About two months ago we were called by the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs. De Algemene Bestuursdienst had the final day of their two-year programme for high-potentials in the Dutch Governmental apparatus coming up. The BaS (Bijdrage aan de Samenleving) group of this year was the Max Havelaars, about to end their journey. We worked intensively with the organizers and co-created a group experience that fits their vision:
The government should facilitate and mobilize the power of society. It is the government’s role to listen better to the needs of society. And it is the responsibility of societal actors to clearly share their story.
The challenge of the organizing team was how to do the interactive part of the programme in a meaningful way. After all, what happens with showing movies and the storytelling of some of the participants can be very well planned for upfront. Interaction however requires flexibility in the moment, next to careful planning.
The organizing teams’ main question was: How to have government officials experience our vision at the formal closure of the programme? But also practical questions arose, like: How to avoid shallow or theoretical discussions? How to tell the group’s story without ignoring individual experiences of those in the programme? How to organize the 150 people moving through the programme and the room?
After gaining clarity on the parameters of the event (time, location, vision, goals, core question), we designed a process that would fit all needs of the client and those of the audience. After running the prototype and finalizing the details of the exercise with the client, we made sure all co-hosts were briefed. Post cards we designed:
With smaller groups we worked with a storytelling and reflection exercise, to put the the vision into practice:
We also graphically recorded the event. So we could reflect back the experience of the day:
The impact of the interactive day may be illustrated with some quotes. Government officials realized for instance that ‘listening, rather than responding truly helps in order to really understand an issue’. Social changemakers that shared their story reflected back that they ‘felt understood’.
And that was the great thing about the event, and about being involved: instead of talking about some far-away vision, it was put in practice. Witnessed by the visual harvest on the wall. And exactly this -taking responsibility to live one’s dreams- makes the difference we believe in.
Some last words on our collaboration with the organizing team:
“Manuel and Oscar of ModelMinds knew in a session to guide the group to the central questions we wanted answers to. The remarkable thing is that they do so without directing the content in any way. They give a lot of space within this process of modelling of minds and stimulate the creativity of the group, something they radiate as a person.” Hans Faber, Nov 20, 2011
[The two photos above were taken by the Photographer and Journalist Gerrit de Heus]