Facilitation
Sustained personalized consultation equipps clients with research, educational, and facilitation skills as well as production materials to replicate and adapt the collaborative events or/and artistic interventions with their communities or organizations.
Facilitation Combines Research & Education
Our approach to facilitation requires specialist knowledge, yet the facilitator does not position themselves as an expert who holds knowledge that people need. Instead, they facilitate understandings, but do not prescribe them. We define collaboration as a practice where clients question their knowledge, how this knowledge was formed, and where it might fit within other forms of knowledge. Understandings of cultural experiences are facilitated through relational, experiential approaches to make connections across multiple cultural experiences.
We define knowledge as a person’s subjective experience. In order to help people access that knowledge of self, our facilitators offer a series of hybrid activities that include experimental, performance-based practices. Researching self, multiple ways self can be performed, and sharing that knowledge with a group of people is an inclusive, collaborative practice. This process of generating and sharing knowledge establishes a common language specific to the group. Utilizing this common language is the starting point from which we guide clients in our programming.
Our adaptive methodology guides people to translate social theory of nonviolence in their own words and preferred language. Through reflecting on how the theory connects to their own experiences, our consultation incorporates clients’ translation of theory into written and physical movement. Together, we co-create a way to integrate the combination of verbal and nonverbal translations of theory into activities.
We rehearse, test, and apply these activities during simulations. Once we discover which technique creates the most impact, we document the process and outline actionable steps to advance the clients’ needs and values. We define the approach to a personalized technique which is practice of nonviolence that can be activated in daily life.
Example of Our Research Methodology
We begin with a somatic activity to generate focus, awareness, and attention. During the activity below, participants were asked to “let go of thinking of their body as a unit”.
Here is an example of what a few participants created.
Here is an excerpt from a research session. Participants reflected on ways the methodology and practice connects to activating nonviolence.
Significant Change:
Assessing Levels of Confidence,
Connection, & Transformation
To determine how mutual understanding and trust was formed, monitoring and evaluation specialist will assess to what extent the interventions created cultural understanding, trust, and emotional relief on a scale ranging from very comfortable to very uncomfortable. It will also assess the level of connection enacted through body language, vocalization, and interaction during group formation during activities ranging from strong interconnectedness to extreme division.
Clients are also invited to create their own criteria for self-assessment and group evaluation. In addition to these assessment a survey will be sent to all participants after each phase.