Creative expression brings down the walls and builds trust, connecting us across cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and generational divides. – Partners for Youth Empowerment
I had a fantastic time leading a two day retreat for WeBrussels – a group of passionate citizens aiming to reinvent politics in the city of Brussels. They were the folks behind the “municipalist” summit “Fearless Cities Brussels” which gathered locally engaged citizens to discuss creative ways of managing the social challenges of the city.
The aim of the two day retreat was for the community to discover each others strengths and deepen their connections.
On day one we focused on “Discovering our community” through a series of collaborative arts-based activities that aimed to bring everyone closer together and inspire awe in life and each other (PYE Creative Empowerment Model). The arts allowed us to live the experience and to be our authentic self with each other.
Then on day two we focused on “Exploring our community’s potential” where we ran a consensus workshop (ToP Consensus Workshop) to tap into the collective wisdom and to experience the strength of the community.
The overall goal of the retreat was to create an emotional connection within the community.
The experience was best summed up by one of the participants
I think the creative exercises got everyone to let go of productivity and expectations, and to feel vulnerable but somehow protected from judgement, and that allowed us to quickly trust each other.
This two day retreat has taught me the value of holding a safe space for communities and small teams to connect to one another from their inner self.
CONFIDENT self
+
deep CONNECTION with others
=
COMMUNITY resilience
With years of experience working with diverse groups in creative ways I have decided to widen my path to support communities like this one to thrive.
Interested to learn how to build trust in your community through exploring and expression in a creative way? Get in touch