System World versus Living World?
I hear and read it everywhere: the living world set against the system world. But this cultivated dichotomy undermines a successful approach to complex societal challenges. I prefer to think in ‘living systems’.
Book tip: Now it’s up to us, call for real democracy
Book tip by Petra de Boer: It is up to citizens to solve the greatest challenges of our time. That is the appeal of Eva Rovers to the Netherlands with her booklet 'Now it's up to us, call for real democracy'. Booklet? Yes, it is literally a small handy little book....
5 insights that led me to storytelling and narrative research
How can we use storytelling to better learn from best practices in the field of youth? A personal quest for stories as an indispensable source of knowledge for everyone working with and for children and young people.
Researching a complex issue? Stop ‘collecting’ data
Research and surveys often collect experiences, stories and data. But what do you give back to the people you surveyed? By involving participants in interpreting the results, you get a better view of what is going on.
Book tip: Mapping Dialogue: Essential tools for Social Change
Book tip by Manal Sayid: This book is a collaboration project. Mapping Dialogue: Essential Tools for Social Change, was written by three women and one man who met, in the summer of 2005, to talk about supporting the Nelson Mandela Foundation's Dialogue work in...
Which recipe should we follow for today’s complexity?
When we face complexity, we dive straight into the ‘cookbooks’ we already have. But unfortunately, old recipes tend to fail when applied in new complex situations. Other ingredients should be sourced.
The balancing act of organizing self-management
What are the little tricks of facilitating a large group? Let it go! But that’s not so easy…
The beauty of resistance
We often tend to ignore resistance, to pretend it’s not there. But that’s a missed opportunity, especially for a facilitator. Resistance has wisdom and potential in it.
Why wicked problems? It’s about complexity!
Nowadays, all kinds of issues are labelled ‘wicked problems’. However, this term stands in the way of an effective approach.