What if communities hold more potential than we realize?

[Rituu B. Nanda]

The ABCD Festival 2026  in Goa created a space where around fifty people from Australia, Canada, India, and Sri Lanka came together to think about what it would really take to change the world. In many ways, these conversations reaffirmed what I have been reflecting and doing.

Everyone cares about something. That care can become a reason to act. When we stop seeing people as consumers or service users and instead recognise them as owners of their own lives and the places they live in, local action begins to emerge stressed Joanna.

So where is the problem? At times, people are not fully aware of their own potential. Many community assets remain hidden. As facilitators, our role is to uncover the strengths that already exist within people. Peter Kenyon who is the person behind the three ABCD conferences in Goa underlined it very clearly -'to make the invisible visible'. This calls for more conversations and fewer meetings. Less service delivery and more community. Peter said, "do not do anything for someone that they can do for themselves."

The urge to be the hero often comes from outside. External agencies or staff may want to be in charge, to provide, to save. When people hold money and power, communities can slowly turn into statistics that help secure funding. There is a difference between doing to people and supporting people to help themselves. Sharing his experience Paul Born mentioned that his work shifted from controlled housing to people having homes. From outsiders acting as guards to becoming custodians. From deciding for people to supporting what people wanted to do themselves.

Economic equality, Paul Born argued, cannot be achieved without social connection and care. When belonging is fostered, social resilience grows, and this can lead to economic equality. He raised an important question: do people feel they are productive citizens?

Community action and services are not separate. They must work together. Paul Garrett and Allison, local government officials from Australia, shared how they work to bring services that supplement what communities cannot do on their own. Paul said that service providers should respond to what is helpful, not act as gatekeepers who assume they know everything. Doing for and doing to is not reciprocal. People experience community not only by giving, but also by learning to receive. Both matter. Giving and receiving are equally important.

Participants spoke about belonging at scale and the need for a systemic approach. One example shared was from Avani. In an initiative with children of seasonal migrant families in brick kilns and sugarcane fields, Avani had earlier provided mid-day meals and transportation. After the SALT process, parents took initiative and approached the government themselves. The government scaled this effort across three districts, reaching around 1,400 children. Bappa from Suchana shared examples of Santhal indigenous communities taking action to reduce early marriage, limit mobile use, and engage youth in becoming more productive.

Communities are untapped reservoirs of possibility, are we tapping them? Let us shift from servicing communities to strengthening community. Volunteerism and citizenship may be declining, yet many people still want to care for others and do not always know how. Approaches like ABCD and SALT offer a way to rebuild communities, provoke collective altruism, and create conditions where people can come together to build something better.