Join Us for an Introductory Session: Developing Across Borders Performs! Led by Barbara Silverman, Melissa Meyer & Lea Čikoš Saturday May 22 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Eastern US (UTC-4)

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Step onto a world stage and grow!  At a time of extraordinary uncertainty, Developing Across Borders welcomes participants from across the world into a weekly, virtual, group-building activity. Some participants come at key transition moments in their lives. Others want to make their lives bigger — more responsive and responsible to a rapidly changing world. Many come to find their way out of emotional pain. With the support of a skilled social therapeutic coach, they build a space — a development zone — to perform as world citizens, to play with language, invent new ways of being and seeing — and in so doing, produce new possibilities for themselves and their communities. Join us for a free 90 minute session where you will be introduced to the methodology and history of Developing Across Borders and participate in a demonstration of a group.  Following this session participants can join a 3-week short-term introductory Developing Across Borders group (fee for group will be set based on a sliding scale).  Dates for the 3 week group are Saturdays, June 12, 19, and 26 - 10:30-12:00 noon (Eastern US - UTC-4)

Barbara Silverman, L.C.S.W. is a master designer and organizer of location-specific social therapeutic group environments—having brought an explicitly developmental approach into public schools, mental health centers and other community-based agencies. A social therapist and educator, she helps groups self-organize to create spaces where all can grow. In 2010, Barbara founded the East Side Institute’s Developing Across Borders, a global, cross-cultural development zone now with dozens of participants from every part of the world. More locally, she leads a social therapy practice in New York City. Barbara received her M.S.W. from the Adelphi School of Social Work.

Melissa Meyer is a social therapeutic coach and the Associate Director at the East Side Institute.  She is sales director for Performing the World, an international gathering that explores performance as a method to help communities grow and create positive social change. Melissa co-teaches “Creating Communities of Hope: Introducing a Performatory Approach to Human Development and Its Community Stages" a 5-week introductory seminar on social therapeutics. She leads and co-leads three Developing Across Borders groups weekly.

Lea Čikoš is an Intercultural Trainer in non-formal education, a youth worker, organizer, mentor, activist and world traveler. She was born and raised in today's Serbia and has lived and worked all over Europe. Lea is an associate of the East Side Institute and an alumna of the International Class. She is one of the founders of Volunteers Centre of Vojvodina, an organization based in Novi Sad Serbia that has been working to bring opportunities for development to communities and youth in the region since 2004. She is a member of the trainers pool of the French-German Youth Office, has studied Environment and Romology and is a Veterinary nurse.