From Power to Praxis: Trial Workshop for Decolonial Reflection Cards

What does it take to practice aid differently—ethically, accountably, and in solidarity, not saviourism?

This free 5-hour workshop invites international development professionals to trial and give feedback on From Power to Praxis: Reflection Cards for Decolonial Design, a new tool to support critical self-inquiry and collective accountability across the aid and development project cycle.

Whether you’re a practitioner, evaluator, team leader or community engagement specialist, this session offers a rare opportunity to engage with an emerging tool that aims to challenge the dominant logic of development and embed deeper, justice-oriented practice.

About the Cards

The From Power to Praxis card set includes over 130 carefully crafted reflection prompts, divided across six stages of the project cycle. The cards are designed to surface power, positionality, and systemic assumptions in everyday aid work, and to support:

• Culturally safe community engagement

• Inclusive and ethical design processes

• Responsive, accountable implementation

• Transparent, principled project closure

• Organisational-level meta-reflection

• Personal and team commitments to change

The boxed set includes:

• Pre-Engagement (red): Reflection before entering a context or relationship

• Pre-Project (ochre): Design, assumptions, and positionality

• Implementation (teal): Participation, power, trust, harm

• Completion (indigo): Ethical exit, knowledge return, legacy

• Meta-Reflection (gold/grey): Internal culture, power, and practice

• Commitment Card (white): Turn insight into action

These cards have been developed in consultation with feminist, decolonial, and community-led practitioners across Australia, the Pacific and Asia, and are being trialled in multiple formats before final design and launch. (scheduled for September this year)

What You’ll Experience

During this workshop, participants will:

• Learn about the intention and structure of the reflection card set

• Participate in small group card trials across different project stages

• Reflect on how the cards could be applied in their own organisational context

• Explore challenges and opportunities in using reflective tools

• Provide honest, constructive feedback to improve the final set

This is not a lecture or training—it is a collaborative trial space where your feedback will directly shape the final product. At the same time, you’ll have the opportunity to deepen your own practice by using the cards to reflect critically on your current projects, assumptions, and ways of working.

Workshop Schedule

10:00am – 10:30am | Welcome and Introductions
10:30am – 11:15am | Orientation to the Cards and Paired Reflection
11:15am – 12:30pm | Small Group Practice Using Card Sets
12:30pm – 1:30pm | Lunch (BYO) and Informal Exploration
1:30pm – 2:15pm | Applied Feedback and Refinement Stations
2:15pm – 2:45pm | Commitment Card and Reflections
2:45pm – 3:00pm | Wrap-Up and Next Steps