Communities wouldn’t be communities without the people who bring them to life. But people also need the right structures and approaches to help the collective truly flourish. On October 26, Kaitzak hosted its first “Flourish” Leadership Seminar, organized and facilitated by André and me. The event brought together fifteen leaders from six different diaspora community groups in Melbourne. For the first time ever, leaders from different groups joined in heart and mind to not only learn about cutting-edge research on leadership and well-being but to also bring together their perspectives, strengths, and hopes for the community’s future.
The two-hour seminar was divided into two sections: Healthy Governance and Strengths-Based Communities. Below is a summary of the key topics and insights gathered from post-event survey data.
Healthy governance creates the infrastructure and processes for communities to thrive. In the first part of the seminar, André presented the latest research on how government and business form the two main pillars of a market-oriented society and how they influence one another.
He also outlined the core principles of good governance: transparency, competence, and legitimacy. Participants were introduced to the “Birds Nest” network model of guardianship and took part in a “chocolate-sharing” exercise designed to explore new ways of distributing power collaboratively.
André concluded by emphasizing the goals of co-design, where decision-making includes people with lived experience, acknowledges privilege, and prioritizes empathy throughout the process.
In the second half, I focused on translating evidence-based research into practical tools for diaspora communities. We explored Isaac Prilleltensky’s work on embedding mattering into leadership, ensuring that people both feel valued and add value.
Participants then identified their individual character strengths, put on the strengths-based version of “rose-colored glasses”, and practiced spotting the strengths of others.
We later shifted focus from the individual to the collective, learning how to build on what’s already working in the community rather than solely trying to remove barriers. Leaders shared their strengths and hopes for Melbourne and collaboratively “wove” their own community tapestry, a narrative therapy technique known as creating a living artifact.
To close, we discussed the importance of uplifting one another through Active Constructive Responding.
Of the fifteen community leaders who attended, ten responsed to our post-event survey. The results were overwhelmingly positive:
Leaders praised the seminar’s relevance, interactive activities, practical takeaways, and the atmosphere of vulnerability and connection it fostered between different community groups. Many described the seminar as transformative, motivating, and professionally delivered. They especially valued its interactivity, sense of belonging, and focus on collective growth.
Based on the feedback received, future Kaitzak seminars will focus on:
“We all have strengths and a vital part to play in our communities.”
-Community Leader
Since its official Melbourne launch in May, this seminar was one of Kaitzak’s many initiatives aimed at igniting positive change within diaspora organizations. At Kaitzak, we believe that much of what we need to thrive is already present in our communities – we simply need to come together to bring it to the forefront.
We’re excited to continue offering strengths-based leadership seminars to diaspora communities around the world and will soon be rolling out our full Flourish course series.
This seminar was made possible thanks to the generous support of the MAPP Grant from the University of Pennylvania’s MAPP Alumni Association.
We’re also thankful to Noy Australia for ensuring we were all hydrated during the seminar!
Photographs by Zana Creative Agency.
