mary-Ann Shapcott, Rachael Wilks, Rebecca Williams, Emily Mayes & Jenna King
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
At our state conference last October in Moreton Bay, presenters and workshop facilitators were invited to write for publication in a special edition of the New Community Journal about the conference. New Community is Australia's only journal dedicated solely to the practice of community development. With four editions each year on a variety of themes relevant to Social Justice, Sustainability, Community Development and Human Rights, the journal aims to build analysis about a socially and ecologically sustainable world and provide a space to stimulate discussion about theories and practices of community development.
26 presenters at the conference have contributed articles for the special edition, showcasing an amazing array of CD practices across Queensland. Below, are listed the authors and titles of the articles. If you were at the conference and missed these workshops, or if you missed the conference itself, you can get a taste of what we are all very lucky to experience every two years at a CD Queensland Conference.
New Community Journal is very affordable with both 'waged' and 'unwaged' subscription rates, for either an electronic version or a hard copy version. This is the link to subscribe: https://nc.org.au/subscriptions/
From the Index:
Regenerating Community: Getting Our Hands Dirty! by Athena Lathouras (Guest Editorial)
Building Better Communities, Les Halliwell Address by Howard Buckley
Planning from the Heart: A Conversational Reflection of the Queensland Community Development Conference
by Bailey Wemyss and Micah Lean
A Call to Action for First Nations Justice: Will Community Development Practitioners go on the journey?
by Stephen Corporal, Emily McConochie and Kylie Dean
The Future of Community Development Plenary Panel - Reimagining Community Development: Contestations and Opportunities
by Carmel Daveson, Naomi Spooner and Peter Westoby
Queensland Neighbourhood Centres and Community Development – Remembering Our Past and Adapting for the Future by Chris Mundy.
Reimagining Practice through an Autobiographical Tale by Isabel Stankiewicz
Eunoia: Collective Narrative Arts for Women’s Empowerment by Athena Lathouras and Priyanka Hemmadi
Loss, Meaning, Mortality and the Creative Arts: a case study of ‘Sometime Soon’ by Mira Chorik and Kelli Dendle
Weaving Community Threads: The Journey of The Forever Garden by Helene James
Beyond the Doorstep: Doorknocking the “Old School” Style of Intentional Community Development by Paula Callaghan and Sandiellen Black
Nothing About Us, Without Us: Lived Experience at the Heart of Community Development
by Rachael Donovan, PJ Humphreys, Jody Blackburn, Ana Greenfield, Kim Romanova, Ian Campbell and Athena Lathouras
Addressing Housing Precarity for Older Women: The Journey of the Housing Older Women (HOW) Movement by Maggie Shambrook
Responding to a Housing Crisis: Community Leading the Way by Tanya Stevenson and Dimitra Lattas
Benarrawa Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Solidarity Group: A Community Development Solidarity Story
by Laraine Hinds and Paula Callaghan
Encountering Nature: Exploring a Practice that Resists Manic Machine Culture by Rachael Donovan and Peter Westoby
Jam Circle: A Recipe for Developing and Preserving Communities One Jar at a Time by Kelli Dendle and Mira Chorik
Grassroots Community Building for Food Sovereignty: The Samford Edible Garden Trail (SEGT) Story
by Christine King, Peita Haycock, Susanne Engelhard, Vanessa Spotswood, Ceri Benson, Mary-Ann Shapcott, Rachael Wilks, Rebecca Williams, Emily Mayes & Jenna King
2021 CD Festival
Late 2021 was scheduled for our next CD conference, which typically brings together approximately 300-400 practitioners in what has become known as a vital kind of ‘community of practice’ for community development. But the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying public health interventions challenged us to think outside the box. We postponed the conference for 2021 and hosted a “ CDFestival” and held six events during September-October.
We employed a hub and spoke model, inviting small Circles of three to eight people to come together face to face in various localities, and use Zoom to connect to the live on-line components of the program.
We were keen to hear from inspirational keynote speakers relevant to the times and practice situations we are facing now. Also, acknowledging the challenges of working and living in an ongoing pandemic environment, we wanted to have some fun too.
Two of our coordinating group members wrote about the success of the Festival for the journal New Community. Here's the link to the short article. The citation is: Lathouras, A & Capuano, T 2021, '"I know it was just a 'placeholder', but what an awesome placeholder it was!' Reflections on our Community Development Festival: Gather Your Circle", New Community, Vol. 19, No. 4, Issue 76, pp. 46-50.
We employed a hub and spoke model, inviting small Circles of three to eight people to come together face to face in various localities, and use Zoom to connect to the live on-line components of the program.
We were keen to hear from inspirational keynote speakers relevant to the times and practice situations we are facing now. Also, acknowledging the challenges of working and living in an ongoing pandemic environment, we wanted to have some fun too.
Two of our coordinating group members wrote about the success of the Festival for the journal New Community. Here's the link to the short article. The citation is: Lathouras, A & Capuano, T 2021, '"I know it was just a 'placeholder', but what an awesome placeholder it was!' Reflections on our Community Development Festival: Gather Your Circle", New Community, Vol. 19, No. 4, Issue 76, pp. 46-50.
Session 1 - Main Conversation
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Session 1 - Adam Kahane Interview
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Session 2 - Trivia
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Session 3 - CD in Times of Crisis
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Click here for PLAYLIST
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2019 Toowoomba Conference Highlights
2015 Logan Conference Highlights
Videos courtesy of Into People Inc and Mike Beljak.
Keynote excerpts
Jim Ife Part 1
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Lynda Shevellar Part 1
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Jim Ife Part 2
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Lynda Shevellar Part 2
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Workshop snapshots
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Vox populi
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2013 Deception Bay Conference Photos