Who are we?
Dionne
Dionne brings passion, energy and joy to the work. She does this through creating inspiring spaces for connection which empower us to think and do things differently. Dionne brings over 15 years of experience convening people, communities and organisations in various central government roles. She is an expert in developing and testing policies with groups who don’t usually work together to enable locally-informed change and communities to thrive.
Benedicta
Benedicta brings serenity, gentleness, and magic to the work. She achieves this through attentive listening and imaginative project design and delivery. Bene has over 10 years of experience across local government and bespoke consultancies and prides herself on being able to work at a strategic level while grounding herself in reality to operationalise plans. Bene’s superpower is gently holding spaces for people to be their true selves.
Our story
How it all started
How it all started
How it all started
Dionne and Benedicta first met whilst working on the Grenfell response in Kensington and Chelsea. We found synergies in our portfolios of work on Asset-Based Community Development, seeking to understand how the council could transform its approach to allocating physical spaces by understanding what the community wants.
Collaboration
How it all started
How it all started
Dionne’s knowledge and connections to the community, having grown up in North Kensington, were critical to our work and helped us to deeply immerse ourselves and ground our work in the community's priorities. This, combined with Benedicta’s ability to navigate relationships within the Council and translate information between them and the
Dionne’s knowledge and connections to the community, having grown up in North Kensington, were critical to our work and helped us to deeply immerse ourselves and ground our work in the community's priorities. This, combined with Benedicta’s ability to navigate relationships within the Council and translate information between them and the community, helped to develop a partnership working model. This resulted in a shared ownership arrangement of a council asset, where the community will run two-thirds of the space.
Circling Back
How it all started
Circling Back
Little did we know that nearly five years later, we would be working together in the neighbourhood that Benedicta grew up in, Grahame Park, to influence how the council centre’s the community in placemaking. We brought what we learned from our work together to ensure that we deeply connected to communities and listened to their priorities
Little did we know that nearly five years later, we would be working together in the neighbourhood that Benedicta grew up in, Grahame Park, to influence how the council centre’s the community in placemaking. We brought what we learned from our work together to ensure that we deeply connected to communities and listened to their priorities for the neighbourhood. Our work has influenced the council’s approach to the use of empty buildings in the neighbourhood, by committing to bringing a number assets into use. A flagship community asset will be a community cafe, which has been co-designed with residents and local organisations.
Sankofa
How it all started
Circling Back
Throughout this journey, Sankofa, a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol representing the proverb ‘learn from your past to build for your future’ has been continuously showing up in our lives. Within the same week community leaders in both Grahame Park and North Kensington introduced us to Sankofa. In Grahame Park we were offered the Sankofa symbol to
Throughout this journey, Sankofa, a Ghanaian Adinkra symbol representing the proverb ‘learn from your past to build for your future’ has been continuously showing up in our lives. Within the same week community leaders in both Grahame Park and North Kensington introduced us to Sankofa. In Grahame Park we were offered the Sankofa symbol to use in artwork for the estate, and in North Kensington we were made aware of the youth-led organisation that now lead on shaping how two-thirds of the community asset will be used in line with community needs held a Sankofa ceremony to cleanse the space before vacating to enable the rebuild. The serendipity was undeniable… and so Golden Sankofa is born.