Innovate Symposium 2015 offered a unique opportunity to explore a new theoretical and practical approach to social action and community development. The event challenged participants to re-think, re-imagine, re-quip and re-centre what it means to work with and in community. This was achieved through exploring the discourse of “soul” – a perspective that allows us to challenge and re-evaluate orthodox ways of thinking, working and advocating.

In this context, soul reflects on the notion of finding balance between doing and being, recognising that without the being – that is the ability to be grounded, mindful and reflective of the process – social change and transformation is limited. In our fast-moving, dynamic and technologically driven world, soul disrupts the mythological perceptions that drive our society and that are ingrained deep in our culture today. Traditional ways of working and responding to community development are hindered in the emphasis that is placed on action to the diminution of reflection, the outcome rather than regard for the process, and a focus on externalities, with little to no attention given to inner awareness and the self.

Written by Melissa Close, Volunteering Queensland

Volunteering Qld© Volunteering Queensland Inc 2015

Doctor Peter Westoby, Senior Lecturer in Community Development at the University of Queensland, describes soul as a deep energy that is calling for us to “go down” – to be grounded, slower and more conscious of our limits. He highlights that the tallest and largest buildings in the world have defined great industrial development, evidently displaying man’s desire of “going up”.With this upwards ambition, we are often not attentive to what is happening on the subterranean level of community (as we lack our connection to grounding energies), and as a result progressive and transformational experiences and spaces are lost.

While it has been said that traditional approaches to social action and community development place a great emphasis on project outcomes, soul allows practitioners to identify and respond to dynamic energies that arise while in the process. Through responding accordingly to these energies, the polarities of intervention and observation emerge, and so too the need to find balance. With this we recognise that observation – or being – is not a passive role, and is instead emergent and free flowing and one that allows for deep solutions and rich meanings to be explored and discovered.

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When we incorporate soul into our way of thinking, working and advocating for social change and community development we rediscover the interconnectivity we have in the world. This helps us to create mutually beneficial and long-lasting relationships with people and our environment. In order to integrate soul into practice, practitioners must focus on themselves first and foremost and create a space where soul can thrive. Mark Creyton, Education, Research and Policy Director at Volunteering Queensland, describes soul as being on the “edge”. He suggests that in the sphere of community practice, it is on the edge, not the centre, that transformational spaces are created. With this, it can be said that despite the role a practitioner holds in an organisation, soul can be incorporated into practice through language (the way we communicate and connect) and through the establishment of a small group of like-minded individuals who hold similar ideals. Put simply, soul is a movement that can be invited by one person and adopted by many.

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Having just returned from living in Cambodia for a year, it is fascinating for me to reflect on how soul was incorporated into my practice during my time abroad. While in Cambodia I worked at a technical school for poor, disadvantaged and marginalised youth where I undertook communications activities to help increase funding for the school, all the while teaching full-time English. I was fortunate to work and live in an environment where the key principles of soul were present in my daily life. The school seeks a holistic approach to education that encourages teachers and volunteers to be committed to being an active presence; working with the students, beside them and sharing in their lives. This was the first time that I had worked in an environment that invited me to slow down and reflect on the process – allowing me to connect and interact with the students in deep and meaningful ways. In a culture where it is difficult for individuals to speak their minds, be truly authentic and explore a space of imagination and desire, I was able to realise the weight and significance of encompassing soul into practice.

As I move forward and continue to work in the space of social change and community development I will continue to access my intuitive wisdom and strive to be authentic and present in future projects. Through soul work we can enter a unique space that invites participatory consciousness – where there is greater accountability, openness to observation and dialogue, a willingness to acknowledge and respond to dynamic energies, and where mutually beneficial relationships can emerge and thrive.

volunteeringqld.org.au/innovatesymposium

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