2023 Day 3

Flow of Day 3

Welcome and framing
Meta harvest
Check-in
Teach: the Breath Pattern
Teach: Powerful Questions
Open Space Technology
Lunch
Open Space Technology harvest
Rope Game
Knowledge Expedition
Teach: Designing from Harvest
Introduction of Design for Wiser Action
Circle Practice coaching
Gala Dinner & Open Mic

Gallery

Story of Day 3
by Anna Prodan

During the mornings meta harvest , a task was set. Pick a colour, and then in silence, move to find your place in the rainbow with all the other participants. This was a reflection on the previous day, touching on order and chaos. It also led into the theme of the day - Flow.
Breathe in, breathe out. Diverge, Emerge, Converge. Processes have a flow to them, as we learned through the Breath Pattern.
Divergence - during this stage thoughts and ideas are scattered
Emergence - some clarity and understanding
Convergence - decisions and agreements are formed
We talked about how the phase of the group influences the design of the process.

Another critical component to a fruitful conversation is the question. A question can transform a room. A powerful question conveys the need and the purpose, it’s clear and inspires curiosity. It draws people to it. Each word is there for a reason, carefully chosen.

After the introduction to powerful questions we moved on to Open Space Technology. Using the questions and conversations bubbling in us all, we were invited to sign up to host or participate in an Open Space. There were spaces for exploring the meaning of life through Lego, the future of hosting, an endless circle for deepening the understanding of what we long for, a Flow Game, using hosting in hierarchical contexts, masculinity, what kind of citizen the world needs, how to build capacity in young people and so many more beautiful spaces and conversations.

An open space is organised around a few principles.
1. Whoever comes are the right people
2. Whenever it starts is the right time
3. Whatever happens is the only thing that
could have
4. When it’s over it’s over

In the afternoon another silent activity took place - the Rope Game. With six participants and three ropes in each group the task was to create a beautiful knot, using up the length of the rope of all the participants. As a witness it was fascinating to watch how each group eventually found its own language of movement and communication, how roles of leaders and followers shifted, how play, ideas of outcome and competition influenced the teams. Once the knot had been created, the participants were told to untangle it, and finally to reflect together on the experience.

With only four days it’s impossible to cover everything deeply. The hosts of this activity took us on a Knowledge Expedition to an ice berg, where questions and answers were breaking the ice. Participants chose between several available expeditions to learn more, such as how to craft powerful questions, Open Space Technology, World café, The Flow Game, Harvesting and Storytelling Collective Harvesting.

The final topic of the day was Designing from Harvest. How many meetings end without any kind of harvest? Designing from Harvest starts from what kind of tangible or intangible results you hope for based on the purpose of the meeting. Methods, questions and flow are chosen with this harvest in mind.

As an extra activity, the hosts for the next mornings check-in stayed to learn more about the Circle, and the three principles.
1. Speak with Intention
2. Listen with Attention
3. Take care of everyone
Putting some effort into decorating a space that welcomes the participants creates the right atmosphere. Also decide how to use the talking piece - with the time, context and purpose in mind. In a context with hierarchies or time constraints, having a set order helps, where as other contexts can have a different flow.

This, being the last full day of training, was also a special day. The amazing organising team had prepared a Gala Dinner and Open Mic for us! After delicious food and great company, those who felt the call shared their talents on stage, gifting many touching and hilarious moments.