So how do you create a rich, thought-provoking, stimulating, collaborative, enjoyable and indeed moving Summer School? It is simple. Mix together the following ingredients, stir well, simmer for 5 days and trust that with minimal pre-planning the participants will create something unique, something extraordinary that will continue to resonate, quietly, through all of our lives over the year to come.
Ingredients
36 participants, including Chris, Harvey, Evan, Elliott and Adam11 Countries (Singapore, Canada, USA, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, France and UK)
5 days
5 Short presentations followed by discussion (Evan, Elliott, Adam, Chris and Harvey)
4 10 minutes ‘Ted’ talks – Rebekka (SF and the transgender community), Stefan (SF in Risk management), Mia (SF & intensive work in high-risk families), Biba (SF: an alternative approach in training young people in European Programmes)
4 live client sessions, 1 on Zoom with the client is the USA!
4 live coaching sessions
3 and a half evening social events
3 co-coaching sessions in small groups
1 live SF supervision session
1 live role play ‘I want my husband to stop beating me’
1 presentation on SF and research (Adam)
Countless exercises
An abundance of fruitful conversations
Endless goodwill and generosity
Lots of old friends (and hopefully some new ones)
Much laughter
Some tears
Many hugs
And lots of Danes.
Of course I really wanted today to write something meaningful, something significant, a 'heavy' piece about the thoughts that I have been having over the past 5 days, thoughts focused on ideas about how we describe the change process and differing ‘models’ of change. But those thoughts, and there are lots of them, have not yet crystallised into a shape, a form that I can write down and share coherently. But what I know is that Summer School 2017 will be feeding into my thinking and my work and my teaching over the months to come.
Thanks to all of our participants.
The BRIEF London Summer School 2018 will take place in Central London Monday August 13th to Friday August 17th 2018. See you there.
Evan George
London
August 2017
