Episode 8 – Cihan Koral: From blue-collar workers to CEOs – facilitating change of perspectives
Episode 7 – Laure Bruère – Dawson:
Reconnecting through the Conversation Forum – the impact of listening to youth
Join us as Laure Bruère-Dawson shares her journey as a French facilitator creating safe spaces for conversations that matter. She talks about the Conversation Forum, an event designed to bring people together during COVID-19, and how it developed into a yearly event. Laure highlights the importance of diversity, youth involvement, and listening across generations. She shares striking stories about the impact of young participants. Discover how these forums build strong connections and inspire inclusive dialogue. The theme of the event for 2025 is ‘If we shared the topics we really care about for next year, what might we discover?’. Laure invites you to expand the format of the Conversation Forum to other countries and other languages.
Episode 6 – Craig Freshley:
Bridging divides – The art of neutral facilitation in politically charged conversations
Craig Freshley is an expert in neutral facilitation and guiding good group decisions. He shares his experiences with Make-Shift Coffee Houses, designed to bridge divides between differing political views. He gives criteria and techniques for engaging diverse perspectives and creating a welcoming and safe conversation space. He emphasises the importance of a neutral venue, welcoming live music, and providing a set of ground rules. He describes the neutral facilitator as a ‘referee’ who ensures equitable participation. Additionally, Craig explains how he encourages involvement from underrepresented groups and addresses power imbalances in conversations and decision-making.
Episode 5 – Nancy Bragard:
Embracing cultural differences through understanding
Nancy Bragard is an expert in intercultural consulting and collective intelligence. She shares a compelling story about workshops she led for Dutch and French HR teams who were facing cultural misunderstandings. Through creative activities like creating cultural DNA profiles, she helped them uncover and appreciate their own and each other’s cultural values. The Dutch and French teams learned to navigate their differences, such as the Dutch directness and the French preference for nuanced communication. She also highlights the importance of creating safe spaces for open dialogue and the value of team diversity. Nancy explores broader themes of intercultural sensitivity and the benefits of embracing cultural differences for more effective collaboration.
Read the transcript or listen on Spotify.
Episode 4 – Harold Shinsato:
Self-discovery, taking responsibility for your own path
Harold Shinsato shares his journey in discovering the principles of Open Space Technology. He recounts his experiences as a consultant dealing with conflicts in large companies, his participation in self-organized Rainbow Gatherings that attracted 25,000 people, the transformative impact of COVID-19, and how what recently happened at the WOSonOS in Istanbul motivates him to take new steps in his professional path. He explores the connections between family constellations and Open Space Technology, highlighting the importance of ancestral wisdom. Additionally, he reflects on the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and emphasizes the necessity of maintaining authenticity as human beings in a rapidly changing world.
Read the transcript or listen on Spotify.
Episode 3 – Tova Averbuch:
Shared Leadership – Challenges and Opportunities
Tova Averbuch shares insights from her extensive experience as a consultant, teacher, and facilitator of Organizational Development. Opening space on a level playing field means sharing leadership and power, which must have a good reason. She provides striking examples of when and how this works, even better in hierarchical organizations. Consultants/facilitators adopt the role of a midwife, fostering authentic participation of the formal leaders and inviting everyone needed in ever-widening circles in the system.
Read the transcript or listen on Spotify.
Episode 2 – Peggy Holman:
Getting the whole system in the room for collective ownership
Peggy Holman talks about the importance of diversity and inclusion in change processes. She shares insights from her extensive experience in journalism and facilitation, emphasizing the need for open spaces where all voices can be heard and valued. In her examples, she highlights the significance of purpose, the role of diversity in collective ownership, how deep listening breaks through tensions, and the ethical responsibility of facilitators to create hospitable environments that encourage authenticity and belonging.
Read the transcript or listen on Spotify.
Episode 1 – Jane Lewis:
Creating an environment where everyone feels successful
Jane Lewis discusses collaborative spaces and creating an environment where everyone can feel successful. She tells how this works in Studio Tainan, a self-organizing space for co-creation in Taiwan. It starts with listening and understanding what people feel passionate about so creative energy can flow. Jane is an experienced facilitator and researcher who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over 30 years.
Read the transcript or listen on Spotify.
About the series
How can we make a difference together, in equity and mutuality, instead of inviting people to participate in a project they do not own? In this series, we discover what works by sharing stories of lived experience from a diversity of wise guests. Organizers, participants, facilitators, researchers of participatory projects. By sharing examples and insights we want to contribute to co-creating a world that works for all. Special thanks to Jane Lewis for helping to bring this series to life, and to our guests. Hosted by Tonnie van der Zouwen