We live in a world where most believe that the well-being of our most vulnerable citizens and communities is determined by how well their needs are addressed by outside agencies. In asset-based community development the belief is that well-being is determined by how well strengths are expressed; and not by how well needs are addressed.
This topsy-turvy thinking goes further in arguing that if citizens and their communities are treated as being the sum of their needs their individual and collective well-being will be damaged.
Forming relationships that are reciprocal is at the heart of what makes us, as human beings, well; and a relationship where one holds all the expertise and the other all the neediness is not reciprocal.
Today Rebecca, my colleague, and I are in Cairngorm National Park with the Health and Happiness team who work in communities throughout the Highlands. On a daily basis they form…
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