Summer Gathering – 22/23 June 2020
CANCELLED
We did not come to remain whole.
We came to lose our leaves like the trees,
The trees that are broken
And start again, drawing up on great roots
We came to lose our leaves like the trees,
The trees that are broken
And start again, drawing up on great roots
[Robert Bly]
We are very sorry to announce that because of delays and uncertainties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic we have had to cancel this event. We are considering the possibility of some kind of virtual event and will notify you personally of any developments if you are on our mailing list.
A Unique Invitation
After a two-year break, we are delighted to invite you to Stories that Heal our Autumn Gathering at Hawkwood College, 22-23 June 2020
As cracks and divisions in our politics and society seem to widen and we plunge headlong into the climate crisis, we need to ask ourselves what types of story can contribute to healing, bring people together, help people face the realities of our divided and damaged world and still find beauty, community and hope.
- Engage with the most important issues of our time
- Build and enjoy a community that welcomes difference
- Be inspired by possibilities of finding stories that heal
- Explore the power and potential of ancient myth
The gathering will be co-hosted by regulars Geoff Mead, Diana Reynolds, Mary Hughes, and newcomer Toni Spencer. We are really keen to hear from you with suggestions and offers of sessions on aspects of your practice that speak to our theme. Please drop me a line to discuss possibilities. geoff.mead@narrativeleadership.com.
Provisional Programme
We are already planning a number of sessions so you will be in good company if you do step forward. These include sessions based on the work of Professor Jem Bendell, author of influential paper Deep Adaptation, one of the inspirational voices behind Extinction Rebellion; Nicola Le Breton, Australian Story Weaver and sustainable community facilitator, who will introduce Nora Bateson’s Warm Data Lab methodology, Geoff Mead on Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes; Steve Creffield on how to create your own healing story; Michèle Dabaghian on redemptive women’s stories in Saudi Arabia; and others yet to be arranged (perhaps you).
We are already planning a number of sessions so you will be in good company if you do step forward. These include sessions based on the work of Professor Jem Bendell, author of influential paper Deep Adaptation, one of the inspirational voices behind Extinction Rebellion; Nicola Le Breton, Australian Story Weaver and sustainable community facilitator, who will introduce Nora Bateson’s Warm Data Lab methodology, Geoff Mead on Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes; Steve Creffield on how to create your own healing story; Michèle Dabaghian on redemptive women’s stories in Saudi Arabia; and others yet to be arranged (perhaps you).
We are keen to maintain our tradition of meeting as peers in a community of inquiry, so bring your questions, creativity and curiosity, and be willing to share your current and emerging practice. We are limiting attendance to around 36 people to maintain an intimate atmosphere in which all voices are heard. As always, we will be entertaining ourselves on the Monday evening with a homespun ceilidh: stories, songs, poems and other contributions welcome on the day.
Who is this event for?
Storyteller, coach, change agent, consultant, teacher, parent, carer, researcher, writer, citizen, social activist, therapist, business or organisational leader: you could be any, all, or none of these things. Whatever your background, if you are interested in the power of stories to shape our lives and the world in which we live, then this event is for you.
Booking and fees
The gathering is offered at cost price £195 residential, £165 residential (shared), £135 non-residential (all inclusive of VAT) to both regular and new attendees. Click here for Booking Form (Word Document) and here for Booking Form (pdf file). Save the date and make sure you book early as there are limited places available. Also, do circulate the invitation to anyone else you think would be interested in attending this event.
How you can help
Please justify our shared hopes and ambition for this event by making an early commitment to attend. You can also help by inviting other people who you believe would be interested in, benefit from, contribute to and enjoy Stories that Heal. You can also come forward with offers to facilitate sessions, bring case studies, run workshops, share stories, initiate projects, and whatever else you would like to see at the gathering.
The Venue
Hawkwood College is set in 42 acres of beautiful gardens, woods and fields, with its own spring water and wonderful views of Cotswold hills and valleys. It is easily accessible from Heathrow and London by train (direct service between Paddington and Stroud) and by road (M4/A46).
Administration and Further Information
For administrative and booking queries please contact Geoff Mead. If you would like to talk to someone to see if this event is for you then you can also contact Diana Reynolds.
In the old stories, people from the edges of things brought ideas and understandings from the forest back into the kingdom which the kingdom could not generate itself
Paul Kingsnorth
A Unique Invitation
After a two-year break, we are delighted to invite you to Postcards from the Edge, our Autumn Gathering at Hawkwood College, 8-9 October 2018
As the mainstream stumbles from crisis to crisis so we look to the margins for new stories to sustain us. This is an opportunity to come together as a community of people who work with story in all kinds of ways, to inspire and be inspired. Be it economics, activism, writing, law, therapy, gender and sexuality, science and shamanism, the stories are as diverse as the people who tell them.
It’s going to be a terrific event during which we hope you will get the chance to:
- Meet and expand your edges experientially and intellectually
- Build and enjoy a community that welcomes difference
- Share and learn across perceived intergenerational ‘divides’
- Be inspired by possibilities of greater inclusion and diversity
The gathering will be co-hosted by regulars Geoff Mead, Pelin Turgut, and Robert Holtom. There will be some special guests including Polly Higgins, International Lawyer and Eco-Activist; Belinda Hopkins, UK pioneer of restorative justice; Norwegian Lisbeth Rådstoga who has explored stories of women escaping from domestic violence in Moldova; Moula Mokhobo-Amegashie who has collected powerful stories of whistle-blowers speaking out against corruption in South Africa, her home country; and Hannah McDowall, London-based storyteller and researcher working with life transitions.
We are keen to maintain our tradition of meeting as peers in a community of inquiry, so bring your questions, creativity and curiosity, and be willing to share your current and emerging practice. We are limiting attendance to around 36 people to maintain an intimate atmosphere in which all voices are heard.
Who is this event for?
Storyteller, coach, change agent, consultant, teacher, parent, carer, researcher, writer, citizen, social activist, therapist, business or organisational leader: you could be any, all, or none of these things. Whatever your background, if you are interested in the power of stories to shape our lives and the world in which we live, then this event is for you.
Booking and fees
The gathering is offered at cost price £180 residential, £150 residential (shared), £120 non-residential (all inclusive of VAT) to both regular and new attendees. Click here for Booking Form (Word Document) and here for Booking Form (pdf file). Save the date and make sure you book early as there are limited places available. Also, do circulate the invitation to anyone else you think would be interested in attending this event.
How you can help
Please justify our shared hopes and ambition for this event by making an early commitment to attend. You can also help by inviting other people who you believe would be interested in, benefit from, contribute to and enjoy Postcards from the Edge. You can also come forward with offers to facilitate sessions, bring case studies, run workshops, share stories, initiate projects, and whatever else you would like to see at the gathering.
The Venue
Hawkwood College is set in 42 acres of beautiful gardens, woods and fields, with its own spring water and wonderful views of Cotswold hills and valleys. It is easily accessible from Heathrow and London by train (direct service between Paddington and Stroud) and by road (M4/A46).
Administration and Further Information
Click here for further information. For administrative and booking queries please contact Geoff Mead. If you would like to talk to someone to see if this event is for you then you can also contact Robert Holtom or Pelin Turgut.
The enormous challenges of our time can sometimes take us to the very limits of our capacity to respond meaningfully. They demand renewal and development of our personal and professional practice to enable us to thrive whilst contributing our unique gifts to the world.
This summer sees the first Juicy Edge – a powerful gathering of inspiring people who work for a peaceful, joyful and sustain-able world. From 1-5 July we will come together in the the inquiring spirit of our late friend and colleague Chris Seeley, to explore the juicy edges of our work, to support each others’ growth with clarity and creativity and to nourish our love and connection by being together in a place of great natural beauty.
Juicy Edge offers a convivial space for engaged and artful inquiry into the kind of questions that matter for those who want their lives to make a difference: What are the roots of ignorance and suffering? How should we be? What can we do? What can we offer? What must we learn? What do we need to set aside? Each of us carries our own emboldening questions which shape and reshape our lives.
We will join together as a whole community, in smaller groups, and with time to be alone. Some activities will be planned and facilitated (such as Dialogue and Open Space) and others will be self-initiated and self-organised. Support will be given by experienced facilitators for those who wish to “solo” in nature for a while.
You are also invited to bring your own particular interests and emerging practices to share with others either informally or in workshop sessions. This is a perfect opportunity to explore new possibilities for your work in a spirit of boldness and generosity – to make the path by walking it.
Juicy Edge will take place from Saturday 1st till Wednesday 5th of July 2017. We will be based in the heart of the Alta Garrotxa Nature Park at the Sant Aniol valley education center, north of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is being run with the support of the Centre for Narrative Leadership and Active Earth, on a not-for-profit basis with early bird bookings from as little as €195 (camping plus meals) or €395 (accommodation plus meals).
For an Invitation Pack click here: Juicy Edge Gathering 2017 or use the form below to express your interest or ask a question.
I recently had the great pleasure of being interviewed by Dr Sally Fox for her Story Pros series of Podcasts. In a wide ranging hour-long conversation we covered many topics including: Narrative Leadership; the importance of post-heroic stories; and the relationship between truth and stories.
I’m grateful to Sally for the quality of her probing questions and for the opportunity to think out loud about the state of storytelling in the world today and why it is so essential to speak up and to speak out in the face of ill-informed and divisive political and social narratives.
Click on the image above to find my podcast (and many others) on Sally’s excellent website. It can be played directly from the page or downloaded free from iTunes.
WE ARE NEARLY FULL PLEASE CONTACT THE ORGANISER BEFORE BOOKING
We are delighted to announce that our Summer Gathering will be held at Hawkwood College, Stroud 27-28 June 2016. Our theme will be The Stories We Are. We’ll explore the ways in which we create our identity through stories and to consider how, in our various fields of practice, we can better help individuals and groups come to understand and sometimes to change their stories. We’ll consider such questions as:
- How do we create, maintain, and explore our identity through stories ?
- How do we better let go of the old stories when they no longer serve?
- How do we find, co-create and share the new stories with each other?
- How do we bring them into an emerging context that can shape our future?
Click HERE for further information and Booking Form
(geoff.mead@narrativeleadership.com)
We are delighted to announce that our application to join the Federation for European Storytelling has just been accepted. FEST is a pan-European association of not-for-profit storytelling organizations with a mission to promote storytelling in all it guises. Click on the image in the sidebar to link to the FEST website.
The 2015 FEST gathering will take place on the beautiful Greek island of Kea, next July and we’ll be there, representing the Centre and all that it stands for.
Telling the Story
Telling the Story opens a door into the world of narrative leadership, showing how leaders affect our understanding of what is possible and desirable through the stories they tell and embody. This book will help executives, managers and concerned citizens to identify what stories are and how they work; when to tell a story and how to tell one well.
It offers a challenge to consider the purposes behind our stories: what are we leading for? It will help practitioners identify their own authentic story and use this to lead convincingly. Using tips, exercises and examples, Telling the Story will help leaders build on their own current practices using the vital art of narrative leadership. This book is both practical and thought–provoking, to encourage leaders to consider the big stories of our time and how we can use our own stories to create and take responsibility for the kind of future we want.
“Geoff Mead is a master of both the theory and practice of narrative leadership. Telling the Story is refreshing in its frankness and insight. It left me feeling challenged, energized and inspired to think about the stories I want to live and tell through my own leadership. Wonderful reading for anyone who wants to enhance their positive impact on the world.” —Lindsay Levin, Founder and Managing Partner, Leaders′ Quest.
Click on the image to pre-order from Amazon now.
A short piece of film about the writing of my new book Telling the Story: The Heart and Soul of Successful Leadership which is coming out in April 2014 under Wiley’s worldwide Jossey-Bass imprint.
If image is not displayed on screen click on relevant post in sidebar.
Interview, filming and editing by Chris Seeley
I’ve started writing another book (this time on storytelling and leadership) which has been commissioned by Wiley/Jossey Bass. The book’s working title is Telling the Story: The Heart and Soul of Successful Leadership. My partner Chris Seeley interviewed me on video recently to ask how it’s going. Thank you Chris for permission to share the video.
Centre for Narrative Leadership 