Changing Lives, Changing Communities was a two-year project which saw a series of 6, two-day events held across Queensland. Changing Lives, Changing Communities was about bringing people together from all parts of the community to co-create solutions to ensure everyone is included in their community, and can access what they need; like a place to call home, good health, transport, education, and meaningful employment.
“What will it take to continue our work together to create a community where everyone contributes, matters & belongs?”
Round 1
When: 2018, 2019
Where: Toowoomba, Mackay, Brisbane, Caboolture, the Gold Coast and Normanton.
Deliverables:
- a ‘harvest document’ was prepared which captured what happened over the two days.
- to continue building our movement for change, momentum meetings were held. At these meetings we:
- reviewed the Changing Lives, Changing Communities event
- explored outcomes and impact, and
- discussed progress against projects.
Round 2
When: 2019, 2020
Where: Toowoomba, Mackay, Brisbane, Caboolture, the Gold Coast and Normanton.
Deliverables:
- Local Champions created and sustained change in local communities.
- Local Champions Program supported participants to:
- develop skills, knowledge and experience in community led change
- be a voice to influence and inform key policy reforms
- work on collective problem solving
- generate community-based ideas and action.
“What will it take for us to be champions of social change in our communities?”
The harvests
These harvest documents capture what happened and the highlights of the Changing Lives Changing Communities. As well as Harvest documents with lots of pictures and visuals, there are also screen reader accessible harvest documents available below.
Local Champions
The direct engagement and leadership of people with a disability was critical to the project. In doing this, people with a disability were leading, shaping and influencing their communities. In each community, Local Champions were identified to lead and guide the work, supported by QDN and QCOSS through a two-day training event, and a Community of Practice to support their ongoing leadership development. The Local Champion model built the skills of natural leaders in community, regardless of their professional role, to be a point of contact at a local level, and to learn how to co-design, co-create, lead and influence in their communities.
There was a total of 13 QDN leaders who took on this formal role across the 6 locations. This included 4 women and 9 men, with diversity across disability. Across the six ILC regions, 714 people participated in the Changing Lives, Changing Communities events over the two years, with nearly 30% of these being people with a disability. Including the QCOSS regions, over 1,200 people participated with almost 20% representation of people with a disability.
Brisbane, Round 2
Cancelled due to COVID-19
Gold Coast, Round 2
Cancelled due to COVID-19
Normanton, Round 2
Cancelled due to COVID-19
Reports from the Changing Lives, Changing Communities Project
Changing Lives Changing Communities has been a partnership between Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN), Queensland Council of Social Services (QCOSS), and Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC). The Changing Lives, Changing Communities events were funded through Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) National Readiness Grants – National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA).
Changing Lives Changing Communities Local Champion story
'Multiple leaders, you can't do everything yourself, you know, that's the one thing I did learn, that you try to put your right foot forward but the left one keeps following you too so it makes it a bit hard to be the only one doing it, but now that you've got other people involved you know you can achieve better things and outcomes for your community with other people being involved. (QDN Local Champion, Caboolture)'
