Lens on Strengths: Special Edition – Authentic Engagement & Participation

Date: Friday, 21 November 2025
Time: 9:30 am – 2:00 pm (arrivals from 9:30, program begins at 10:00 am sharp)
Location: Crows Nest Centre, Sydney

About the Event
For over five years, the Lens on Strengths series has equipped and inspired youth workers, community leaders, NGOs, and councils with practical tools for engagement and facilitation. By popular demand, we’re bringing you this special edition focused on authentic engagement and participation.

Hosted by Dimitrios Papalexis, award-winning youth and community development consultant and founder of Soulgen, with special guest Cissy Rock (Community Think, NZ), this workshop offers a unique cross-Tasman exchange of practice and wisdom.
Together, we’ll explore how to create meaningful and inclusive opportunities for engagement based on community strengths, aspirations, and diverse assets. This is a highly participatory workshop — no long presentations, just practical tools, dialogue, and hands-on methods you can use straight away.

What You’ll Experience
✔ Engagement Tools – Hands-on tools to draw out participation and amplify youth and community voices.
✔ Facilitation in Action – Hands-on activities to strengthen skills in inclusive methods such as asset mapping, circle dialogue, and World Café.
✔ Real-Life Practice – See how ABCD principles energise groups, build trust, and strengthen collective involvement.
🎲 Special Bonus: A Taste of Camp Venture – A short, interactive experience with a creative board game that builds skills in problem-solving, asset mapping, and storytelling (no long gameplay required).

✨ Together, these elements form a strong arc—from surfacing strengths, to hearing insights, to practicing methods, and unleashing creative play.

Trainer/Facilitator

Led by Dimitrios Papalexis, founder of Soulgen, an award-winning consultant in youth and community development. Dimitrios brings expertise in Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), storytelling, psychodrama, and the arts. With a proven track record across government and non-government sectors, he is passionate about fostering participation, social change, and community impact.

Guest Speaker
CISSY ROCK – Lead Facilitator & Developer, Community Think (NZ)
Cissy brings 20+ years of experience in local government and grassroots community development. She is passionate about creating cultures of participation, addressing inclusion and exclusion dynamics, and building genuine cohesion in communities. Known for her collaborative and hands-on style, Cissy combines systemic thinking with practical wisdom.

Who Should Attend
• Local government staff
• NGOs and community organisations
• Facilitators, trainers, and consultants passionate about youth- and community-development, systems-change, or social-impact
• Volunteers, advocates, and youth/community leaders
• Businesses, universities, and groups seeking stronger community connections

Practical Details
💡 Invoices available for organisations and government departments
💡 Group discounts available
💡 Regional discounts for those travelling from outside Sydney
💡 Limited scholarships for youth, volunteers, Indigenous leaders, people with disability, and advocates (contact us if cost is a barrier – we want you there!)

📩 Sponsorship & Enquiries: dimitrios@soul-gen.com.au
📩 General Enquiries: info@soul-gen.com.au