THE HOSTING TEAM 2015

Mary-Alice Arthur

Mary Alice Arthur is a Story Activist, specialising in using story in service of positive systemic shift and to access and create collective intelligence on critical issues. Her art is creating and hosting spaces for wise action, and narrative practice forms a key part of her work, focusing both on Storytelling and StoryWork and the emergent space in-between. She hosts The Online Story Dojo. Her business — SOAR — stands for Significant Orientations, Amazing Results.

Kajsa Balkfors

Kajsa's passion is how we can unleash our individual, organisational and societal capacity to change  – and co-create the future and present we want. She has been a cultural entrepreneur for 20 years and participatory leadership is core to her practice, whether she operates in the fields of arts, conscious business, education or society. Kajsa is one of the leaders and entrepreneurs behind internationally renowned Cirkus Cirkör, which established contemporary circus in Sweden with the vision to change the world it. ”All parts of society have a lot to learn from the circus world, not least in terms of cross-collaboration, dedication and relationship to risk. ” Kajsa is co-founder of Unleash, a Swedish based consultancy and training company. She is also a co-founder of Sweden 3.0 and an adjunct in cirkus management and entrepreneurship at Stockholm University of the Arts.

Maaike Boumans

Maaike is a poet, traveller, and bridge builder. Called by the complex challenges of our time, and inspired by the simplicity and innate beauty of life, Maaike has been on a quest of what it means to walk the new way, both personally and collectively. That journey has taken her from China to Palestine, from New Zealand to Marocco, and from Ireland to Sweden, to hear her heart calling in the power of stories, artistic research, Cultural Anthropology, Mindfulness and the Art of Hosting. Her work is around creating conditions for meaningful conversations and wise action to generate systems change. She co-founded the Healthcare Leadership Summer School, and is currently part of the ALIA Europe core team. Maaike holds an MSc in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability.

Helen Titchen Beeth

You could say that the heart of my work is bringing the new paradigm alive inside the old. Since 2006 I have been bringing participation into the EU institutions - especially the European Commission, where I have worked for the last 27 years. I work both below the radar and behind the scenes as well as officially in large-scale multi-stakeholder events - wherever I am invited, and whatever it takes! My special obsessions are capturing and working strategically with the results of conversations, and doing that lovely invisible stuff that brings the space alive. 

Bob Stilger

Bob is a conversation host, teacher, speaker, consultant, facilitator and coach who has spent 40 years building strong and vibrant organizations and communities. For the past 4years he has been working in Japan's disaster area. He is a Co-president of New Stories, where he focuses on building resilience and spaces for emergence

Zand Craig

As a social entrepreneur and process facilitator, Zand has spent much of his professional life working with organizations such as Corrymeela Peace & Reconciliation Centre and TIDES Training to facilitate and empower communities involved in the Northern Ireland conflict to co-create new peaceful paths forward together. In 2008, inspired by the interconnection and balance of healthy socio-ecological systems, Zand expanded the focus of his work to encompass sustainable development. This shift has swept him from co-founding the 7th Generation Project to facilitating ‘Xpeditions’ in China. He spent 2011/12 in Sweden studying for a Masters in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability before joining the programme coordination team at the International Youth Initiative Program (YIP) for 2012/13. Since 2012 Zand has been applying Art of Hosting practices professionally in Sweden with Sweden 3.0, World Values Initiative, MSLS, YIP, and through Strategic Visualisation Trainings; in Zimbabwe with Kufunda Village; and in the UK and Ireland with Social-Labs.org and Classroom Alive Ireland. You can find out more about Zand at: zandcraig.com

Aurimas Ražanauskas

Aurimas is Kaospilot, Co-Founder "Co-Creating Communities” and Co-Innitiator of AoH in Educaiton, Lithuania
I am a Participatory Leadership consultant using Systemic and Design Thinking tools to help the groups and individuals unleash their potential and achieve the best results possible.
I believe that knowledge and answers to all the problems are already in the room. Good frames, facilitation and interventions are the things that help the potential of the group and individuals to be revealed and used for common good. That is where I focus my professional life - to help the others get the best of themselves to solve all the problems that they have and to co-create the reality they want to live in.

Steve Ryman

A new world is being born and Steve is grateful to being playing a role in this amazing time of transformation.  After many years of working in a nonprofit organization in a small US community, in 2013 Steve responded to life’s call and became a global nomad.  He provides gifts of hosting, stewarding, holding space, witnessing, coaching and listening in support of evolutionary transformation while collecting and sharing stories of collaboration, innovation, compassion and community.  He expects to be a life-long apprentice in the Art of Hosting which continues to be a source of learning and a community of friendship.  While his preference is to work in a gifting and sharing economy, Steve does maintain a business identity, Itineris Coaching and Consulting.