News from Pioneers of Change - October, 2004

>> Welcome to October 2004!

We returned just a few days ago from Summer School, our annual global gathering. We are still finding we have sand in various places and the smell of smoke on our clothes (see “In Focus” for more).

We are thrilled to introduce you to Dumisani Nyoni. He is a Zimbabwean Pioneer, living in Boston who has recently joined the Cultivation Unit (CU - core team working full time to cultivate the global Pioneers of Change Network). Dumi brings a wealth of experience in facilitating global community and social change. His wisdom, humor, skill and general funkiness have already added a lot to the forward movement of Pioneers of Change. You can read more about him at <http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/dumisani>. Please join us in welcoming Dumi to the CU.

We already have 3 learning journeys planned for 2005 in Sustainability (Brazil), Arts for Social Change (South Africa) and Immigration and Integration (The Netherlands). There is more information below, please feel warmly invited to join and spread the word to those who you think should be there.

We each feel in our own way a deepened sense of commitment to the network and belief that our individual and collective work is truly needed in the world. We are all eager to act appropriately to support you and create the structures that will allow the network to realize its potential (Look out for news on our new on-line approach).

Love and Best Wishes,

The Cultivation Unit (Danielle, Dumi and Sera)

IN FOCUS: Summer School 2004

Twenty-eight Pioneers from fourteen countries took part in the annual Pioneers of Change Summer School. Held at the beautiful Kosi Bay area in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, on South Africa’s East Coast. Summer School was a time for connecting, reflecting and focusing on “what it means to be a Pioneer.” Conversations throughout Summer School were a balance between looking inwards at the Pioneers of Change network and community, brainstorming around several challenges we are facing and that lie in the months and years ahead, as well and thinking through the change that is needed in the world and our relationship to this change.

Using innovative technologies such as Open Space and the “U” Process, we delved into a wide range of topics and gave birth to new ideas, renewed commitments and strengthened our relationships. Summer school was an intense journey of the self in the presence and company of others through a series of learnings and reflections around what it means to Pioneer change. What are we to stand for? Where are we making difference? Who is putting their stake in the ground and committing themselves to being a force for true transformation?

One of the lines in the invitation was “Let’s put our stake in the Ground, this is what it means to be a Pioneer, this is what we are working for” Summer School 2004, by this magical intention was really about each one of us searching for that commitment, and paying attention to the needs of our community to enable our “countless ideas and splendid plans” to come to life. At the end of our days together, many of us wrote out an intention to create something, with an invitation to the community. We placed our brightly colored proposals onto the sand and staked them down for all to see. Many rich new ventures and inquiries were spawned in that moment.

Pioneers from Lagos, Nigeria and Barcelona, Spain are hoping to host new local networks, while those from Zimbabwe and London feel inspired to revitalize existing networks. New communities of practice were formed (The role of Government, Peace Education for Children, etc.) and a lot of new energy crystallized for inquiries around Facilitation Tools, Sustainability, African Treasures and Arts for Social Change. Look for an upcoming email with all the Invitations to the global community emerging from Summer School.


KNOWLEDGE SHARING


EVENT QUEUE

Pioneers New Year
Denmark, around December 31st 2004 (Exact dates to be announced)

Based on experiences from the last two years, a “Pioneer New Years” retreat is offered in Denmark. We will explore the year that passed by. Explore hopes for the new year and celebrate both. The so called U-model, will be used as a kind of structure for the retreat which will be a mix of serious celebration with good food and drinks, and a safe field to explore meditation techniques and other practices like Tai Chi, Flowgame, all dependent on the people who shows up.

If you are interested, then email why, and what you could possibly bring. Contact person: carsten@pioneersofchange.net

Learning Journey on Sustainable Development
Brazil, 1 – 13 February, 2005 (tentative)

Pioneers of Change in Brazil is offering a Learning Journey on Sustainable Development to be held in early 2005. A learning journey is about creating an experience - through a physical journey that is also a real journey into other mindsets – that enables participants to develop and improve their practice as a change agent. The Pioneers of Change learning journeys support a process whereby participants are exposed to a different practice or perspective and are supported in their re-integration and development of critical consciousness in understanding that different practice or perspective. The aim of a learning journey is to provide a deep learning experience on a specific theme or practice, facilitate connections with others who share an interest in the theme and enable participants to put ideas into practice upon return to his/her country, community or place of work.

The learning journey on sustainable development is a 13-day experience, starting (optionally) in Porto Alegre at the World Social Forum, spending a few days in an eco-village, moving on to Curitiba, then to Rio to join one of the Samba Schools to convey messages of ecology and social responsibility through art, music and dance and ending in Sao Paulo. Contact Patricia Sogayar Patricia@ellerni.org for more information.

Arts for Social Change
South Africa, February 22 to March 5

WELCOME!! We invite YOU to the Arts for Social Change Learning Journey
in the City of Gold, Johannesburg, South Africa

“Art flourishes where there is a sense of adventure.”
Alfred North Whitehead

The Arts are stronger than the languages we speak in words. They have a direct and immediate effect on us, they go straight into our hearts where they speak to us of universal themes that we all understand. Participation in the arts is participation in life - it connects us again to life and reminds us that we are all creative beings. Creativity and creative expression is natural and instinctive. It nourishes us in a deeper way than intellectual pursuits alone. The Arts for Social Change programme is exploring the role of the arts in social change. Our intention with this programme is both to understand the power of, and generate commitment to, working with the arts in social change, and to build motivation and practical capacity of participants to apply creative tools and processes to issues of community transformation.

Please email nicole@pioneersofchange.net for an application form and/or a funding proposal, or to subscribe to the Community of Practice list on arts for social change, email arts-join@lists.pioneersofchange.net

Learning Journey: Integration in the 21st century
The Netherlands, May 2005

Do you have a passion and sense of inquiry for the position and integration of immigrants? If you are willing to share and challenge your wisdom and knowledge and have an active commitment to the issues related to integration of immigrants, we invite you to this learning journey in The Netherlands. The focus of this Learning Journey will be to discover the practices and principles of a society that works for more than one culture.

Dutch society has been an immigration country for a long time already. Because of the variety of immigrant groups and experiences with different times and ways they merged into Dutch culture, The Netherlands can be regarded as a rich field to challenge and deepen current perceptions and understandings. By learning from and with each other, while using all the perspectives available we aim to uncover the root causes of the current situation and identify what positive contributions each of us could make to the future.

This Learning Journey aims to bring together participants aged 25 to 35 who are involved in the issues of immigration and integration within the business, government and civil society sectors. Over the course of five days, participants will engage in three learning spaces (Observation & Inquiry, Retreat & Reflection, and Practice) to explore integration and diversity.

Please contact Moraan Gilad on moraan@pioneersofchange.net <mailto:moraan@pioneersofchange.net> for a more elaborate invitation, application form or other information.

Art of Hosting & Convening Conversations (North America)
Nova Scotia, October 12-15, 2004
British Columbia, December 5-8, 2004
Whidbey Island, March 3-6, 2005

The Art of Hosting is designed for those who see themselves gathering others to shape and greet the future in our communities, organizations, and lives. It is also a conference for all of us who are practicing and continuing to discover the art of convening conversations in a variety of settings.

One comment from Susan Neden on last springs event:

"I asked for a night’s lodgings and was given the keys to the kingdom! I experienced one of those precious times in life when the pieces which have been worked on consciously and unconsciously over many years come together in the right environment, at the right time. An opening appears and in walking through one’s life is altered."

Tuition - $550 USD, Accommodations & Meals -$345-445 USD
For Information or to Register contact:
Teresa Posakony (teresa@berkana.org; 206 372 3405)
Or Tenneson Woolf (tenneson@berkana.org; 801 376 2213)

If you wish to come as an individual (not sponsored by an organisation) and the price is too challenging, let us know and we'll reach an agreement together. It would be great to have you with us! If you know of others who are ready and would be inspired to join us please pass on the invitation.

Come to Kufunda – www.kufunda.org
Art of Hosting, 27th-29th January, 2005
African Treasures Learning Journey, August 2005 (exact dates TBA)

from Marianne Knuth marianne@kufunda.org

Art of Hosting, 27th-29th January, 2005
See Above for a description. This in an Art of Hosting for Pioneers and community builders in Southern Africa and beyond.
Contact Marianne if you are interested in joining.

African Treasures Learning Journey
It feels like the time has come for us to open our doors to friends of Kufunda from around the world. It is therefore our immense pleasure to invite you to join us for an African Treasures Learning Journey based out of Kufunda in August 2005 (exact dates to be announced). The event will be an opportunity to experience the richness of African community, culture and wisdom as well as the mundane, but somewhat special, every day life in the village. We will be spending time living and working at Kufunda, we will visit and engage with some of our partner communities, exploring with them the learning that they are going through as they are pursuing sustainability, working off traditional knowledge and wisdom, and we will take a few days visiting a game reserve to also connect with the beauty and magic of the African land and wildlife. The journey will seek to explore what Kufunda and more importantly Zimbabwe and Africa have to offer the world – what can we learn as we venture into Africa? We are just in the early stages of planning this journey, so more information will be forthcoming. Please do let us know already now if you might be interested in joining us for around 10-14 days in August of next year.

Permaculture: Sustainable Land Use Training for Self-reliance
Tlholego Eco Village, Rustenburg, South Africa
15-18 November 2004

A four-day on-location course in using the principles of permaculture to enable people to apply nature’s wisdom to design and practice for food security and land-based livelihoods will be held at the Tlholego Eco Village in North West Province from 15-18 November 2004. The workshop will give participants the skills to meet their own needs, as well as their community’s, while simultaneously re-connecting with nature and learning to restore their environment. This course draws on Tlholego’s 13 years of experience in passing on permaculture and sustainable livelihood technologies to local people, along with partnerships that extend to building the capacity of communities around the world. It will also bring together traditional knowledge and the best international methods for implementation in South Africa.

To reserve your space in the course, or to get more information on Permaculture and Sustainable Development, please contact Erika Nelson or Chris Swart on 014 592 7090. The Sustainable Land Use Training for Self-reliance course will run Monday - Thursday, 15-18 November 2004. Workshop cost is R2,200.00 per person, which includes accommodation, 3 meals a day + 2 teas, course materials, and hands-on field training making compost heaps, taking soil samples, building swales and handling and planting appropriate traditional plant species.

An Early Bird Registration Discount applies before 15 October! Pay only R1900.00 if paid in full with deposit slip faxed to our attention."

Creative Inner Cities Initiative: inner city inner journey
Johannesburg, South Africa, 17 November 2004

The CICI invites you to go on an exciting inner journey through the arts. Take a break and experience an enlivening, relaxing and fun day. The day’s journey will provide an opportunity to explore your own creativity in a unique space – the Creative Inner City Initiative’s art centre. You will leave this experience with a deeper understanding of who you truly are, as well as finished art works that capture your essence. You will also discover the hidden talents you have that are waiting to be released. Surprise yourself! Cost R 500 contact Carol (011) 788-2230 / 082-352-5998 or carol@pixie.co.za

>>IDEAS >>ON THE WEB

www.dialogonleadership.org

What Otto Scharmer has done here, basically, is accomplish a dream: to meet the greatest thinker and "sensers" in the world and interview them and post the transcripts for all who want to engage. They range from Sheldrake to Senge, to Varela to the greatest Zen master in the world, literally.

Martijn Sjoorda

>>IDEAS >> MAGAZINE REVIEW

Fortune Magazine, Europe Edition October 2004 [Vol. 150, No. 6, October 4, 2004]

China is the current toast of global economists. Touted as a success story, a model of economic growth with 8, 9 and in some recent years 10% GDP growth per year. The world's biggest manufacturers and corporate brands are moving to China in a big way. McDonalds, for example, plans on building 100 (yes ONE HUNDRED) new restaurants in China a year!!! (see http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2004-01/15/content_299083.htm) The scramble for China is on.

Major business and economics magazines have in the past few months focused heavily on China. A recent Fortune magazine issue dedicated a lot of coverage to China and it's booming economy. Scary stuff, yet fascinating and interesting at the same time. The edition of Fortune gives a rather details view on what is happening in China and its impact on the rest of the world. If you are interested in global economics, politics and any range of issues from the environment, to labor, globalization and social change, this is a must read edition of Fortune because of the issues it opens up. I don't agree with a lot that it covers, but it certainly does show the powerful economics forces at play in shaping our world and leaves me asking the question of "Where is my place, as a Pioneer, in all of this? What is my role?"

[you can find all the relevant articles in Fortune Magazine for free by going to www.fortune.com and entering "Inside the New China" in website's search box]

Dumisani Nyoni

>>IDEAS >> CONTRIBUTE

In this month's newsletter, we have expand the Ideas section to be a broad Media Review. We hope to include the views and perspectives of Pioneers whose interests are in all forms of media: magazines, movies/film, music, journals etc. as well as websites and books. Ideas and thoughts come from many different directions and we want to accommodate and include points of view from varying sources. So, if you’d like to share a review from any media that you think other Pioneers should know about, please send them to sera@pioneersofchange.net to be included in future newsletters. Kindly keep them to under 250 words short.

INVITATIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pioneers of Change Map Book
Invitation to contribute

Please join us if you would like to contribute pictures or text to the PoC "map book" which will serve as a guide for pioneers to navigate change. Guidelines for contributions will be out by October 24th and we expect to complete a first draft by year end 2004. Contact Mille Bojer at mbojer@pioneersofchange.net

Inter-sector dialogue and forms of cooperation

Pioneers in Brazil are starting an inter-sectorial dialogue as well as a concrete form of cooperation among different cultures and sectors. The concept is to link programs on social corporate responsibility with the know-how and innovative methodology that the NGOs already have in the social field, create multipliers and communities of practice and evaluate the programs in an integrated manner. Gatherings bringing these different communities of practice are also part of the project.

For further details, contact Patrícia Sogayar at patricia@ellerni.org

Call for Pioneering Ventures, Project Info

Expatica.com is hosting a fair in Amsterdam's Beurs van Berlage on October 24th. It is specifically for English- speaking internationals who have just moved to the Netherlands.The fair runs from 11am to 5pm and includes a stand for Pioneers of Change.
Anyone wishing to find out more information can check out the Expatica website at: www.expatica.com <http://www.expatica.com>
If you wish to have your project shown at the PoC stand then email Odilia Gartner at info@seachangeconsultancy.com

World Youth Centre’s International Program
Invitation to apply

From Beth Vader, Director of Programming and Recruitment
We are writing to ask your organization to inform your youth constituents between the ages of 18 and 30 about the opportunity to apply to World Youth Centre’s International Program. In addition, we would welcome any nominations that your organization might have for a youth participant. Applications and further information about World Youth Centre (WYC) can be found on our site at www.worldyouthcentre.com <http://www.worldyouthcentre.com/> . Our exciting new organization works to recognize, galvanize and enable the youth driven social change movement.

any questions or comments please feel free to contact me at your earliest convenience via email: bvader@worldyouthcentre.com or by phone at 416-927-1992 x 209. Thanks so much we look forward to working with you to promote the youth driven social change movement!

FINANCIAL MATTERS

Pioneers of Change is an independent network that believes it is critical
to retain a free and unbiased position. We also believe that financial
barriers should not be a constraint to learning and engaging. As such we
work hard at ensuring that our learning is available to as wide and
diverse an audience as possible.

If you can afford it, we invite you to make a small donation to support us
in our work. We encourage you to think of this donation as an investment
into learning that has the potential of enriching all of our lives.
If you have any ideas of individuals or organizations that might like to support us, let us know.

SMALL PRINT

What is Pioneers of Change?

Pioneers of Change is an emerging, self-organising, global learning
community of committed, young people, in their mid-20's to mid-30's,
from diverse cultural, social, and professional backgrounds. Pioneers of
Change numbers over 1000 individual pioneers in over 70 countries, who
have made a personal commitment to continuous learning and contribution.

Pioneers organise in learning teams, project groups, and local networks as
part of the flexible structure of the organisation. A series of learning
programs form the core of our activities.

For more information on Pioneers of Change, see

http://www.pioneersofchange.net

To learn more about the background beliefs and philosophy of Pioneers
please visit:


http://www.pioneersofchange.net/pioneers/default.asp?a=about/philosophy.htm
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