Rumours

It was a huge honour to be asked to join the 26+ ABCD enthusiasts in Sitges (Spain) this weekend. A huge and heartfelt 'thank you' to Martin Simon and Cormac Russell for bringing us together with shared purpose in one place. Thank you to our hosts, including Elvira and Fernando, who lavished us with such abundant hospitality - turning meeting into party! As the tweet announced: "all very low brow from here till Sunday Mole: wine, friendship, community & t hope of many laughs...rumours of a movement".

I came to ABCD in the last decade (http://www.abcdinstitute.org/). I met John McKnight (http://www.abcdinstitute.org/about/founders/) at a conference in Toronto, and was immediately struck by the power of his ideas. I had no idea quite how fundamentally they would come to shape my understanding of inclusive practice and organisational change. I met Jody (John Kretzmann) sometime later in Chicago. Since then both have taught me so much in their quiet and gentle way. However, it was Cormac that would eventually tip the balance, in a shared conversation he quite literally shifted my perspective through 180'. ABCD became the hub or central point of a very ambitious Masters methodology. (But I digress...)

ABCD philosophy is so hugely powerful, but do not be fooled by its simplicity. When I started applying it to what I do, teaching and research, I began to notice how it often jarred with assumed ideas and helped question accepted knowledge. Slowly I had to reassess existing theory, and then add the community layer to existing expertise and personal experience. When dealing with the complexity of equality theory, ABCD has proven to be helpful in articulating the multiple dimensions of social networks. Furthermore, it has had a profoundly positive impact on how I tell my own story, in order to share the implication of exclusion and victimisation on what could have been more typical relationships. 

From a professional standpoint I thought I knew my stuff, but the knowledge of ABCD has added a depth and a width to my understanding that allows greater movement and fluidity in consultancy and facilitation. It has become part of my every-day thinking, not an add on, procedure or a tool. 

This is why the invitation to carry forward John McKnight's work is so deeply humbling. I feel overwhelmed by the trust we've been shown, and feel slightly awed by the responsibility. I hope I can rise to the challenge and honour this legacy. ABCD Europe may well come to hold a revolution this side of the Atlantic pond, but they are huge shoulders we stand on - and great wisdom from which we can leap. 

I am also totally awed and inspired by the tribe I've joined! Warmth, care, compassion, generosity - if good purpose unites, then ABCD purpose unites the whole (heads, hearts, hands, feet, minds and souls).