Workshop: ‘Resilience and Stories of Overcoming’
Strengthening Wellbeing – Practicing Empathic Dialogue – Nurturing Purpose
This Trailer (2min) from our Virtual Dialogue Package ‘Resilience and Stories of Overcoming’ demonstrates the depth of connection that participants experience within virtual sessions using our unique CBE Peer Dialogue methodology.
INVITATION
Crossing Borders Education (CBE) is a non-profit organization for cross-cultural education that has collaborated with Erasmus Mundus programs and organizations such as National Geographic Education. The CBE team invites your students to participate in three virtual dialogue sessions as part of the StoryTalk workshop ‘Resilience and Stories of Overcoming’.
CURRENT CHALLENGES
Through online platforms our students could easily increase their knowledge about a wide range of topics including wellbeing and resilience. However the completion rate of online courses is mostly well below 10%. Additionally, many of our students are currently feeling isolated and powerless in the face of today’s intersecting crises (climate change, social injustices, political polarization, and more). These anxieties then further limit their capacities to connect meaningfully to new knowledge, much less integrate it into their lives.
THIS OPPORTUNITY
CBE engaged in four years of research and practiced and invented a unique Virtual Dialogue Methodology (patent filed) and piloted it throughout 2020 with multiple organizations including the British Council, the Charter for Compassion, the University of Glasgow, the University of Southern California, Purdue University and the Erasmus Student Network.
CBE created the StoryTalk workshops to connect diverse students in warm, intimate, caring small groups that can be scaled in concentric circles to large groups. Belonging is a key driving factor for overcoming a crisis. We developed tools to build deep human social bonds through which then Civic Imagination can arise naturally and be cultivated. We would love to explore with you ways to support your students to help build deep social connections during these difficult times. Our personal workshops build student bonds that they can opt to sustain through regular dialogue events organised by CBE.
DIALOGUE PROCESSES
We will facilitate the virtual sessions in intimate groups of four participants in order to experience the depth, vulnerability, and courage necessary to nurture our capacities of empathic listening and human care. The intended outcomes for our participants are:
An Open Space for connection, inspiration, and collaboration with each other.
A Collaborative Space to develop dialogue skills, social intelligence and collaboration.
Active Participation in dialogue processes that strengthen personal wellbeing, empathy and hope at this difficult time.
An Interactive Space to train some of your students in facilitation skills to continue small dialogue groups at your institution beyond this workshop.
Open Access to regular CBE dialogue events (e.g. CBE is a TED Circles host and facilitates Film Screening Dialogue Events).
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
Preparations: participants complete short reflection tasks online before each workshop sessions.
Workshop: facilitating three interactive virtual peer dialogue sessions (1.5 – 2hrs each).
Integration: participants complete short reflection tasks after each workshop session.
Multimedia: participants get access to CBE media to share workshop insights with their friends.
Dialogue Events: participants get invitations to intercultural CBE Dialogue Events
Community: participants are invited to become part of the growing CBE community for regular social connections within small peer groups (4 participants) during and beyond the pandemic.
Meta Design: organising dialogue in small groups of 4 people and collaboration in triad groups of 12 people (three small groups).
Facilitation: a trained facilitator leads each triad group through all aspects of the program.
PRACTICALITIES
The StoryTalk workshops are highly flexible and can be easily customised to specific needs.
Dates: flexible
Times: flexible
Preparations: completion of short virtual multimedia tasks (10min each)
Commitment: participants will be required to attend all* three sessions. (*Note: This is critical to support trust building and group bonding.)
COSTS
WORKSHOP FRAMEWORK
The workshop is developed around content by the VIA Institute on Character, TED Ed, Dr Dixon Chibanda and Dr Viktor Frankl.
