School for Changemakers Summer Conference 2015
From Friday 3 to Sunday 5 July, the School for Changemakers (SfCM) held a summer conference at Initiatives of Change centre in London.
The theme was ‘A change in human attitudes and behaviours’ which was addressed through a structured programme of talks, workshops, community group discussions and quiet time.
This event comprised a mixture of alumni spanning the five years of SfCM’s history as well as new members – some joining us from Initiatives of Change in Lebanon and Australia.
The programme consisted of an introductory networking event, where participants shared their experiences of change and answered reflective questions about themselves in order to promote values-based discussions.
Amongst those who attended the conference was Andrew Dukes, a rising entrepreneur, who spoke about comfort zones in the context of change, with audience participation. Gemma Perkins, director of The Self Leadership Initiative Ltd, led a workshop on the nature of changing behaviours.
Participants were honoured, as always, to have SfCM members Elsa Vogel and Fiona Daukes share their life changing experiences and narrate their powerful life stories, which were very inspirational and moving. Alexander Nunn, Head of Campaigns and Communications for Action for Happiness, delivered a highly self-reflective workshop which directed individuals to reflect on the concepts of wonder, gratitude, hope, love and change.
Further in the programme, the cohort was divided into smaller, intimate community groups in order to allow for deeper discussion of key themes (the present, the past, the future) over the weekend.
SfCM use of quiet time across all of its events allowed for reflection which took the form of morning quiet times, guided meditation sessions and moments of silence after discussions. The evening programme consisted of social activities so that participants could connect to each other on a social level, and also find out more about each other’s life stories and hopes for the future.
English