Written by members of the Community Living planning team for the 2011 TASH Conference, this blog post shares information about an exciting opportunity to come together with your fellow conference attendees at the 2011 TASH Conference. The gathering will be hosted in Salon A, so be sure to stop on by and stay for awhile!
Throughout the TASH Conference there will be a welcoming space for people to come together and share their knowledge, experience, gifts and talents, and questions that relate to living as members of a community. Since everyone has some experience related to community– even if that means being left out– there is room for everyone in the Community Living Open Space Gathering.
What will happen in the space will be determined by all those who “show up”…and we know that the “right people” will show up. Together we will determine what questions we will explore, what knowledge and experiences we will share, and how we will celebrate together. The only thing that we know is that we will be together because we care about creating communities that welcome the gifts and contributions of everyone.
Community Living Open Space Gathering Kick-Off
Thursday, December 1 – 8:30 a.m.
Jack Pearpoint and Lynda Kahn will ignite the open space gathering with a conversation about rediscovering personal and community capacity. They’ll create a space where conversation about what is important can happen through stories and facilitated dialogue focused on the truth that if we want to create the futures we want, we must stop focusing on what we cannot do, and alternatively, nurture and build on our gifts and capacities so each person becomes a full and contributing citizen in the community. Thus the ‘impact’ is on people who are breathing.. all shapes, sizes, colors… “all means all”.
Jack and Lynda will share frameworks and strategies for thinking and acting that show us how to explore/rediscover the gifts and capacities by emulating Samurai Warriors – and becoming masterful in the Arts of Listening; holding deep questions, and forging clarity and agreements. We’ll listen to people’s stories, and in the stories, discover their gifts – and then, in collaboration, discover ways to have the gifts contributed and received in the community. The theory is relatively simple. The practice is an art that is learned by experience. Participants will experience the discovery of gifts and the capacity that emerges.
Immediately following this, Judith Snow and Joe Donofrio will help us shape our agenda for the Learning Marketplaceand Open Space Agenda. Everyone who joins us will have the opportunity to identify topics, questions, and experiences that they would like to explore with others. This makes it possible for people to gather with others who share interests in ways that we can create communities built on capacity that welcome people, including people with disabilities. A large wall chart will be created with a schedule for the Community Living Open Space Gathering, and conference participants can come at any time, and see if there is something they would like to participate in.
We know that the heart of community is shared through stories, laughter, music and art, so the Community Living Open Space Gathering will make room for all of these. Come join us!!