Convenings
Collaborative spaces for learning and connecting
Upcoming Convenings
We are currently working on an exciting programme of events for 2023. There will be a mixture of in person and online events covering topics like measurement, relational offsetting and the cost of living crisis, all – of course – with a relational lens. Make sure you’re signed up to the newsletter and follow us on Twitter to keep up-to-date on what’s coming up.
Book Club!
Hosted by the wonderful Christine Frazer from her kitchen table in Gateshead, we’ll be gathering together to share thoughts and reflections on The Good Life by Marc Shulz and Robert J. Waldinger. Based on findings from the 80-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development, this landmark book reveals the simple yet surprising truth: the stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying and overall healthier lives.
When: 28th March, 12.30 – 2pm
Where: Zoom. We’ll share a link with you when you sign up
What: This will be a friendly and informal opportunity to discuss this fascinating book. Bring a cuppa and find a comfy spot.
If you don’t have time to read the full book, we recommend having a skim of this Guardian article or this YouTube conversation.
Convenors Convening
Do you run a network or coalition that is working to turbocharge progress to a relationship-centred world?
We are scoping interest in a 1 – 1.5 day (possibly / hopefully residential) retreat for people just like you!
We believe that there are many networks and coalitions playing a crucial role in building a relationship-centred world already and we’re excited to come together to share updates, connect ideas and explore opportunities to coordinate efforts. Your network might be a community of practitioners, a campaigning coalition, a policy network or any of the other many ways in which people and organisations are coming together to champion the importance of relationships.
The retreat will be an opportunity for conveners to:
- Build or rekindle relationships with other networks and coalitions and familiarise themselves with one another’s strategies, priorities and audiences
- Explore shared challenges and opportunities facing our individual and collective endeavours
- Scope the possibility for greater collaboration and collective action between initiatives
- Hear from and be inspired by other fields / sectors where networks have played a transformative role in achieving change
We’ll be circulating details to everyone who expressed interest over the coming weeks.
If you’d like to co-host an event with us on anything to do with relationships and relationship-centred practice, please get in touch. We’d be delighted to hear from you
Ongoing Convenings
The Relationships Observatory
A conversation space for reflecting, together, about how our relationships are affected by changing circumstances
Relational Councils Network
A network of local authorities learning and sharing about how to put relationships at the heart of councils
Events and conversations
Ongoing opportunities – online and in person – to meet new people, develop ideas, share learning and get inspired
Past Convenings
Relationship-Centred Practice: Unpacking the how, what and why
23rd November 2022, Newcastle Upon Tyne
On the 23rd November, 80 Relationship-Centred practitioners came together in Newcastle to explore the how, what and why of relationship-centred practice. We were a varied bunch – thinkers, doers and enablers, from different sectors and disciplines, and with a wide range of skills and experiences, all bound together by a shared commitment to making relationships the first mile. Together we began to unpack:
- WHAT do we mean by relationship-centred practice? What are the golden threads? What examples already exist?
- WHY is relationship-centred practice important? What change does it unlock?
- HOW do we evidence the impact of relationship-centred practice? What already exists and where are the gaps?
- HOW do we enable and support relationship-centred practice? What conditions need to be in place?
- WHERE might we go next in exploring these lines of enquiry?
Relational Learning with David Jay
On 16/03/23, we were joined by David Jay, network builder, physicist and founder of Relationality Lab who talked to us about the methods and approaches that he’s developing to support ‘relational learning’
Relational Councils: Fourth Convening
On 30/01, 60 of us from the Relational Councils Network came together to explore how a more relational approach can help councils tackle the consequences of the cost of living crisis.
Citizen's Rising: A special briefing with Save the Children
In partnership with Save the Children, we have been listening to young people about their experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this event, we shared what we have heard and explored together what children and young people need from adult society to be able to thrive
Side by Side: A peer learning programme
Over the first half of 2022, we were honoured to host a group of Community Weavers to explore how we can nurture and sustain the community activity which erupted in the early lockdowns, without controlling and constraining it. Spanning 6 sessions and involving a host of fantastic speakers, it was a great programme covering a lot of ground.
Relational Councils: Third Convening
On 25/04/22, we were joined by Bryony Shannon, author of the excellent blog Rewriting Social Care, to explore how local authorities can develop a more relational lexicon. We discussed the impact of language on relationships, words that make us go hmm, and small steps towards shifting language.
Relational Councils: Second Convening
On 14/02/22, we hosted the second convening for local authorities from different parts of the country. We focused on relational approaches to statutory duties and risk management, hearing from Russ Bellenie and Eliot Fineberg who kicked off the discussion for us.
Relational Councils: First Convening
On 13/12/21, local authorities from across the country came together to unpick what it means to be a relational council. We heard from LBBD, Tony Clements and others about what they’re working on and surfaced lots of questions to keep the conversation going.
Nurturing and sustaining community activity
On 10/11/21, we came together to explore how we can nurture and sustain community activity without controlling and constraining it. We explored possibilities as well as challenges, and we plan to keep the conversation going into 2022.
Loneliness and political life: A transatlantic conversation
On 12/10/21 we teamed up with Pepperdine University to explore the effect that loneliness has had on our political lives. Bringing together speakers from different political standpoints, it was a lively and thought-provoking conversation. Our Twitter summary can be found here.
The Lookout: Reflecting on young people's experiences of the pandemic
On 22/09/21, we came together to reflect on the effect that the pandemic has had on young people’s relationships and what adult society needs to do to ensure ‘recovery’ takes into account their needs. This conversation supplements what we’ve been hearing form young people directly.
Measuring relationships: What's the problem?
On 09/06/21 we came together to discuss the ‘measurement problem’. What are we trying to measure when it comes to relationships? What are the risks? Where does potential lie? We surfaced as many questions as we did answers. Our Twitter summary can be found here.
Testimonials from participants
I gain such strength from this group and the people in it and the action that comes when we all gather together. I love all of your storytelling and the compassion with which you speak about the people that you obviously know very well. This personally for me is a very important part of my month so thank you everybody
Action Learning was absolutely phenomenal… it gave me that kick up the backside to make plans – pushing things forward. I really liked that the process was that I was trying to find out answers for myself
[What I enjoy about these sessions is] meeting other practitioners and hearing about their work, […] the diversity of the content and speakers […] the camaraderie and support. It can be lonely and draining work and I get a sense people are really valuing having a support network
You don’t always see the obvious. Our organisation does so much but the Heatmap showed us we don’t really promote it as best as we could… this work will have a knock on effect
Professionally this project has kept me going. To have some direction, to meet regularly with like minded people. To have the opportunity to share my thoughts, to be treated as an expert.
Being in this space has solidified how crucial relationships are – it’s affirmed how much can change if you have good relationships
Featured: The Community Weaver’s Companion
- How can we nurture strong communities in the good times as well as the bad?
- How can we sustain the community activity we saw in the early lockdowns without controlling and constraining it?
- How do we build a positive Covid legacy and resist the pull back to old ways?
Collaboratively created by the wonderful members of our Side by Side Convening in early 2022, the Community Weaver’s Companion offers handy tools and frameworks, inspiring insights and anecdotes, and useful resources for diving deeper into what it means – and what it takes – to build strong communities from the inside.