by Leeann Murphy, South Metropolitan Public Health Unit, Western
Australia; Penny Kordyl, Cultural and Community Services, City
of Fremantle, Western Australia; Marie Thorne, Indigenous elder,
Fremantle. Issue addressed: This paper outlines the evaluation
of the Indigenous Youth Arts and Culture Project using
appreciative inquiry, an assets-based community development
process that enhances positive potential in people and
communities. Methods: Twenty project participants, including six
young people, seven family members and seven service providers,
participated in a one-day appreciative inquiry workshop
consisting of four phases: discover, dream, design and deliver.
Appreciative inquiry is an empowering process that enables
participants to collectively identify the very best of “what is”
and allow for imagination and creativity to flow to determine
“what should be”. Results and Conclusion: Using an appreciative
inquiry approach to evaluate this project engaged participants
and allowed them to identify project