PinnedFive Strategic Insights from Manawatahi Participatory City PilotBack in September I told the story of the Manawatahi Participatory City Pilot at Onehunga Oranga Community Hub thus far, what we have been developing and what we have been learning. Recently we completed a six month strategic learning report for July-December 2023, with some insights that I wanted…Social Innovation4 min readSocial Innovation4 min read
PinnedManawatahi: A Participatory City JourneyI thought it was about time to write something down about the work I am doing with the amazing team at Onehunga Oranga Hub on Manawatahi, which is what we are calling the Participatory City Approach in Tāmaki Makaurau(Auckland). The name was created for us by the very talented Morehu…Social Innovation5 min readSocial Innovation5 min read
May 9Cultivating Warm RelationalityYesterday I was really tired. I recently started coaching my son's soccer team, it’s the third season I’ve done it, its extremely rewarding but it does take some energy, especially when a new team is forming for a new season, kids are coming back to the game, and I’m coming…Mindfulness3 min readMindfulness3 min read
May 7Deeper than Systems ChangeThe Infinite River of Human Development — My heart is not really that open. I expect a lot, demand a lot, and don’t really give that much. I tend to think of myself first. But I am working on it. I am learning to create peace within myself, and with others, and I’m learning to give. I’m…Systems Change2 min readSystems Change2 min read
Apr 18Moved to StillnessWhen the Buddha started to move in the world after enlightenment, at first he thought it would be impossible to share his insight. Chinese hermits for thousands of years have been oscillating between life in seclusion seeking enligtenment in the mountains, and life helping to alleviate suffering in the midst…Zen2 min readZen2 min read
Mar 31On Sanctuary and AlchemyOnce upon a time when I was at a conference I met a wonderful man named Glen Lauder. At the time I was cocreating a social lab to support youth well being in Tāmaki called Flipping East. Glen came up to help facilitate with what I thought would be a…Well Being3 min readWell Being3 min read
Mar 15Harder, Better, Faster, StrongerI can’t do this anymore. Chase the mechanical hare of my preferred future like an innovation greyhound. My acupuncturist informs me that the qi in my body seperates, hot qi to my head, cold qi to my feet, leaving my stomach cold. This is followed by anxiety, depression, dysfunction. Why…Wellbeing1 min readWellbeing1 min read
Feb 17Domination, Autonomy, InterdependenceI love my family for a lot of reasons. And one is that we all have agency. My partner and I have been gradually working out over the years how to each have our own voice, collaborate, sometimes do things independently, and support each other. There’s a lot we have…Social Innovation4 min readSocial Innovation4 min read
Feb 14In LoveI read Thich Nhat Hanh in “The Diamond that Cuts through Illusion”:Compassion2 min readCompassion2 min read
Feb 14Participation Culture: as Old as Humans“The Dawn of Everything” is such a remarkable, paradigm shifting book. The authors synthesise lots of emerging research which are illuminating vast stretches of time that have previously been relegated to something under a label called “prehistory”, which experts had presumed to be rather unexciting, with little in the way…Social Innovation3 min readSocial Innovation3 min read
