Last month I joined Tamarack's Liz Weaver and Sylvia Cheuy on a cross-country tour to deliver Citizens at the Centre - a travelling workshop on how to engage ordinary citizens in the community change process. 

It was hectic. Five workshops, in five cities, over eight days - Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. A weekend glamping in the Rockies in between, followed by two nights at Tofino before returning to Melbourne Australia.

What was it all…

I have been informally involved with Society for Community Research and Action. The group recently had an exciting discussion on definition of CP practice and how it can/is/should change! I watched the video later and found it very useful and want to share with you. Thanks to Nicole Freund, Research Scientist, Managing Editor, Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice for this video. 

Key takeaways from the video

Whose knowledge is…

Take care, all: Revisiting primary health care 40 yrs after Alma-Ata…

English version below.

"Le chemin vers la Réconciliation "

Des membres de la Constellation et France Compétence se préparent à marcher sur le "Chemin de St Jacques" à partir du 25 Mai 2019, pour soutenir un très joli et important projet de Réconciliation en Burundi.

L’idée de ce projet est de…

In Arukah Network's new 'How To Build Community' podcast I spoke with Cormac Russell from Nurture Development about his experiences of ABCD over 20 years, 30 countries and hundreds of communities. 

Give it a listen and please do share with others!

https://soundcloud.com/user-471889218/abcd-podcast-tx

Mathews Monde is a member of Arukah Network from rural Zambia. In 2017, the Ministry of Health named him one of the country's "most innovative" health workers. This blog he's written for the US National Conversation Project helps to explain why...

https://www.nationalconversationproject.org/salt

Yesterday I conducted my first SALTY activity. Well, technically I didn't conduct it because I don't have the language skills. I shared the idea with my field team member Krishna and she conducted the session. My colleague Balaram and I brainstormed to design the session.

Having just completed my SALT facilitator training, this was a momentous occasion for me.…

Retour sur une expérience d'organisation d'un festival d'échange local (sans autres ressources que notre volonté et enthousiasme). 

Tout a commencé suite à une rencontre. Tout commence toujours par une rencontre de toute manière, n'est-ce pas?

Une rencontre entre Lysiane Cueff et moi en 2014. Notre enthousiasme commun pour l'approche SALT et la vision du réseau Constellation ainsi que l'affection que nous…

As a next step in our change towards shared ownership of the Constellation dream, The Constellation is looking to establish a new board.…

“What accent do you have? You're not from around here.”  Even in a country that values social equality, there are historically rank differences between urban citizens from the large cities and the administrative centres on one hand, and residents from remote rural areas on the other hand.  In the 80s of the last century, candidates from rural areas (speaking with a distinct accent) were not accepted for trainee positions at a large bank. …

En ce froid dimanche soir, nous préparons les funérailles de papa prévues pour le mercredi suivant. Nous voilà, ma belle-mère, ma soeur avec son mari, mon épouse et moi réunis autour du diacre Jos dans le bureau de la paroisse Saint-Michel à Keerbergen.  Je n'avais pas participé à la préparation d’une cérémonie catholique depuis plus de vingt ans. J’avais lu les directives pour préparer les obsèques et, franchement, j’étais un peu inquiet car je me demandais…

There we were, my stepmother, my sister with  her husband, me and my wife, gathered around Jos the deacon in the  Saint Michael’s parish office in Keerbergen. On this cold Sunday evening, we prepare for Dad’s funeral scheduled for the following Wednesday.  It had been a while since I actively participated in the preparation of a catholic ceremony. I had read the guidelines to prepare the funeral, and frankly, I was a bit concerned as I was wondering whether…

This is a reflection of the valuable learning from my participation as a member of the CLCP facilitator’s team conducted by the Singapore National Volunteerism and Philanthropy Center. This training was the second session. The first session was held in November 2018. Interesting learning is a flow of the facilitation process.

As always, the…

Hello to All, 

Community response is well appreciated when they really work harder to make their children, families and villages happy. They create demand and also help the Health system in a different way.. Here is the story of Mr. Mahizudul Islam from village Bajpara part 4, #Bongaigaon district,…

Du 13 au 16 février, Loli et Luc ont participé à un événement imp!act. Cet événement est proposé par l’organisation euforia pour stimuler…

I am working with communities in 10 villages in Udalguri district, Assam India on the issue of immunization.

As part of their action plan communities wanted their immunization card which is called Mother and Child Protection Card (MCP) in their local language- Bodo language. they say this will help them remember immunization schedule. their interest more after SALT approach. we helped them. …

Hello all!

You might enjoy my latest interview on the 'How To Build Community' podcast. It charts the experience of a mental health nurse from New Zealand, who spent four years in India's rural north, training community health workers on counselling and gender violence. She talks about:

- the role of listening in reducing gender violence

- how to be an effective "outsider" in a community that you want to support

Last year, one study named India "the worst country…