Learning Relay 2020 Showcase booklet

Who must we become?

A collective response from a 3-month learning journey

About the Learning Relay

The 2020 Learning Relay Cohort

Who must we become?

Jake Slater

Nikki Adebeyi

How can I follow

How can I apply trauma

my energy?

informed principles in my sphere of influence?

Maddy Maxwell

Zineb Mouhyi

How can creativity, vulnerability, connection, reflection, intimacy and imagination/dreaming continue to be a part of my life?

What if young people

shapes emerge. People huddling together by

Blessing Maregere

Lottie McCarthy

the warmth of the fire, people who have become

How can I enhance

How can I continue to

and people who are still becoming. You sit on a

learning experiences

grow the confidence I

tree stump among the moss. You are handed

through technology?

need to go off-piste?

From September-December 2020, twelve peers

Lizzie Reid

Omie Dale

travelled through the Learning Relay, an online

How can I detangle my

How can I replicate the

peer-led learning journey aimed at supporting

skillset from capitalism?

wellness nature brings in

‘You see a campfire through the thick trees of a forest. Drawn to it, you move closer and

designed the future of education?

the talking stick and asked: ‘Who are you becoming?’

people to discover and learn about the things

an inner-city community?

that are important them.

They have been exploring both a collective question: ‘Who must we become?’ as well as their own individual questions spanning themes of trauma, values, capitalism, healing, gifts, intergenerational, creativity, imagination and so much more.

Patrick Vickers

Alana Bloom

How can I use

How can I continue to

compassion and

deepen and develop my

gratitude to show

approach as facilitator,

me my path?

artist and regenerator?

Alex Eisenberg

Nadia Connell

How can I inhabit spaces

How can I hold spaces

in which I feel I can bring

of connection whilst

my whole-self to the

embracing the Chimaera

group?

in me?

Jake Slater

Where has your question brought you?

Question I leave with:

How can I follow my energy?

I arrived at the Learning Relay thinking that

Conversations with other Relayers gave me the

I was in a transitionary moment, I wanted to

confidence to ask: how would it feel to spend

be surrounded by good people and I needed a

the rest of these 12 weeks focused on myself?

process to steer me through. But, I didn’t know

To give myself the gift of time, attention and

what I needed, and I didn’t really know what I

love. To connect with what brings me energy.

was signing up for.

A few weeks in, I changed my learning question In the first few weeks, I felt my learning question

to ‘How might I connect with my values and

pulling me in lots of different directions, and I

find what brings me energy?’, and my learning

felt resistance to following all of them. There

journey took a sharp turn.

was a tension between the reason I had arrived at the Learning Relay and the question I was supposed to be exploring.

Question I came with: How might I support young people to be the authors of their own stories?

Email: jakelslater@gmail.com Twitter: @jakelslater Instagram: @jakelslater

What have you created?

From the start I felt unsure about the idea of

Reflections on your learning journey

creating anything – it didn’t feel like the reason I was there. Shifting the focus of my learning

First of all, and I can’t stress this enough,

question inwards rather than outwards made

I’m grateful for the imaginative and courageous

the idea of creation even cloudier.

adventurers that I’ve shared this journey with.

I’ve learned so much about what it means to be

The day after I changed my learning question, I

yourself, to sit with ambiguity, to show up as

started an Energy Journal –

you are, to be brave, to be curious and open-

a reflective journal to keep track of what I was

minded.

doing and the feelings that came and went.

For myself, I’ve learned more in these 12 weeks The journal changed over time. It started as a

than I have in a long time. I’ve learned that

piece of paper. Then became a WhatsApp chat

I needed permission to live in the present. I

between me and myself filled with voice notes,

realised that I needed to look inward before I

photos and text. And last it lived in a journaling

looked outward. I’ve learned that I lean towards

app called DayOne.

overthinking, planning ahead, focusing on answers over questions.

But as it changed, the basic principles stayed the same: - A daily dialogue to keep track of energetic fluctuations - A commitment to confronting the highs and lows - Seeing where that all took me, without thinking too far ahead

But more than that, I’ve started a self-reflective process that I hope will keep me on this journey.

Here’s a template for anyone who would like to try it: bit.ly/34wm25E

Second, following my energy has allowed me to spend more time with music, which I’d always treated as a ‘spare time’ hobby and relegated to the sidelines. From this, I’ve started a new breakfast show on the community radio station Netil Radio. Who knows what will happen from this? But I’m loving it. And I know that, previously, I would have thought too far ahead and paralysed myself from going for it.

Adenike (“Nikki”) Adebiyi Question I leave with:

How can I apply trauma informed principles in my sphere of influence?

Where has your question brought you?

I realised that creating a trauma informed

Even these categories need to be broken

society requires focus. This means I have to be

down into smaller and clearer target areas to

specific and intentional with my work rather

campaign around. It all begins at the individual

than aiming for generic impact. The impact

level, so becoming self aware and taking charge

that I want to see in the broader sense will

of my own healing process is a necessity. In

come about as a result of smaller actions that

summary, it’s about doing my part and letting

compound. So, the way we get to a trauma-

others do theirs.

informed society as a whole is by applying the principles to individual agents of socialisation, and beginning from there within our spheres Question I came with:

Website: bounceblack.org

What will it take to create a

Email: bounceblackuk@gmail.com

trauma-informed society?

Instagram/Twitter: @ibounceblack @nikkibiyi

of influence. For example, trauma-informed education systems, healthcare systems, families, peer groups, media, and so on.

What have you created?

At the start of the Learning Relay, I launched

I have begun developing and piloting workshops

an online community called Bounce Black, for

that draw on the mental health trend at large,

Black students and professionals navigating

but which are infused with trauma informed

mental health and trauma recovery while

principles and cultural sensitivity. I am working

building careers. I began with curated content

on creating more workshops for different

on social media, and have since launched the

audiences (e.g. groups and corporations), as well

website (bounceblack.org), where viewers can

as trauma informed career and life coaching

find a mission statement, manifesto, blogs,

packages.

events, and meaningful merchandise.

Reflections on your learning journey I am grateful for the time and space to immerse myself in learning both in theory and by doing.

I have enjoyed exploring different parts of myself through my peers’ workshops, and have come away enriched with unique insights, fresh enthusiasm and a different perspective on life. I have learned the difference between transparency and vulnerability, and while the former comes easy to me, I have had to learn how to trust people with the latter. All in all, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to encounter and experience such diverse and beautiful people. They have shown me great compassion and kindness, and helped turbocharge my growth for good during an otherwise challenging year.

Maddy Maxwell

Where has your question brought you?

Question I leave with:

My learning question brought me to this group,

How can creativity, vulnerability, connection, reflection, intimacy and imagination/dreaming continue to be a part of my life?

job search. It gave me a lens through which to

Question I came with: How can my feminist politics inform and support my work?

Email: madeleine.h.maxwell@gmail.com Twitter: @1madmax

to this journey. It brought me to an intentional see and reflect on my experiences. It gave me a compass to focus my search for answers.

It gave me an excuse to create and connect.

I am letting go of...

I’m leaving with…

My fear of being earnest, and my skepticism

Feelings of confidence and trust in myself and

towards hope and optimism

humanity and this group

My instinct to jump in with solutions and my

So many ideas for workshops, and ways of

urge to be in control all of the time

creating intimacy and trust in online spaces A deep, embodied knowledge of how it feels to

I’ve learned that...

prioritise space to reflect, connect and dream

Vulnerability and intimacy can unlock and reveal

I want to…

creativity, energy, ideas, learning It’s important to give people the benefit of the

Stay in touch and nurture these new

doubt - to trust that they can handle silence

connections, friendships and supportive,

and uncertainty just as well as I can I get better

questioning relationships

at stuff when I try it, and experiment with

Stay grounded, calm and hopeful in 2021

it… when I approach things lightly and with

Remember that I can see the world differently

curiosity

if I step out of my comfort zone, and ask different questions

I will remix and reimagine these commitments over time

I will include people affected by decisions being made in making those decisions, and call it out when I see that this isn’t happening I will champion the slow, the nuance, the what if, the who else should be here, the let’s take a break

I will rest, I will say no, and protect the boundaries between work and the other bits of my life

I will sow the seeds for trust, respect, and interdependence to grow amongst the people I work with I will resist urges to control, to perfect, to prescribe, and I will leave space for others and other ideas to grow, form and flourish, and for mistakes to be made and learned from

I will stay light, stay open to inspiration, ideas, feedback, stopping, starting again connected to my values.

return to when I need to feel grounded or more

be at work - a guiding light to reflect with, and

A set of personal commitments for how I want to

What have you created?

Reflections on your learning journey

Zineb Mouhyi Question I leave with:

What if young people designed the future of education?

Where has your question brought you?

Firstly, I’ve learned the importance of having

Finally, I think this led me to reflecting on how I

a primary learning question on the back of my

am connected to that question and become the

mind. This leads to being able to get inspiration,

living question I was exploring.

ideas, and learning from a lot more places as there is an unconscious filter that connects

I would add that my learning question evolved

every day occurrences to my learning question.

but that the overarching question of “Who must we become?” kept providing a clear sense of

Secondly, this learning question led me to want Question I came with: How do we cultivate our personal and collective imagination, coherence, and resilience?

zineb.mouhyi@gmail.com @zinebmouhyi www.weavinglab.org www.youthxyouth.com

to engage with projects that would support further exploration of the question.

direction to my inquiries.

What have you created?

I have created a new project as part of my organization (The Weaving Lab) called Youth by Youth (YxY): http://youthxyouth.com/. YxY is a 3-day online dialogue series by young people for young people around the central question “What if young people designed the future of education?” taking place on January 22nd to 24th, 2021. The central goal of the event is to create a global community of youth activists working to influence and transform their education systems.

Reflections on your learning journey The Enrol Yourself learning journey was a transformational learning experience that I deeply cherish. It came at a time in my life when I needed it more than I realized. Being part of a group of people who were all at a junction in their lives was very powerful. I am deeply grateful for the space and time we shared, for how everyone showed up, bringing their full selves in authentic ways, and practicing deep listening and presence together. I’ve learned so many things from my cohort but most of all, I’ve learned to be more myself.

The river of life A collective poem

I am at peace I am expansive I am natural I am an abundant smile from ear to ear I nourish others I live in a place that is alive I am like a newborn baby I am a convivial space of open minds coming together I am the life-force of a new shoot I am as free and expansive as the ocean I am like a childlike alien, inviting others to partake in seeing the world through childlike alien eyes I am like dark eyes looking deeply I am like coming home I am a winding track that leads forwards I am like a rainbow over the sun, taking in the light and reflecting it all its beauty I am myself and the sum of the people around me I am as inviting as the word yes I am a beacon of light and a shore of safety I am warm and filling healthy lunch I am not what you think I am I am a room filled with beauty I am the universe reflected back at itself I am but a wave in the ocean I am the ocean breeze I am the steady help of a lighthouse I am like a book in the bookshop under the ‘reduced to clear’ isle (jokes, bestseller) I am a soft boiled egg I am the trees and the lichen I am all the colours yet only air I am the hand that lifts you up I look great in a hat I am a thousand words ready to be heard I am you, you are me I am like a forest, fully embracing of you as you are right now I am a drop in the ocean I have much to offer I am powerful I am a living ocean

Lottie McCarthy Question I leave with:

How can I continue to grow the confidence I need to go off-piste?

Where has your question brought you?

I had felt that the different things I do, am interested in, and work in, needed to be sorted out; that I needed to work out and decide what I wanted to “be”. I thought my learning question would help me pick a path. Instead it’s helped me learn what authenticity means to me, and what creativity means to me.

It helped me realise that whilst I’ve been trying different paths and cultivated new things, I’m not left with a tangled mess, I’m actually left with a wide verity of tools and skills that I can use, that all the threads of the tangle, instead of competing with each other, can work together, and as long as I focus on pursuing what I’m

Question I came with: How might I best harness my creativity to do authentic work that matters?

lmccarthy.co.uk Instagram: @l_mac_art lottie44442@hotmail.com

most passionate about I will find ways to use these tools and skills to do helpful things.

What have you created?

I created a workshop for the group to create postcards about each others learning questions, to serve as gifts to each other and reminders of our journey.

An animation about finding your niche, your stride, embracing the unique tangle that is you and all the gifts that you bring, the removal of labels, trying to fit into boxes, breaking convention and embracing diversity, change and uniqueness; the struggle turning into

Reflections on your learning journey I have learnt….

Though the amazing belief that the group had in me, I learnt to believe in myself.

I’m an artist.

To think big but also to appreciate the small.

adventure.

To abandon perfectionism; Imperfection is

A manifesto of what is me and a portfolio for my

imperfections, so let go of judgement, and of

king. Most things are, are far more than their

future self.

assuming other peoples judgement.

Proposals for future projects.

To experiment.

Connections with potential future

To take things out of my head and into the

collaborators.

world.

Confidence.

That being my whole self is pretty great.

Trust.

That I can contribute towards the world be a slightly better place.

That good things come when you nourish them.

That good things come when you nourish yourself.

The importance of community.

I am grateful…

To have been able to contribute to everyone else’s learning journey and for them to contribute to mine; to the community of 12 people who came together to help each other.

To have rediscovered doing art for arts sake… that art is a process not an outcome…and most importantly that the benefit of art doesn’t come from what art is, but in what art does.

Omie Dale

Where has your question brought you?

Whew - where do I start? It’s brought me to a

Question I leave with:

How can I replicate the wellness nature brings in an inner-city community?

better understanding of what I do and what I don’t want to do in my professional life, and concrete steps (and some confidence!) to moving more towards the latter. It’s brought me a network of people who are working in the areas I’m interested in and it’s also brought me a group of people who just care about things, want to get things done, and are happy to support everyone in their journeys.

What have you created?

Lots of pockets of different activities. I’ve been a lot more loud about what I’m doing - writing more and talking to more people. I’ve formed great connections with people that are able to assist me in my journey - whether it’s those also working in a similar area, local government members of sports charities.

I’ve also developed my plans for summer next year, in terms of retreats and teaching. The

Reflections on your learning journey I’m grateful - as always - to the space that Enrol yourself manages to create. Occupying the space with 11 hours, I learnt, I spoke, I laughed, and I even cried. To be able to build a connection with a group of people in such a short of time, and over Zoom most importantly, is no mean feat - but the magic of Enrol manages to allow this.

The Learning Relay - and the specific question of who must we become - came at a much needed time in my life. The journey I embarked on with 11 other individuals not only allowed me to reflect a lot on my question and what I wanted to achieve, but also encouraged deep

Question I came with: How can I explore prioritising wellbeing and moving towards more community-based work in a society that values and monietises professional output?

introspection into other factors in my life Instagram: @omiedale Twitter: @omie_dale Email: omie.dale1@gmail.com

external to the relay.

12 weeks have really given me the foundation blocks to focus my ideas and work towards the next steps.

Lizzie Reid

Where has your question brought you?

The learning relay came to me at a point of

Question I leave with:

What antidotes are there to capitalism-friendly creativity, and what tools do I need to practice them?

Question I came with: How can I detangle my skill-set from capitalism?

lizziereid.com lizziemtreid@gmail.com Twitter: @lizziemtreid

personal change (I’d recently gone freelance) and societal change (2020!). So it felt like the perfect time to explore a question that had been rattling around my head for a while about the ways creative skills are tangled up with the destructive and consumerist effects of capitalism, and how I could use my skills for more.

This question was big - it covered the professional, the personal and the political.

With the help of my peers I have been able to see how this question relates to different aspects of my life and society, and sharpen my thinking on it at those different levels. Alongside that, this journey has pushed me to do more self-reflection than ever before, and I feel I am in a head space to be able to apply my thinking to my life in ways big and small, gentle and radical.

Reflections on your learning journey I have left the learning journey completely

During my showcase presentation I spoke about

convinced by the transformative power of

why our peer learning journey felt like such a

peer learning spaces, and am so grateful to

gently anti-capitalist antidote in itself:

my cohort. I left each Tuesday evening feeling inspired and nourised as the space we created

Picture this - 12 strangers from different parts

together was so full of creativity, vulnerability

of the world give up their Tuesday evenings and

and joy - especially impressive considering it

some of their Sundays over three months.

was all on Zoom.

They create a space outside of work, outside Alongside where I have got to with my learning

of any of the “normal” societal structures.

question, I have grown in confidence and feel far more in touch with myself and my values.

A space where they exchange ideas,

The guiding question of ‘Who must we become?’

not money. Where they aren’t competing,

is something I hope to keep asking throughout

they build each other up and nurtured

my life, and I feel confident to do so armed with

each others ideas. They plot and plan

the new practices, habits and ways of thinking I

together how to change the world. They are

have learnt from my peers.

vulnerable and silly with each other, they connect emotionally and share stories of their different lived experiences, their ancestors, their dreams and fears.

To me, it doesn’t get more gently

What have you created?

anti-capitalist than that.

At some point along the journey, I realised I

The culmination of my learning journey was a

had to take the pressure off myself to “create”

presentation of my thinking at the showcase in

something, and embrace the instinct I had that

two parts:

this journey was for developing my thinking and embracing the parts of it that were complex,

- Firstly I presented a visual essay that outlined

contradictory or unfinished.

the problem of capitalism-friendly creativity I was grappling with in a way that felt powerful but approachable.

- Secondly I identified patterns in my professional life or industry that I didn’t like, and antidotes to try soften or counteract them.

Both of these things are ongoing explorations I hope to continue and share more widely.

I invited friends and family to the showcase, and am extremely grateful for that opportunity and the conversations that have followed.

Alana Bloom

Where has your question brought you?

Question I leave with:

How can I continue to deepen and develop my approach as facilitator, artist and regenerator?

Question I came with: How can I bring forth my gifts and the gifts of others in the journey towards healing?

www.regeneratingrhythms.org regeneratingrhythms@gmail.com insta/twitter @alanablooms

What I’ve understood about gifts is that they are

This journey has been an opportunity to reflect

often thought of as our talents or skills and if we

on all of this in real time through the beautiful

are lucky we can make some money off them,

mirror of peers that I’ve been surrounded by.

but actually our gifts are beyond this. They are

Whilst also beginning to build the foundations

the way that we make people feel, how we listen,

of a wider practice and approach that I would

the way we speak. They are the experiences

like to infuse all of my work and offerings with as

we’ve had, the ways we’ve grown and the people

facilitator, artist and regenerator.

who have been with us along the way.

My feeling is that the process of healing is connected to finding your gifts, finding the things that pull you through the darkest times and help you to live fully. Those kinds of gifts are in connection to our soul and can become more potent or clear to us when we’ve had to descend into the underworld to find them.

What have you created?

I created a manifesto for gifts for myself

A Manifesto for Gifts:

and anyone who might want to create spaces where people can be nourished and find a way

The only way is through

to connect with the unique medicine they have

Fill your cup

to offer the world.

See the potential in everyone Befriend fear, see what it has to offer you Your soul thrives beyond capitalism Our other than human kin all have gifts to offer Welcome a diversity of intelligence from body, to mind to emotional Your gifts are made up of everyone’s gifts Listen to what the Earth reveals to you Healing happens in relationship Cultivate a Courageous Heart

Reflections on your learning journey The Learning Relay has felt like a beacon and safe harbour in these wild and rocky times. It’s been beautiful to be on this journey with such a brilliant group of peers all enquiring and learning to live in this time in a way that feels good for them.

I feel very grateful how effortless connecting on zoom has felt and whilst we’ve not met in person I feel such closeness to these people to the point where I feel like I have been able show up just as I am whether I’m tired, overwhelmed or joyful.

Plus seeing the creativity of my peers and how they hosted their workshops has been a great insight into understanding how much is still possible in the online space.

Amongst all of this I feel like this learning journey provided me the space to be more reflective and to explore my question in an intuitive way without feeling like I needed to get anywhere with it. It reminded me of the power of process and taking off the pressure of productivity.

Cheerfulness, Openness, kindness, generosity, teaching, passing on wisdom to the younger generation, Optimism, Kindness, passion, artistry, imagination, love, Playfulness, Listening, Honesty, vulnerability, Energy, hope, ideas, enthusiasm, Putting aside a Tuesday evening to collectively dream, reflection, love, peace, Healing - recognising suffering and enabling people to deal with it and move past it, possibility, fun, Guts, creativity, listening, wonder, compassion, empathy, beauty, Vulnerability and ability to share this, Knowledge of self and boundaries with body, listening, Big-picture thinking, warmth, Connected with younger self, Desire to use lived experience to guide work and help others, the willingness to dive into the unknown, Seeing- really seeing, Hope, fear, GREAT DANCE MOVES!! Knowing and sharing the power of sound, the power of MUSIC, chewing, Music, being humans in bodies that are connected to them, listening, joy, smiles, empathy, sensitivity, openness, deep listening, passion, thoughtfulness, mischievousness, pleasure, Connecting to community, Joy, Giving each other spaces to stretch and get in touch with our bodies, Love, thoughtfulness, healing, music and rhythm, Ability to reflect, impact, Asking for help from others, empathy, Design skills, learning to articulate our ideas and dreams, Empathy, Ability to dream big, Creativity, supportive, to draw out ideas from others rambles, Beauty, and offer guidance, brightness, bravery, DOING skills- there’s definitely some get shit done skills, Creating space for creativity, Generosity with time and resources, Helpfulness, being able to be in the unknown together, face, groundedness, Tying things together, Leaping into the unknown, Seeing patterns, saying yes saying no, persevering, Boundary creation, asking good questions, being seen, mindfulness, passion, Challenging yourself, connecting the dots, Knowing boundaries and pushing our boundaries, different backgrounds, sparks, Opening yourself up to people you’ve just met, Relaxed, being witnessed and witnessing other people, A multitude of lived experiences, curious, Creating safe and open space, coolness, Enabling a group of people to feel grounded and calm, curiosity, Love for life, learning and unlearning, being able to make mistakes and apologies for them, Delving deep, Not being afraid, Sustainability, Will to be a positive agent in this world, Being afraid but moving in anyway, facilitation, Legacy minded, Leaning in, human approach, POSITIVE MISCHIEF, Looking towards ancestry, sense of humour, nourishing each other and ourselves, A feeling of discontent with the status quo, meaning, dreaming, thinking, questioning, listening to the other than human world, Helping people with their practise, Getting to the heart of it, connection to nature, smiles, Sharing, Emotional intelligence, Connection to nature, Open hearts, self compassion, Open minds, Cherishing the natural world, good lighting, Open will, being humble, letting life lead, Embracing differences, Music, celebrating each other, Learning from one another, Growing from each other, bouncing, A space for the mundane and the radical, honesty, Being vulnerable, collaboration, silence, not being afraid to be silly! Imagination, We are becoming (insert your own word), Non judgement, Not taking ourselves seriously, Willingness to try, experimental, Able to make mistakes, trusting, poets, artists, Flexibility, bridge builders, Courage, visionaries, edge dwellers, networks, beauty, big hearts

Our collective gifts

Patrick Vickers

Where has your question brought you?

This journey started with the intention to build a

Question I leave with:

specific project - a piece of a new food system

How can I use compassion and gratitude to show me my path?

which is regenerative and resilient. Now I believe that developing the capacities of communities to build solutions for themselves is more important than any individual solution.

The turning point was reading an article called ‘Preparing for the end of the world as we know it’ by a collective called Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures. It’s a critique of many attempts to ‘fix’ the climate and ecological emergencies that emerge from those who have benefited from colonialism.

It is still guiding my thinking now, and led me to focus on the process more than the outcome.

We don’t just need new solutions - we need them to be brought to life in a way that builds the social fabric.

What have you created?

My initial intention was to start a specific project - an urban farm which grows Oyster mushrooms from spent coffee grounds. I have the knowledge and network to do this, but am still searching for the ideal space.

Over the course of the journey, my focus shifted slightly to broader community initiatives. This is because in a century that will be defined by severe shocks to our systems due to climate and ecological collapse, the capacity of communities to respond with compassion and healing energy is more important than the mechanisms they respond with. A circle economy Oyster mushroom farm won’t do much good on a street where neighbors don’t have each other’s backs.

Over the Christmas period I am taking time to reflect, re-read, and plan how to create an initiative that helps people create climate

Question I came with: How can I build food business/initiative based on interconnection and solidarity?

Email: patrickvickers1226@gmail.com

solutions collectively, in their community. As

Twitter: P__Vickers

with enrol, the connections between people will

Instagram: patrick__vickers

be more important than the ‘tangible’ outcome.

Reflections on your learning journey I’m so grateful that I was part of such an intentional, caring, and accountable space.

Something about this blend of characteristics and characters in the group made such fertile ground for personal growth. I feel like I can be myself with this group and be supported, and I feel like I still have a lot to give to the group.

I’ve learnt so much from everyone, and the last four months have been the psychologically galvanising of my adult life.

I was in a place where I often felt stuck and unable to make progress to the things that mattered most to me. Now I don’t feel intimidated or scared by my intentions as much as before. I don’t feel frozen or the need to withdraw as much. This journey has let me create more space in my life for living more intentionally and serving my calling.

I’ve learned that I can try more things and have faith in the process. I can move forward with curiosity about how this journey will unfold. The lessons and outcomes that come my way may not be the ones I expected when I started off, but they will probably be the lessons I didn’t know I needed.

Alex Eisenberg

Where has your question brought you?

Question I leave with:

How can I inhabit spaces in which I feel I can bring my whole-self to the group?

Question I came with: How can I support the creation of sustainable, creative spaces that enable different generations to connect with each other?

Email: alexeisenberg@me.com Twitter/Instagram: @alexeisenberg

I was so shy about my learning question at

All parts of the process are necessary.

the start because I’d put so much into it. I was

The time that I spent creating my LQ was a key

tinkering with it, swapping out this word or that

foundation for my twelve week journey - which

word so that it would be just right! One of the

has been exactly that. As time passed, I gained

ideas in Enrol with your learning question (LQ) is

new perspectives and things began to ruminate.

to see it everywhere, to talk to everyone about

About 7 weeks in, I remembered that things are

it and embed it in who you are. I was really

much more fluid than they are fixed. I accessed

inspired by this approach and as I started to do

the ‘swimming part’ of me and made my way

this a lot of the shyness, the awkwardness and

to the surface. I took a big breath of air which

the attachment to perfection started to drop off.

sustained me for another dive.

What have you created?

I came to Enrol with a series of project ideas

In the final few weeks of the relay I discovered

and I was keen to use the 12 weeks to explore

that what was really driving my desire to do this

these. I spent a lot of the learning relay in

work was not just any old learning. I wanted

research mode, reading loads especially finding

to figure out how to make space for difficult

out about the work that is happening in terms

and uncomfortable conversation between

of intergenerational learning. This has been

generations and how this could be done in

invaluable and so the first thing that I’ve

families and communities. This is a complex and

created is an informed basis for my future

hard territory which has brought up many new

work. I was relatively clear from the start that

questions and dilemmas. It’s going to require

I wanted to do something that brings youth

more work and insight from the right people, to

and older generations together to learn and

dive deeper into this idea. And that’s what I plan

this is what I focused on. By the end of the 12

to do in 2021!

weeks I had created an early stage prototype called THE FLIP.

Reflections on your learning journey THE GROUP - what a generous, kind and

Due to a family bereavement which occurred

welcoming bunch of people. There really has

during the relay, my plans changed significantly.

been a sense of bonding which has been

The group supported me through this deftly

amazing considering we’ve been on Zoom.

and I learnt that submitting to a situation can

We have sustained each other and with a

sometimes be the best way to get through it. I

spirit of encouragement that I have rarely

softened myself, I eased my expectations and

seen or experienced. The Learning Relay is

dulled my desire for perfection. It’s not that I

fundamentally about supporting each other

lost these things completely, because they also

rather than competing with each other and this

make up who I am, but I found a new texture to

is radical right now. Getting into this mindset

them.

took me a while but when it comes your way in droves...it’s easy to give it back.

The combination of the group’s warmth and my sense of inner holding is a real gift and I know I need something like this in my life for the a happy and healthy future.

Nadia Connell

Where has your question brought you?

There once was a Chimaera who wished for

Question I leave with:

connection, mutual nourishment and a place to

How can I hold spaces of connection whilst embracing the Chimaera in me?

share her gifts. She took on a magical journey with the Enrol School of Wizardry. The journey was challenging, rewarding and sometimes hazy! Along the way incredible things happened; she found connection through new friends, she became the human to a dog called Nessie, she moved in to a house with like-minded souls, she was invited to take part in an incredible co-created musical performance, she found an inner belief in herself and her ability to create magical spaces, she learnt much more about what nourishes her, she laid fertile ground and planted some juicy seeds. This is not a story with a happy ever after, this is a story where a Chimaera continues to live and breathe her question and sub-questions, taking on the call

MANIFESTO

to a lifelong learning journey.

I create connections I hold nourishing spaces I carry my energy I offer myself unconditional friendship I spread roots and share gifts in and with my community(ies) I express myself through music I communicate with care (nonviolent communication) I practice yoga and take care of my body for it to withstand the trials of time Question I came with: How can I nourish my new

Email: nadia_connell@hotmail.co.uk

community/ies in Lisbon?

Instagram: @nadia_connell

I start by scheduling togetherness time with family/love/friendships first, then well-being time, then use the rest of that time for my life’s work

Reflections on your learning journey I’m grateful for having shared a space with this incredible group of fellow learners, fellow questioners, fellow Chimaeras. Whose presence, energy, ideas and spirit shaped my learning journey in the most beautiful of ways. We

What have you created?

held a space which was open to introspection

SPACE & SEEDS

personal, the collective and the wider global.

SEEDS & SPACE

and considering things on the planes of the Brought together through the question ‘Who

I’ve created space for discussion, space for in-

must we become’, I learnt that there is magic

vites and sharing, space for magic and exploring

and power in the small; that small is good, small

our individual and collective power, I’ve created

is enough, small is necessary. That moving slow,

space for rituals. I’ve created space for self-re-

at the speed of trust and with intention feels

flection, space for outward reflection, space to

right for me.

nourish and be nourished. I’ve planted seeds for invites, seeds for bonding, seeds for connection,

Rather than feeling a conclusion to the

seeds for creative explorations. Seeds & space

learning journey I continue forth with my

for sharing gifts.

learning question and am left with many more sub-questions; ‘How can I help people

SEEDS & SPACE

SPACE & SEEDS

see their collective gifts?’, ‘How can I reframe the period leading up to a deadline to stay process focused, playful and experimental rather than be clouded by a sense of resistance to producing a final piece?’ ‘How do I keep nourishing the seeds I laid during the Enrol Relay? And ‘How can I make sure I keep connected to my wonderful Enrol cohort?’.

And so the journey continues…

Illustrations by Lottie McCarthy Designed by Lizzie Reid Edited by Alana Bloom 2020