Douglas Rushkoff has a useful article on the Occupy movement. I am actually loath indulge in much analysis over what is happening in New York and now elsewhere, because the events defy analysis, especially from a traditional lens. But in this article, Rushkoff points to some of the things that are happening and why they matter for organizing large social conversations on the pressing issues of our day. To be fair, the reason why some mainstream news journalists and many of the audiences they serve see the Occupy Wall Street protests as incoherent is because the press and the public …
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Leaving New York today. It has been an incredible four days here working with my good friends Kelly McGowan and Tuesday Ryan-Hart and Lex Schroeder, Aniestla Rugama, Alissa Schwartz, and Aswad Foster. We were running a workshop called the Art of Social Justice in which we were investigating the intersection of participatory process and social justice work. Over three days we explored a framework that Tuesday has developed and investigated with Kelly for the past year. The framework includes and transcends the gifts and drawbacks of traditional social justice frameworks and of what we know about participatory process. Tuesday is …
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I’m currently engaged in a number of projects that have me working at the margins, exploring margins, eliminating margins and generally working with difference, otherness, power and exclusion. These projects include: Running an Open Space Technology event in September to create collaborative actions around reducing addictions-related stigma in the health system in Vancouver. Working with the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in the United States on supporting and expanding a culture of welcome and acceptance in their work with migrants and refugees, work that is stunningly radical in the context of the current “conversation” on immigration in the USA. Part …
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What a pattern…all over the world police attacking citizens…it happened here in Canada too last year during the G20 talks (that probably had some bearing on what subsequently unfolded in Greece). The most powerful line in that video is that one that welcomes us to the age where everyone is innocent except the people, who are guilty. That is a stirring reminder of how this story is being told. If you are not a part of the problem, you cannot be a part of the solution! So, proud to stand with all those who identify as “guilty.” Time for those …
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Come an join Teresa Posakony, Tenneson Woolf, Caitlin Frost and me for an Art of Hosting learning retreat on our home island, Bowen Island, near Vancouver this October. Held at Rivendell, atop Cates Hill, this Art of Hosting will explore recent work and learning about self-organization, participatory leadership and community resiliency. We will explore a number of participatory facilitation methods, engage in personal reflective practice using The Work of Byron Katie and delve into models of systems change being developed through the Berkana Institute. For registration information, visit the Berkana website, and please consider joining us for a power …