Festival of learning

It’s three weeks since we hosted the Festival of Learning and it feels timely to begin to put on record some of the learning and shared experiences. We asked the question, ‘What reveals itself when we relocate power and resource to grass root communities?’ and then created the space and the conditions that enabled those stories to be shared.

This is the first of a series of blogs and intends to capture and share the essence of the morning session. Here we’ll share some photographs and a few short films that capture peoples experience and give you a feel of the day. In the coming weeks we’ll share blogs and stories containing the input and reflections on the day from neighbours and Cormac Russell; the findings from the Ripple Effect Mapping action learning project and the community led peer support workshop.

Take a look and a listen.

Creating the conditions for conversation. With the help of Maff Potts, Rebuild with Hope and Sunshine House we converted the Edge into a giant Public Living Room – disrupting and rebalancing power dynamics and ensuring the local folk that joined in felt at home.

Creating space for all community members to contribute. There’s no silos in community.

Deeply Listening.

Feel the vibe!

Music provided by Maff

Listen to Mike and Emma

Listen to Vicky

Listen to Melissa

Hear a snippet of Claire closing the morning workshop

And a reminder that when it comes to relocating power and resource we all need to wear our big pants!

Thanks to Charlie Daw of Wigan Borough Community First for the photos and video clips and for their help with the cost of food. Thanks to Wigan Council for helping with the hire costs and to the Edge for their hospitality and hosting.

In the next blog you can listen to neighbours and Cormac Rusell share his reflections on the stories and conversations shared.