LinC 2020 Activator #4: Holding Space to Enable Community-led Development

In collaboration with Inspiring Communities, this last LinC Activator event for 2020 offers an interactive experience, taking a look at the theme of “Holding Space” through a community-led development lens.

In this session, we’ll take a look at some different perspectives on holding space, with our spotlight guests sharing some practical examples of how they ‘hold space’ in their work. 

In community-led development (CLD) it’s not what you do but how and with who. It’s a collaborative, relational and inclusive approach that focuses on activating and connecting community strengths and contributions to enable new possibilities. It’s also messy, hard work and nuanced.  There’s no such thing as a perfect plan or one way of doing anything! 

Come along prepared to have fun, be challenged and get creative!

Event Hosts: Erica Austin and Lana Shields, Leadership Lab - LinC Project

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WHEN: Thursday 3 December, 6-8pm (doors open 5:30pm)

WHERE: The Welder Event Space (20-26 Welles Street, Christchurch Central)

Free event with limited spots available

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Meet the facilitators:

Kindra Douglas was Founding Director of Victory Community Centre, located on the Victory Primary School campus in Nelson. The Centre has won a number of awards for its innovative work and partnership. Kindra was also the founding Chair of Nelson Tasman Housing Trust which has gone on to develop 43 new homes for low income families and also offers a range of other housing supports. Kindra has experience in education, crafts, counselling, retail books and publishing, and holds a wide range of community contexts. She is currently working with Community Action Nelson pursuing more affordable and social housing options for the region.

The Shirley Village Project uses community-led development principals to create a collective space where residents and organisations work together towards a shared vision for Shirley to be a caring, connected, colourful community. Steve and Bec will discuss the creation of a collective space that engages residents and organisation equally, and the variety of ways people in the community interrupt and engage and interact in space, and explore layers and perspectives of the concept of ‘holding space’ in community.

Steve Jones-Poole is enjoying the results he is seeing from community-led development approaches, where residents – the community experts – work collaboratively with organisations to addresses the causational factors of social and community issues. He is currently employed as the Community Development Activator for the Shirley Village Project, where he mixes his farming and policing backgrounds to achieve practical and organisational change at the community level. He is currently a Board member for Inspiring Communities, and a Facilitator for LinC (Leadership in Community). 

Bec Roper-Gee is an enthusiastic member of the Shirley community, coordinates Shirley Stream Care, serves on the Board of Shirley Primary School, and is a life member of Shirley Playcentre. Her professional background is in environmental management, with decade or so diversion into early childhood education. She currently works with Shirley Village Project, Constantia Consulting and a new social enterprise (in Shirley of course!), Nourish Ōraka.

Dr Ryan Reynolds is the Director of Gap Filler and has been part of it since the beginning. He has led Gap Filler’s transition from a post-quake charity to an ongoing social enterprise doing work all over the world. He holds a PhD in Theatre & Film Studies from Canterbury University, and has had teaching and research roles at Canterbury University, Lincoln University, University of Technology Sydney and Copenhagen University in Theatre & Film Studies, Environmental Management, Design, and Landscape Architecture. Ryan will discuss how space itself can (help) hold space.

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What is Activator?

The LinC Project Activator has been designed to support community leaders across Canterbury with a speaker series aimed at inspiring and growing leaders in their communities. Each Activator event, had a different theme and focus, and offered amazing opportunities for discussion, engagement and learning. These public events are open to anyone ready to be inspired, challenged and motivated.

What Is The LinC Project?

Building communities through supporting local leaders.

The LinC Project started as a 10-month, strengths-based leadership programme for 40+ individuals from communities across Greater Christchurch in 2014. The second group began in December 2015, with 35 leaders from ‘community organisations’ and 10 leaders from Government organisations. In 2018 the LinC project becomes LinC Incubator, LinC Cultivator and Activator.

The intention of LinC is to support and sustain these leaders, their colleagues and their wider communities.