(DRAFT ONLY)
Reimagining Local Community
An Art of Participatory Leadership Experience
Join us for a transformative gathering where we learn about and leverage the Art of Participatory Leadership as a practice and set of tools to celebrate, reimagine, and bring out the best in our communities.
Together, we’ll explore what’s possible when we create the conditions for authentic connection and coordinated action to emerge.
Connection. Dialogue. Co-Creation.
Thursday, MM DD -
Sunday MM DD. 2026
Location TBD- Kalamazoo, Michigan
The Art of Participatory Leadership (also known as the Art of Hosting) offers simple yet powerful participatory practices to host (facilitate) conversations and meetings. These practices invite people to step in and respond to the challenges facing them in creative, authentic, compassionate, and innovative ways.
Groups and organizations using the Art of Participatory Leadership practices report:
* Better decision-making,
* More efficient and effective capacity building, and
* Greater ability to quickly respond to opportunity, challenge, and change.
Rooted in the Four Fold practice of the Art of Hosting, this event teaches a participatory approach for leading, convening, and engaging groups.
What becomes possible when we reimagine our ways of being and working together in service of deeper collective impact in our communities?
The Facilitation Team has invited [ONEplace ELA alumni?] to attend. We have invited each ELA alumni to also invite another community member to attend. This diverse, cross-sector group will be made up of individuals who want to help - who believe in the power of collective creativity, intelligence, and collaboration to improve communities, teams, and organizations. [Or, make it a public invitation?]
Who Will Be In Attendance?
Join us if you’re interested in…
Creating spaces for transformation in your organization, community, or home.
Taking values of collaboration, equity, and democracy into organizational practice.
Exploring what happens when we create conditions for all to step into full capacity as humans.
Strengthening your capacity to see existing and emerging strengths and leverage points.
Sharing inspiring, accessible ideas and practices for your organization and community.
We’ll explore…
Participatory dialogue methods that tap into collective intelligence
Working with equity and across difference through a participatory lens
Leadership practices for self-awareness, clarity, and alignment
Frameworks for working with complex community challenges such as Open Space Technology, ProAction Café, the Two Loop Model of Change, and more.
Three days of training and conversations with fellow community members
An Art of Participatory Leadership Practice Guide
Access to the Art of Hosting global Community of practice
New and deeper connections
(Meal plan TBD; other logistics TBD)
What’s included in this training?
What can we do as a community that we can’t do alone?
Meet Your Facilitators
Amy Mervak
Chris
Corrigan
Kenlana Ferguson?
Or, an AoH practitioner the Chris recommended
Logistics and Schedule
Day 1
Arrival and check-in
Dinner
Official Welcome Circle at TBD
Day 2
Training: Participatory Leadership Framework
Sharing and mapping of projects and questions
Collective inquiry activity on shared question
Dialogue and sensemaking
Participant-driven community building conversations and activities
Day 3
Training: Systems Change Framework
Storytelling and deepening projects
Open Space Technology - Collective exploration of participants questions
Participant Driven community building conversations and activities
Day 4
Training: Complexity Framework
Dialogue on complexity, community, and coordinated action
Co-creation and collaboration on participants' projects
Collective insight harvest
Closing circle
Pricing
$TBD USD
Location
TBD
Come and practice the
Art of Participatory Leadership
with us!
TBD:
TBD
TBD
TBD
Additional Section
“TBD Quote”