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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Join us at the Haringey Community Hub on January 25th 7-9pm for an evening of Council and listening circles. 

More about the event and how to book here.

An introduction to & seeds of a practice group in

Intergenerational Council

& Listening Circles

Surfacing Wisdom, Creativity and Understanding for our communities & in education.

With Jeremy Thres (Smoke) and Kitty Jackson

Introductory evening Jan 25th, then 4 Thursdays Feb 22nd, March 22nd, April 19th & May 24th (tbc) 7-9pm.

The Together room, Haringey Community Hub, 8 Caxton Rd, Wood Green N22 6TB (Just behind Morrisons less than 5 mins Wood Green tube, Piccadilly line)

£10 - £30/night (contributing more will help cover costs and sustain this work so if you can & feel too that would be much appreciated, however also if £10 is too much for you but you sincerely want to join us just give us a call).

Please note, this is a series so do speak to us if you would like to come but for some reason can’t attend the first night.

“Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Badger, in “Crow & Weasel.” Barry Lopez

In listening of that quality one can feel safer not just to share, but also to explore questions within ourselves, and as such it becomes a true learning environment.

So how can we create that quality of listening and exploration for more people?

Intergenerational Council and Listening Circles are one of the answers to this question. Through their simple format and guidelines they create a dedicated space where participants can share and explore questions arising and all present learn from and with each other.

Western thinking can often polarise into linear, either or, perspectives. This frequently leads to an adversarial quality of communication, one which is so pervasive it is easy to despair, however it doesn’t have to be this way.

Within Council everyone’s unique voice and experience can increasingly be recognised as contributing to the understanding of the greater whole.

Though this is an era of change and great diversity, young people can be under tremendous pressure to conform, being even in danger if they do not. This is particularly so among their peers, (vulnerable adolescents can have great difficulty welcoming difference – mainly because their own has not been), but also through the online world, advertising and the media. Parents and schools also wish to guide and influence young people, and one of the most important ways they can do this is through helping them in “finding their own discerning voice.” This is ultimately what will guide and protect them beyond the family nest and school gate.

In practice to discover this requires space. Safe space which allows and supports self-exploration whilst also being enriched and informed by the experience of others. Intergenerational Council interwoven with other creative activities offers just such a setting. Its methodology support people to feel welcome and heard, and when people feel valued and accepted in their own diversity and uniqueness then there is a greater possibility that they can bring curiosity and interest, not just feel threatened by another’s.

As the Buddha said: “True love is born of understanding.”  

Part of Council’s growth in the States was fuelled by the LA riots in the early 90’s. Palms Middle school had a huge diversity (39 languages spoken) and a thousand pupils. Following the riots it felt pupils were further dividing on racial lines and “standing off from each other.”

Inspired by the Council programme at Crossroads, an independent school in Santa Monica, council was introduced across the year groups & also parents and governors. The success of this endeavour in turn inspired a council in schools programme across the greater Los Angeles area and now thousands of young people and their communities benefit from weekly council.

Tags for Forum Posts: council, education, listening circles

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