With social cohesion high on the agenda of all local, provincial and national government agendas for 2012, these workshops create opportunities for South Africans to discover powerful ways of connecting with each other across traditional and often divisive boundaries to strengthen the fabric of South African society.
The two-day workshops are based on the methodology and work of best-selling author Peter Block, one of Symphonia for South Africa's international partners. USA-based Block is known internationally for his work on empowerment and citizenship, and his community-building methodology has been outlined in two of his books, Community: The Structure of Belonging and The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighbourhoods, the latter co-authored by John Knight.
Explains Louise van Rhyn, social entrepreneur and founder of Symphonia for South Africa: "These workshops provide an opportunity for participants to learn a new methodology that will enable them to convene meaningful gatherings in their own workplace or community where everyone has a voice and a contribution to make."
Over 1000 South Africans attended workshops in 2010 and 2011, from across the full spectrum of corporate and community leaders, NGOs, government officials and those involved in education from decision makers to students and academics, as well as ordinary citizens who care about the country. In many instances, these participants were given the opportunity for the first time in their lives to interact and deeply connect with people from cultures, and economic and social circumstances entirely different from their own experiences.
Van Rhyn describes the experience: "In the true spirit of Ubuntu, it empowered participants to broaden their horizons enormously in respect of how to really communicate and hold meaningful dialogue with fellow South Africans and see each other as equals.
Explaining how Block's methodology looks at ways in which to create workplaces and communities that work for everyone, Van Rhyn elaborates: "It offers an alternative to the patriarchal beliefs that have for so long dominated our culture and thinking. Instead this methodology opens the participants to the idea of changing communities through conversations involving consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force."
Van Rhyn's own work in the NPO field is influenced largely by the Dinokeng Scenarios which brought together top South African thought leaders in 2009 in a public domain exercise aimed at opening conversations around the three possible roads down which South Africa would travel by 2020. The favoured one was that which would see all citizens "Walk Together" and work together towards the successful building of a united South Africa.
"This is at the very heart of our workshops," says Van Rhyn. "They are about igniting citizenship, building trust, seeing possibility, engaging with each other and strengthening the fabric of our society."
According to Van Rhyn, community building takes place at various levels:
•In neighbourhoods, community building empowers local participation based on a deeper sense of belonging. Communities are empowered to take ownership of their concerns and find inclusive and sustainable solutions to seemingly intractable issues.
•Within a company or an organisation, community building turns static workplaces into places of belonging, strengthening the organisation's vision, mission and purpose.
•Within the educational arena, community building turns institutions into learning communities in which schools can become the "centre of the community" and in which leadership can be experienced and shared.
A tool used during the workshops will be the 20-minute DVD, South Africa: Alive with Possibility. Explains Van Rhyn: "This video is a reminder that South Africa is a country that is
'Alive with Possibility' and shows how we can all help to build our country through changing our stories and conversations about our country."
Sales of the DVD, available from Symphonia for South Africa at the cost of R900 per DVD, will be used to fund the distribution of more copies to NPOs and government institutions.
The Community Building Workshops for 2012 are scheduled to take place in Cape Town (20-21 February, 1-2 March and 15-16 March), Johannesburg (23-24 February), Bloemfontein (8-9 March) and Durban (24-25 May). For more information on venues, costs and bookings, as well as how to order the DVD South Africa: Alive with Possibility, please contact Johleen on 021 913 3507 or johleen@symphonia.net
Symphonia for South Africa is a registered Non-Profit organisation with a vision to strengthen the fabric of South African society by initiating and leading projects intended to engage South Africans in processes of nation building. It is part of Symphonia, an Organisation and Societal Change practice committed to sustainable transformation in people, teams, organisations and communities across the globe. The Symphonia group was founded in 2008 by Dr Louise van Rhyn, who holds a doctorate in Organisational Change. With 23 years experience in the field of large-scale change in complex social systems, Van Rhyn has been challenged and inspired through her partnership with Benjamin and Rosamund Zander, USA-based authors of the international bestseller The Art of Possibility.
Van Rhyn has been working with the Zanders since 2009 on an initiative to "re-ignite the conversation of possibility in South Africa." She has also been working with USA-based Peter Block (bestselling author and consultant, renowned for his work on empowerment and citizenship) to equip citizens and leaders in South Africa with the skills to become social architects. Through the work done by Symphonia for South Africa, Van Rhyn is particularly committed to mobilising citizens to become actively involved in addressing the education crisis facing South Africa, and has developed the innovative "Partner for Possibility" leadership development programme. This programme is part of the "School at the Centre of Community" societal change process and creates opportunities for business leaders and school principals to develop their leadership skills in a co-learning and co-action partnership. Van Rhyn's work has been praised and endorsed by educational thought-leaders throughout South Africa and abroad.
For more information about Symphonia for South Africa contact: Kerrie-Lee Brand, Symphonia for South Africa, Tel: 021 913 3507, email: Kerrie@symphonia.net, visit: www.symphonia.net
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