Making Shift Happen Together
Cultivating wise leadership skills for the 21st Century
An invitation to learn with Graham Leicester and Michael Donnelly
Dates: 17 and 18 October 2019
Venue: Tory Bush Cottages, Bryansford, Mourne Mountains, Co Down
How to make a difference for the good in the face of all that stands in the way of making a difference?
This 2-day residential course is about exploring our answers to this question, whatever the particularities of the circumstances or context in which we are living and moving. The course will take place in the midst of the Mournes and is designed for people who are learning how to make sense of the messiness of a complex world that is both thrilling and troubling and are seeking, in response, to act effectively with wisdom, compassion and courage, and with others.
Throughout the course there will be opportunities to explore ways of being, seeing and doing that can help us to enable and lead transformative change in response to ‘emergencies’ that we struggle to understand and can feel overwhelmed by – powerful emerging challenges that are not only tangible but also conceptual and existential.
Making Shift Happen Together is a first step into a whole family of approaches that have been curated by the IFF over many years. This could be the start of a very influential learning journey that might continue through courses on offer via the IFF Academy – and/or supported action learning related to a personal or organisational initiative. You will definitely connect with change makers who are already on their journey to making shift happen.
Sources and resources
The course is based on the work of the International Futures Forum, an influential charitable organisation based in Scotland that publishes, supports, and teaches people to create and then sustain transformative innovation. It is being run in Ireland for the second time (after a very successful introduction last year) in response to evident need and the growing opportunities. The course is designed to:
- develop and grow ‘21st century competences’
- cultivate personal capability for ‘doing’ transformative innovation and culture change – as enablers, facilitators, leaders, and producers
- be relevant to both practice and policy
- grow a mutually supportive network of ‘transformative innovators’- ‘persons of tomorrow’ who are contributing to cultural transformation for the good.
Key resource for the course:
Who is the course for?
There are various ways of describing potential participants in this course. People throughout the UK, Ireland and much further afield are taking these courses and using the tools to lead transformation in their work and communities. This includes senior civil servants and public sector managers, front line staff, creative industries, people leading cultural organisations, retired but active professionals, consultants and facilitators, and many many others. Common to many is one of these attributes:
- people who are trying, in various ways, in diverse organisational or community settings, to bring about transformative change for the good in this part of the world
- people who are purveyors of ‘practical hope’ and instigators of ‘wise initiatives’
- people who seek to enable and enact change through ‘small acts of creative transgression’
- people who are facilitating organisations and individuals to lead new ways of transformation and collaboration
- people who recognise that the challenges of today require better ways of getting things done
Course content
The main ingredients of the course will be:
- An introduction on to how to describe the powerful times we are living in the 21st century
- An opportunity to learn and apply literacies that are helpful in reading the world around you (cultural, psychological, and knowing)
- Three horizons as a mapping tool that you can use to bring other people into conversations about the world we share and wish to live in (at work, in society, in your organisation)
- An exploration of Transformative Innovation and how it relates to you and the role you wish to play in change
- Methods to map purpose and steps towards Transformative Innovation
- Opportunities to walk and explore the natural landscape of the Mournes around the edge of Tollymore Forest Park
- Good food – the best of local produce – new people, and plenty of convivial conversation
Introduction to Graham Leicester and Michael Donnelly
Graham Leicester is Director of the International Futures Forum. Graham previously ran Scotland’s leading think tank, the Scottish Council Foundation, founded in 1997. From 1984-1995 he served as a diplomat in HM Diplomatic Service, specialising in China (he speaks Mandarin Chinese) and the EU. Between 1995 and 1997 he was senior research fellow with the Constitution Unit at University College London. He has also worked as a freelance professional cellist, including with the BBC Concert Orchestra. He has a strong interest in governance, innovation and education, is a senior adviser to the British Council on those issues, and has previously worked with OECD, the World Bank Institute and other agencies on the themes of governance in a knowledge society and the governance of the long term.
Michael Donnelly is a professional facilitator based in Northern Ireland. Michael worked in the field of sustainable development co-founding and running a successful enterprise that introduced a framework for Strategic Sustainable Development to Ireland. He designs and leads cutting edge workshops across a range of sectors and topics. He is most interested in issues that are complex and that require the participation of diverse stakeholders to add meaning and to choose wise action. He has an on-going interest in communities emerging from conflict and is currently working with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation to develop dialogues on legacy issues in Northern Ireland. Michael is connected to both Future Search Network and Perspectivity Network which are groups of people who help groups tackle complex issues and lead systems level change. Michael is married to Tara and they live in Co Down with their four children. Their facilitation business is called Second Nature.
Booking Information
This is a small event with limited spaces.
Course fees/charges including course materials, food:
- Self employed £220
- Non-profit Organisation £350
- Public and Private Organisations £450
Accommodation is booked separately with Tory Bush Cottages at a cost of £50 per night per person
Location:
The location for this event is deep in the heart of the Mourne Mountains at Tory Bush Cottages.
Accommodation is in cottages and largely in shared rooms (small numbers of single rooms are available). We can provide details of nearby accommodation providers if you wish. All meals will be provided as part of the course. We can organise an additional night of accommodation for those arriving Wednesday evening.
To book please contact:
- Michael: +44 7739 518998
- Email: michael@secondnature.ie
