Challenge, Chaos and Collective Action
Article
September 2026
Ngāti Porou Oranga General Manager for Whānau Oranga Social Services, Min Vette, recently joined community development practitioners from around the world at the World Community Development Conference (WCDC) in Glasgow, Scotland.
A member of the International Association for Community Development (IACD), Min was one of four delegates from Aotearoa attending the conference in July, which brought together representatives from 32 countries under the theme “Challenge, Chaos, and Collective Action!”
For Min, the experience provided an opportunity to explore the challenges facing communities globally, while also seeing the innovation, resilience and collective action being used to respond.
A head of the conference ,delegates were invited to watch Everyone to Kenmure Street, a documentary about a Glasgow community that came together to challenge the attempted deportation of two neighbourhood residents in 2021.
The story immediately brought tomind the Dawn Raids experienced in Aotearoa during the 1970s.
Min reflected on the power of a community coming together in support of its people, with social media playing a significant role in mobilising people.
The power of a community who came together for the right of humanity and the love of their community. A great example of collective action!
With 32 countries represented, the conference provided a wide range of perspectives on the realities communities are facing.
Presentations explored environmental damage, conflict, trauma, illness and the impacts of social media, alongside the pressures being experienced by communities across the world.
But among those challenges, Min also saw hope.
There was massive innovation,initiative, re-use, re-cycle, re-imagining, care, love and life. The amazingcreativity of leaders and practitioners, combined with passion for communitydevelopment, was inspiring and provided an abundance of hope!
Delegates shared projects supporting the wellbeing of working people and those experiencing addiction, abuse, homelessness and hunger.
Solutions ranged from Indigenousand cultural approaches to transforming derelict spaces and wasteland,volunteering, politics, music, art, sport and cooking.
For Min, one of the greatest strengths of the conference was the opportunity to connect with others, share experiences and build international relationships and networks.
These connections provide opportunities to draw on evidence, experiences and initiatives from communities around the world when responding to challenges closer to home.
Min also participated in practice exchange visits with community organisations in rural Scotland, providing an opportunity to see community development in action.
The visits highlighted innovative approaches, the challenges faced by practitioners and whānau, and examples of initiatives beginning to create revenue, empowerment and mana within communities.
Another highlight was visitingthe Scottish Crannog, a traditional community village where traditional knowledge and practices are being maintained through iron tools, buildings,food, clothing and other ways of living.
The old ways are growing, Min reflected.
The experience reinforced thevalue of community-led solutions, connection and collective action, and theimportance of learning from communities both at home and internationally.
Overall, a fantastic personal and professional development experience, made possible by support from Ngāti Porou Oranga and having good people to step into your space so you can take a break. Kia ora!
As part of the experience, Min joined 10 other community development practitioners, many of whom are Indigenous, to share their journeys into community development through a series of 20-minute Community Learning and Development (CLD) podcast interviews.
Hear Min’s story and explore the other interviews on Spotify.
Listen to the CLD Podcast Interviews on Spotify
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