Creating a local community of practice in the Vancouver area

A conversation that unfolded at the Art of Hosting on Bowen Island about convening a local community of practice.

Invitation to be in meatspace with each other to share learning edges and to each each other. Wave model of picking up what other people are dropping. Experimenting and combining practices. Finding the next place for being of service.

What's alive in this for people. Making it accessible. Be of service to organizations who want to experiment and use that to learn.

Created a guild in Port Alberni.

Light minimal structure and spending our time together in play an learning.

If we are going to work together let's be deliberate about long and deep learning.

Name connect nourish and illuminate. Doing work and learning on behalf of the whole cop.

Failing forward together. Making a lab for learning.

Making a deliberate move to hosting ourselves well. Being sure that we practice good form.

Supporting a punky DIY culture to continue learning and to network and practice.

Come together for an annual meeting. Calendar becomes and Open Space. Host finds the location and the process.

A big Open Space that runs the gamut between play and real work in the world.

Create mentoring partnerships. Be flexible to opportunities that are emerging. A check in to see what people are working on and where they are hungry.

Stay connected to the global community of practice. Choose the tech tools that serve and share and keep it open.

Amanda to set up a doodle. Chris to grab the emails of past participants. We will find a date that works. Chris to set out a space on the AoH Ning.

Replies to This Conversation

Permalink Reply by Amanda Fenton on October 30, 2011 at 3:52pm

Hi all,

Here is that Toronto group I mentioned Design With Dialogue (introduced to me by @NabilHarfoush); I love the idea of a website to share our topics, harvests etc of what we are exploring and learning as a community. They are also using Eventbrite. Hmmmm.

Amanda

Permalink Reply by Zack Embree on November 10, 2011 at 7:52pm

I am really excited about this.

Especially in supporting some of the DIY projects in the city. Our Community Bikes and FreeGeek come to mind as possible organizations that could benefit with our CoP. It would be nice for us to articulate what we could possibly offer to these groups.

What are your ideas in how to move forward at this point?

Permalink Reply by Amanda Fenton on November 10, 2011 at 8:14pm

I'll be setting up the Doodle poll - hopefully tonight!

Permalink Reply by Chris Corrigan on November 10, 2011 at 10:42pm

Great. Let's start with that. I'm on the road at th emoment and when I'm back I'll have a chance to compile the email lists from all the previous Art of Hosting events. But let's "start close in" as David Whyte says.

Thanks guys!

Permalink Reply by Tamara Connell on November 23, 2011 at 1:31pm

Hi team! I would love to join up for any upcoming conversations or CoP events. I have been doing various pieces of AoH while I was leading the MSLS programme in Sweden. Now I am back in Vancouver and looking forward to connecting with what is happening and emerging in this region.

I have also started a new role with Share.ca helping to educate/train people on responsible investing. I see a big opportunity to bring AoH into this to ramp up the conversation about where we invest our money.

All the best! /Tamara

Permalink Reply by Amanda Fenton on December 2, 2011 at 2:13am

Hello dear friends,

Mark your calendars - we have a date for our first Community of Practice planning session:

Sunday, January 29th (afternoon)

Some next-step questions that come to mind:

Where we can meet...I might be able to get a spot in Vancouver depending on how many people come out. Other ideas?
Create our online home... Chris I think you were going to start a spot on the Ning (a group maybe)?
Invitation process...
Structure and practice of our first meeting...
How we can creatively invite the voices of CoPers who can't be at the first meeting...

The planner in me could run amok attending to those questions and more, so instead I will place the talking piece back to the centre and breathe. :)

Permalink Reply by Chris Corrigan on December 2, 2011 at 2:52pm

Guys:

I created a group for us: http://artofhosting.ning.com/group/vancouver-area-aoh-practitioners