About us
ICA Australasia was founded in 1967 to further human development in Australia and around the world. In the years since we have:
• Trained thousands of people in the Technology of Participation (ToP) methods and facilitated planning and cultural change for hundreds of organizations, in community, government and private sectors
• Co-founded and sustained local, national and international facilitators networks and brought the Technology of Participation to East Timor, Thailand, Bangladesh and other countries.
• Expanded inner awareness and cultural understanding through roundtables, seminars, retreats and conferences, including intensive work based on Jean Houston and others engaged to develop the “possible human” for the sake of a “possible society”.
• Stimulated 300 or more local communities and organisations to identify their visions and challenges, and then design actions for moving forward together.
• Initiated and supported many efforts furthering environmental awareness and action.
• Created and sustained strong reconciliation activities and networks, guided by Indigenous people, and engaged with Indigenous communities in integrated development and related training.
• Engaged in cooperative social research
• Gone as volunteers to overseas development projects of sister organisations
• Supported several community development projects and capacity building for volunteers and villages in Africa, India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
• Led many retreats and workshops on personal and organisational development and life purpose
• Offered courses in Life Directions as well as Financial Integrity and mentored numerous individuals in living their life’s purpose. Liaised and worked extensively with other organisations with similar purposes
• Individual members support a wide range of social, spiritual and environmental initiatives and organisations
Our Mission
ICA Australasia is concerned with the human factor in societal change. Central to the work of the ICA is the belief that sustainable development occurs when people are meaningfully engaged to ensure respect and justice for all in matters impacting their lives and the organizations and communities they are a part of. It is also our belief that cultures based on inclusive participation and profound respect help people work creatively and sustainably, minimize conflict and accomplish more together.
Our Values
• Honour the past, affirm the present and see the future as possibility.
• Everyone shares responsibility for the current reality and has something to contribute to its transformation.
• The people best equipped to deal with a situation are those affected by it.
• The more inclusive the input, the more effective the output.
• Reflective practices are key to individual and organisational growth.
• Balancing global and local perspectives is fundamental to effectiveness.
• The future is created by people, everyone has a contribution to make.
• Culture gives meaning and guidance for individual and group identity.
• Listening and respect for otherness are essential for unity in diversity.