I am a girl on a mission: I want to help companies and organisations in The Netherlands to become more socially responsible and sustainable. I want support them to inspire other organisations in order to create a ‘snowball effect’ and make great positive impact on our planet and society. That’s my way of contributing to a better world.
This is one of the reasons why I left for Brazil in 2010 to participate in an Oasis Game. Such a game is a way to help communities fulfil their dreams in a participatory and fun way. It’s about creating liveable cities and neighborhoods, integrating cultures, through empowerment and participation. One of the most important reasons for me to go there was to learn about cooperative gaming, appreciative inquiry and open space training methods in my continuous search for tools and methods to make a positive impact.
Back in Holland, we invited the Brazilians to cooperate in an Oasis Game in Amsterdam. And that was where I got introduced to the Perspectivity Challenge. Eelke, Edo, Maarten and Michiel were facilitating a game and even though if I was not a participant but just a bystander, I got very curious. I really wanted to know more about the game. What are the guiding principles behind it? What can we learn from these principles exactly? How can I use them to fulfil my mission?
So I went to a train the trainer session, experienced the strength of the game and became a facilitator. I facilitated quite a lot of games since then and every time there are new learning points, for the participants and for me as well. One of the most important lessons learned for me is how many interesting and unexpected things come our way if we open ourselves up to what others have to offer us.
Perspectivity brings me a better understanding of the quality dialogue has to offer and new methods to empower people. Next to that, I became part of a network of likeminded and dedicated people. I regularly have a cup of coffee with one of the members of the network and often they give me new insights on my work and projects. Recently, I started a new initiative with Freek, a multi-stakeholder program in which we want to tackle complex social challenges. It is called ‘Social Landscaping Lab’.