Finding Elvis

March 17, 2017Leave a comment

On 6 June 1992 the village of Miljevina, 64 km southeast of Sarajevo, was shelled and attacked by Serbian paramilitaries. Six year old Elvis, his sister Elvira, their parents and their grandmother had to flee their home. Another 22,500 Muslims, the majority of local population, also fled. The family made its way through the Bosnian mountains to Varazdin in Croatia over 18 days where they found shelter in an abandoned military base that had been turned into a refugee camp. They were to spend the next 3 years here, waiting for the conflict to finish. At this time, Björn Steinz was finishing his civil service, an alternative to military service, in Germany and felt compelled to contact ‘Christlicher Friedensdienst’ (Christian Peace Service) which sent volunteers to the Balkans. During the winter of 1992 he travelled to Varazdin where he met Elvis and the family for the first time.

I had the privilege to meet both of them there. This is the story photographed by Björn

Listening to social transformation in Montreal

March 14, 2017March 14, 2017Leave a comment

Are you involved in participatory, ethnographic or narrative research on Montreal´s assets and challenges? Interested in listening in ways that enable wider and deeper understanding of each other and that advance collective action in our city?

DAY 1: Share and reflect on our listening processes and strategies for the social transformation of Montreal.
You are invited to a day to share observations and insights and pool our knowledge, expertise and experiences about listening strategies, participatory practices and research and Montreal narratives.

What are you working on now, and what do you dream of accomplishing?
Where are tensions points and power dynamics in existing narratives that carry the potential for transformation?
What are some possible synergies and existing networks?
What could help us improve our working methodologies and translate from listening to action?
What collective questions are emerging?
When: Friday, March 24th, from 9AM to 4PM (lunch included)
Where: Faculty Club, McGill University
Register by Friday, March 17th (limited space available)
At the end of day join us for a Listening Platform activity during la Nuit des débats. Everyone is welcome. Bring a friend.Let’s learn from each other and strengthen our Montréal listening culture.

DAY 2: Co-create a platform for the synergy of listening and action in Montreal.
Listening processes and opportunities can be transformative for actions, projects and policies.

Are you called by the idea of a shared infrastructure that can amplify Montreal listening activities? Come give shape to a new social infrastructure for transformative listening in Montreal

How can we mutually strengthen our listening instruments and methods?
What are some key listening channels and opportunities?
How can a common infrastructure facilitate and strengthen our work and its impact?
How can the infrastructure be self-organising?
What type of governance is best adapted to this collective infrastructure?

When: Friday, March 31st, from 8.30 AM to 1 PM (working lunch included)
Where: Faculty Club, McGill University
Register by Friday, March 17th (limited space available)

Let’s co-create a platform for listening and social transformation in Montreal!