In this episode of The Belonging Shift, host Mantej Singh speaks with Gilbert Rochecouste, CEO and Founder of Village Well – a placemaking consultancy on belonging and healthy people, places and planet. Gilbert talks about a world facing a polycrisis of climate, economic, and social challenges and how shifting our approach to place, culture, and storytelling can transform societies. Gilbert dives into how our old stories of growth and consumption are breaking down and how a ‘new local’ movement is surfacing that emphasizes the importance of community-led, place-based initiatives that embrace diversity and foster belonging.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Belonging Shift Podcast

00:55 Understanding Placemaking and Belonging

01:50 Gilbert's Journey and the Concept of Belonging

06:31 Personal Definition of Belonging

08:23 Shifts in Placemaking and Community Engagement

13:03 Cultural Diversity and Community Spaces

16:10 Embracing Diversity in Placemaking

17:23 Defining Placemaking and Its Importance

20:06 Shifts Needed in Government and Development

24:01 Empowering Communities for Change

25:56 Messages for Developers and Government Leaders

Gilbert’s advice for leaders and practitioners for making the #BelongingShift

Shift 1: Create power with communities, not power over them.

Shift 2: Become place-led and people-led, not planning-led, design-led or finance-led

Shift 3: Create places where people can live, work, gather and connect

Shift 4: Move beyond sustainability towards regeneration.

Shift 5: Make the personal shift to belonging, self-organising and being community-led

Guest Bio

Gilbert is a globally recognised placemaking expert, known for creating vibrant and resilient places. Over the past 35 years, he has collaborated with more than 2,500 cities and communities worldwide. A sought-after speaker and master facilitator, he is skilled at unlocking potential and engaging stakeholders. Previously, the General Manager of Chadstone Shopping Centre - he pioneered the application of shopping centre management principles to main streets and went on to found Village Well, Australia’s first placemaking consultancy, and now its first Regenerative Placemaking consultancy.

Host Bio

Mantej Singh is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Belonging Co, a social and cultural inclusion consultancy based in Sydney with a belonging lens.

Belonging Co helps leaders drive participation, trust and engagement. The consultancy delivers strategies, engagement, and programs for organisations and leaders wanting genuine impact across cultural inclusion, community participation and social cohesion.

He founded Belonging Co in 2025 to enhance the capability, confidence, and understanding of leaders and organisations regarding inclusion and community participation. Mantej has over 20 years of experience across community engagement, placemaking, and inclusion, emphasizing that belonging is foundational to thriving communities and effective institutions. For more information on Belonging Co visit www.belongingco.com.au and www.linkedin.com/in/mantejs

Make the #Belonging Shift

Lets grow the conversation

If this episode sparked a new idea, challenge, or possibility, share it with someone who’ll benefit. Follow and subscribe to The Belonging Shift podcast, for more such conversations. Podcast link.

In this episode of The Belonging Shift, host Mantej Singh speaks with Dean Cracknell, Co-Founder of Doing Co and Creator of Placemaking Education, about community-led placemaking, belonging and the leadership shifts needed to create places where people feel connected, welcome and able to contribute. Dean shares why placemaking is more than murals, events or physical design. At its best, it is a mindset and process that helps people connect, contribute, lead and feel proud of the places they call home. The conversation explores how leaders can move from doing things for communities to working with communities, why trust and collaboration matter, and how reframing risk can help institutions become braver in involving people.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Belonging and Doing Co

02:04 Defining Belonging: A Personal Journey

04:11 Shifts in Placemaking: From Design to Connection

06:10 Understanding Community Engagement in Placemaking

09:00 Successful Community-Led Projects: A Case Study

12:24 Barriers to Progress: Misunderstandings in Placemaking

15:16 Practical Steps for Leaders in Community-Led Placemaking

17:40 The Broader Vision of Placemaking

21:14 Key Shifts for Leaders in Placemaking

Dean’s advice for leaders and practitioners for #BelongingShift

Shift 1: Start small, but start

Shift 2: Collaborate instead of trying to do it all yourself

Shift 3: Trust communities to contribute, shape and lead

Shift 4: See placemaking as a journey of learning, not a fixed destination

Shift 5: Build cultures where more leaders can emerge

Guest Bio

Dean Cracknell is Co-Founder of Doing Co and Creator of Placemaking Education. Dean loves helping people to create positive civic, social, economic, environmental or organisational change. He shifted from being an urban planner working in local government and local doer volunteering in my local neighbourhood to being a Doer, Dreamer, Enabler and Connector of people and ideas. He works in the gaps in between: people and places, local governments and local communities, community organising and action, social, economic and environmental improvement and top-down and bottom-up.

Host Bio

Mantej Singh is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Belonging Co, a social and cultural inclusion consultancy based in Sydney with a belonging lens. Belonging Co helps leaders drive participation, trust and engagement. The consultancy delivers strategies, engagement, and programs for organisations and leaders wanting genuine impact across cultural inclusion, community participation and social cohesion.

He founded Belonging Co in 2025 to enhance the capability, confidence, and understanding of leaders and organisations regarding inclusion and community participation. Mantej has over 20 years of experience across community engagement, placemaking, and inclusion, emphasizing that belonging is foundational to thriving communities and effective institutions. For more information on Belonging Co visit www.belongingco.com.au and www.linkedin.com/in/mantejs

Make the #Belonging Shift

Lets grow the conversation

If this episode sparked a new idea, challenge, or possibility, share it with someone who’ll benefit. Follow and subscribe to The Belonging Shift podcast, for more such conversations. Podcast link The Belonging Shift – Conversations about community, place, leadership and the future of belonging — Belonging Co

In this episode of The Belonging Shift, host Mantej Singh speaks with Anthea Hancocks, CEO of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, about how Australia can strengthen belonging and social cohesion through trust, dignity, reciprocity and everyday local action. Anthea explains why belonging is not a single destination, why labels can limit people’s agency, and why leaders should avoid patronising, paternalism and pity. The conversation moves from research and public debate to very practical actions: listen respectfully, focus on the real issue, activate neighbourhood connections, support local participation and start with a smile.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Belonging and Community Leadership

02:55 Understanding Personal Belonging

05:57 Defining Belonging Beyond the Term

07:38 Economic Pressures and Belonging

09:10 Cultural Inclusion and Terminology

12:50 Avoiding Labels and Fostering Agency

13:59 Addressing Deficit Models in Organizations

15:49 Community Engagement and Local Action

20:50 Navigating Cultural Debates

23:44 Shifts for Leaders in Promoting Belonging

26:34 Encouraging Community Action for Belonging

Anthea Hancocks’ advice for leaders and practitioners for making the #BelongingShift

Shift 1: Move from labels to the real issue people are experiencing.

Shift 2: Move from deficit thinking to dignity, agency and contribution.

Shift 3: Move from pity, paternalism and patronising behaviour to respectful peer-to-peer listening.

Shift 4: Move from national debate alone to practical neighbourhood connection and local participation.

Shift 5: Move from waiting for belonging to be created for us to starting with small everyday gestures — even a smile.

Guest Bio

Anthea Hancocks is the CEO of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute. The Institute is dedicated to making research into social cohesion accessible and understandable while maintaining the highest levels of research expertise and integrity. She has a background in leadership positions in government, professional services, academia, philanthropy and not for profit organisations.

Host Bio

Mantej Singh is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Belonging Co, a social and cultural inclusion consultancy based in Sydney with a belonging lens.

Belonging Co helps leaders drive participation, trust and engagement. The consultancy delivers strategies, engagement, and programs for organisations and leaders wanting genuine impact across cultural inclusion, community participation and social cohesion.

He founded Belonging Co in 2025 to enhance the capability, confidence, and understanding of leaders and organisations regarding inclusion and community participation. Mantej has over 20 years of experience across community engagement, placemaking, and inclusion, emphasizing that belonging is foundational to thriving communities and effective institutions. For more information on Belonging Co visit www.belongingco.com.au and www.linkedin.com/in/mantejs

Make the #Belonging Shift

Lets grow the conversation

If this episode sparked a new idea, challenge, or possibility, share it with someone who’ll benefit. Follow and subscribe to The Belonging Shift podcast, for more such conversations. Podcast link The Belonging Shift – Conversations about community, place, leadership and the future of belonging — Belonging Co