SDN |

Who are we? We are a non-profit, free association of people with a commitment to personal growth and social development and an interest in the issues of our times. Our purpose is to connect with one another, to be creative, and seek meaning and connection from taking action in the world. Read More About Who We Are | Register your interest in becoming part of the SDN network

SDN 2026 Annual Retreat Uralla NSW January

Retreat Report: Uralla 2026

Participants at the SDN 2026 Annual Retreat — Group photo: Roslyn, Doug, Roger, Carl, Joan, John, Kath, Sal, Bernie, Harry. Front row – Nicolette, Dave, Carol, Robin, Amy, and Cooper.

The annual Social Developers Network retreat was held at the Uralla Community Centre in northern NSW. It is an excellent venue for an SDN retreat and we were accommodated at the nearby Top Pub and Dingle B&B.

There were sixteen participants – eight men and eight women. Nine had attended an annual retreat, but this was the first experience for seven, including two younger people. We came from Port Macquarie, Bonny Hills, Macksville, Armidale, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and the northern NSW border/QLD.

Over four days the topics presented ranged from poetry to philosophy, from China to change, and from meditation to a music concert. Games of decision-making, legacies, labyrinths and Aboriginal histories, were all part of an exciting and varied program. As were utopias and lives well-lived, how to deal with blame, ‘a can of worms’ and a smoking ceremony. Add one famous Indigenous C&W performer and this Retreat could not have been better!

A fascinating variety of presentations was on offer, as this selection indicates:

Our Lost Connection with Nature
China: Past and Present
Be the Change you want to See
The Oven Bird
Truth and Treaty
Open Heart and Mind
Pathmakers: Markets, Meaning and Commons
Blame! How to process it.
Legacy – paying it forward
Re-imagining Utopia
Life’s Purpose, As I See It
Uncle Roger in concert

Keep an eye open on this website or in the SDN newsletter for invitations to further SDN Retreats.

NED-SDN October 2025 Newsletter

SDN 2025 Annual Workshop Guthega NSW January

Workshop Report: Guthega 2025

Participants at the SDN 2025 Annual Workshop, Held at Guthega NSW

From left top row – Rosaria Palmese, Roberta Baker, Harry Creamer, Sacha Free, Chris Larkin, David Purnell, Lesley Shuttleworth, Mark Spain, Mary Stringer and David Crew. Sitting - John Russell, Dayle Summerfield, Carol Baker and Dave Smith.

The annual Social Developers Network workshop was held at the Tiobunga Ski Lodge at Guthega in the Snowy Mountains of NSW.

It is a striking place and an excellent venue for an SDN workshop.

There were fourteen participants - six men and eight women. Most had attended an annual workshop, but this was the first experience for three people.

We came from Canberra, Melbourne, Beechworth, Deniliquin and Port Macquarie.

The workshop took place over four days and included a music concert, a poems session and an afternoon when people went for a bushwalk. With brisk mountain air and mostly sunshine every day this summer in the Snowy Mountains provided a relief to the heat and humidity elsewhere.

We quickly formed a family of friends, sharing our thoughts, emotions, hopes and fears in an atmosphere of trust and support.

A fascinating variety of presentations was offered, as the titles indicate:

Living ethically in a world in crisis
What actions do we take in a chaotic world?
‘World Leaders’ exercise
Speaking truth to power
A history and philosophy of Buddhism

Race relations in Deniliquin
What makes a community?
Therapeutic communities
‘Corbett’ – a going forth project
Restorative practice conference

Acknowledgment of John Russell

We also held an afternoon tea to say farewell to John Russell as this was his last SDN workshop. John was instrumental in founding SDN with Ned Iceton in the 1970s.

We noted his long history of commitment to community and social justice in many walks of life.

Reflections:

I loved the venue and the inspiration it provided for ideas and discussion.
Genuine connection and a real sense of community began immediately.
The mature approach in drawing up the agenda and discussing various sessions was a joy.
I valued the rich conversations and preparing our meals together.
I enjoyed all the presentations and the ease with which we all got on together.

The concert was a highlight for me, especially the sing-alongs.
Ethical considerations arose and were dealt with in respectful and caring ways.
The experience was uplifting and positive.
I had a deep experience of humanity striving for its best.
Overall, the joy of meeting and mingling with thoughtful, kind people aware of the world we inhabit and all its highs and lows.

SDN is a network of people interested in the challenges of our time and keen to share knowledge, experiences and concerns. Our workshops are about personal, social and community development, and give everyone the chance to have their say. There is no fixed agenda (we create our own), no hierarchy, and no experts (we all are). Whoever comes is meant to be there!

Participants have the opportunity (but no pressure) to present to the group during their own session about any issue of importance from global to local, personal to political – in a trusting and supportive atmosphere. Over four days of convivial in-depth conversations and stimulating discussion SDN workshops provide a forum for big and small ideas, our life stories and personal growth. It’s a chance to share thoughts on creating a good life, share concerns and problems, our journeys to interesting places, insights and personal stories, where we’re at in life right now.

The exchanges made possible at SDN workshops are invaluable and set us up better equipped and more empowered for moving forward.

Reﬂections on the Social Developers’ Network (SDN) Its Origins, Ethos and Purpose

A Paper by Michael Maher, NED Business Manager

In this article, we delve into the life and philosophy of Dr. Ned Iceton, the visionary founder of SDN who dedicated himself to fostering genuine human connections and personal development. His diverse experiences—from working with remote Aboriginal communities in Australia to studying community programs across South Asia—shaped his belief in the importance of self-agency and authentic relationships.

We explore the bureaucratic challenges he faced, particularly his opposition to top-down approaches that neglected the voices of the people they aimed to serve. These struggles inspired him to create the SDN Workshops in 1975, collaborative gatherings that encourage deep discussions without hierarchical structures.

By rekindling authentic human interaction, these workshops address the existential crisis of identity in modern society, nurturing profound connections and helping participants transcend societal masks.

[Read the full paper]

SDN Workshop Johns River 2024

Gary Williams, Harry Brandy, Harry Creamer, John Heath, John Kelly and Shane Drumgold, Falls Forest Retreat, September 2024

Time for morning tea – John, Gary, Harry, John and Shane

SDN 2024 Aboriginal Men’s Workshop Falls Forest Retreat NSW

A workshop was held in late September involving Aboriginal men from the mid north coast and Canberra. The venue was the Falls Forest Retreat between Port Macquarie and Taree in a beautiful valley between South Brother and Middle Brother Mountains on Birrpai country.

Recognising that I am not an Indigenous man, the workshop needed a co-host. Independent Birrpai Goori man, John Heath agreed to take this role and help recruit men to the workshop. From my years as an anthropologist and recent efforts at repatriating my archives to Aboriginal people and communities, I was also able to invite men I knew.

Others present were activist, actor and language man Gary Williams, Vietnam veteran and hostels manager Harry Brandy, Shane Drumgold who until recently was the ACT DPP, and John Kelly, one of Ray ‘Shunk’ Kelly’s sons. I worked with Ray on the NSW Sites Survey from 1973-1987 and gave a presentation showing sites we recorded and the old people we worked with.

Other topics included culture & country, discovering Indigenous identity, forced adoptions, family trauma, problems with some claims to Aboriginality, Australian racism, and various achievements relating to each participant.

This was the first Aboriginal men’s workshop to be held under the SDN banner for 50 years. NED Foundation founder Ned Iceton held workshops with Aboriginal men after he arrived in Armidale in the early 1970s. There was a feeling that another workshop like this should be offered sometime soon.

Harry Creamer, SDN Coordinator

SDN 2024 Annual Workshop Don Bosco Vic

This year’s annual Social Developers Network workshop was held at the Don Bosco Retreat, Lysterfield east of Melbourne. It’s an ideal venue – accommodation on site, large meeting room, well-equipped kitchen and spacious dining room, set in delightful pastoral surrounds of paddocks, giant gum trees and granite rocks.

There were eleven participants - six men and five women. Seven had attended an SDN workshop before, but this was their first experience for four others. We came from Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle and Deniliquin and quickly formed a family of friends, sharing our thoughts, emotions, hopes and fears, in an atmosphere of trust and support.

As SDN grows there will be more workshops like this one. Don’t miss the next!

SDN workshop group. From left top row – David ‘Sal’ Salomon, David Crew, Allen Edwards, Sarah Houseman, Lesley Shuttleworth, Lisa Moore, Richard de Martin, Rosaria Palmese. Sitting: Noel Holmes, John Russell, Heather Lawrence.

The range of topics covered in presentations was outstanding:

Restorative practice working with young people.
‘Ears of the Heart’ project involving Kimberly elder Kankawa Nagarra.
Post Voice Referendum stories.
The Colebrook home in South Australia where Aboriginal children were taken, a Reconciliation group and creating a memorial garden.
Introducing the ‘Detoxing Deniliquin’ workshops.
The mythical Hero’s Journey as it applies to our own lives.
Concepts of change when seeking to intervene in contemporary predicaments or accept as beyond our current scope.

We also held a grief and sorry business campfire, an art therapy mini-workshop and deep listening exercises that brought people closer together.

The 2023 Social Developers’ Network Podcast

We're excited to have you join our community, where individual progress and community development stand side by side.
Join the Social Developers' Network Podcast Community

The podcast where personal and social development converge in pursuit of a better world. We are a non-profit, free association of individuals committed to fostering positive change and growth.

In our initial episodes, we have the privilege of sitting down with people who have played integral roles in the SDN. They are a diverse collection of professionals in NGOs, community organisations, public service and private practice. Through national and regional workshops, we come together to share knowledge our experiences, develop and refine our practices and recharge our energy.

We are making these podcasts available via this site. Click through to listen.

The first 5 episodes are with Joan McCarthy, Mark Spain, Lesley Shuttleworth, Noel Holmes, and Harry Creamer.

SDN 2023 Regional Workshop Riverdell SA

A regional SDN workshop was held at the Riverdell Spiritual Centre north of Adelaide from 12/9 to 15/9. The facility was very suitable for an SDN workshop and staff were helpful, friendly, flexible, and generous. Nature abounds at Riverdell, surrounded by a rapidly-developing area. Their website is https://riverdell.org.au/

A total of 14 people attended the workshop, with 62% coming from South Australia and a gender distribution of 57% men and 43% women. A fascinating variety of presentations was on offer, for example - Convivial conversations, Beautiful questions/trouble, Would I lie to you?, How to improve the world, and Shaking medicine.

Stay tuned for the 2024 annual SDN workshop in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne from 15-19 January.

Harry Creamer
SDN Coordinator

Group photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Group photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

I appreciated the attention to detail throughout the prep stages and then in our gathered collaboration.

I have great memories from that workshop week! Thank you to all the organisers, and looking forward to attending another workshop one day!

Thank you for the opportunity you gave me via your presence to truly understand what it means to be with ‘kindred spirits’, and what shared humanity feels like!

It was my very first SDN workshop, so I was unsure how things would unfold. Hooray!! It turned out to be a truly memorable experience. I loved the opportunity to participate in the adventure of people presenting something, and that workshop participants were open-minded, authentic and kind.

Workshop Images

Group dinner photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Group dinner photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Morning tea photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Morning tea at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Night fire photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Night fire at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Session photo at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

Session at SDN Workshop SDN Workshop Riverdell Sep 2023

SDN Newsletter May 2023

The Social Developers Network is entering a new phase. The challenge is how to broaden the appeal of SDN to attract a more diverse range of people, and how to grow the SDN offering while maintaining its core values.

The May 2023 Social Developers' Network Newsletter is attached for download.

Role and Objects of the Social Developers’ Network (SDN)

The SDN is a non-profit unincorporated association whose primary task is the support and training for citizens engaged in constructive volunteer initiatives beneficial to the community. The SDN is a support platform only, and does itself not engage in any kind of active lobbying, projects, or public policy initiatives. The SDN does not hold any political agenda, and welcomes people from all political, racial, and social identities. The SDN is predominately a receptive space for those engaged in community initiatives to come together to discuss, reflect, learn and rejuvenate through a uniquely designed process of interaction. Read More

What is Social Development?

Social Development is the Intersection between Community Development and Personal Development.

Many citizens in Australia and elsewhere give generously of their time and energy to contribute to the wellbeing of the local community and the wider society. Some seek a group where ideas and plans can be discussed in an open way, and where constructive feedback and support can be provided.

The Social Developers' Network

The Social Developers' Network (SDN) is a non-profit, free association of people with a commitment to personal and social development.

Social Developers meet at national and regional workshops, to contribute and share knowledge and experiences.

Our purpose is to be creative and action-oriented: we constantly seek explanations which emerge from action in the world. We are equally interested both in individual people and in the wider social and ecological systems on which our collective wellbeing depends.

What are SDN Workshops?

SDN Workshops are real and relevant, on a personal and social level, for those engaging actively and sincerely in the issues of our times.

The vital and central component of SDN membership is participation in recurrent workshops. Participants each discuss a wide range of self-chosen topics, covering everything from personal, through philosophical, professional, operational and practical issues.

Reflect. Share. Participate.