A Day of Belonging: ABCD Symposium 2023
Looking Back...
Photography by Kimberly de Jong. Read her article on the symposium here.
The fifth ABCD symposium held in May 2023 was a great success! It was a place for celebrating community and community-based efforts by shining a light on what was strong in the local community. The symposium brought in over 100 participants throughout the day. There was a keynote speaker, Jon Massimi, story sharing, and hands-on workshops. The organizing group planned the symposium to ensure opportunity for connecting with one another, reflection time and, of course, delicious food. After hybrid and online-only symposiums the past few years, it was truly a delight to connect in person, all together again.
The day was recorded in a couple ways. Participants were invited to share their thoughts on the theme of belonging, the workshops, and the day in general on provided cue cards and a story board. We also invited participants to join in a community conversation two weeks after to share about what people were curious about, what was coming up for them, what resonated, and what is possible for next year.
If you are interested in joining the planning group for 2024, please reach out to belongingbrant@gmail.com.
To hear the podcast created at the celebration, click here.
Collaborative Takeaways from 2023
Images from the 2023 Symposium
This photo by Kimberly de Jong.
Keynote speaker.
This photo by Kimberly de Jong.
All About ABCD
What is ABCD and how does it effect the community? Read all about it below!
What is ABCD?
ABCD stands for Asset Based Community Development.
Gifts.
Each person has their own set of strengths and passions. These strengths and passions are called their gifts. Your gift can be difficult to recognize, but we all have one!
Community.
ABCD, simply put, is an approach focused on community building and development.
Your Gift.
Not sure what your gift is?
Tip: If you had to teach one person or a group of people something what would it be? Why?
The People.
This approach is centred around the people within the community. The idea here is that the people make the community.
Connecting.
Connecting these gifts to other people, groups, and organizations is the main part of this process. This step supports the development of the community.