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IDEAS, NEWS AND RESOURCES | January 2019
We hope you enjoy receiving our newsletter which includes constructionist ideas and practices as well as news and resources from the Taos Institute.
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Brief Encounters with The Taos Institute
January 2019
This month Kenneth J. Gergen, Taos Institute co-founder and board president, shares with us his reflections on the past 25 years of Taos activities and growth...
A Year for Celebrating 25 Years
By Kenneth J. Gergen
I often begin the New Year by looking back on the preceding year's activities of the Taos Institute, marking footsteps, considering their direction. And to be sure there is much to be appreciated. Most notable is the launching of the
Diploma program.
This two year program enables professionals to work closely with a mentor on a project of their choosing, for example, writing a book, creating a new practice, going deep in a topic of interest, or otherwise fulfilling a life's dream.
But I must admit that my attention is drawn most fully to the celebration honoring the 25
th
anniversary of the Taos Institute last November in Cancun, Mexico. With over 200 participants from around the world, we were feasted on a rich menu of offerings by Associates and newcomers, as well as plenary sessions, both humorous and soul-searching. A time for rejoicing and reaffirmation. How could it be otherwise when you think of the humble beginnings in Taos, New Mexico, in the 1990s? There seven scholars and practitioners found inspiration and energy in ideas about co-creating meaning and the enormous implications for how we live our lives. Invigorated by the support of others, we dared to form a
non
-profit, educational Institute, the purpose:
to bring together theory and practice for mutual enrichment, and for what could be offered to the world.
Who could have imagined the future that unfolded? First we discovered many like-minded and dedicated people wishing to take part in the dialogues, to share, and create. These wishes gave birth to a global network of
Taos Associates
, a network that is now comprised of over 650 from some 60 countries. Associates in turn began to form smaller and more geographically centered networks. Thus we find today the Taos Latin America, Taos Europe, and Taos China networks. These networks have also meant an expansion in the conference offerings. Where we began with only a single conference a year, other groups and institutions have invited collaborations. Collaborative conferences have taken place around the globe, and on such wide ranging topics as vitalizing education, peace building, collaborative medicine, relational welfare, dialogic
practices
,
relational leading, and more.
It
also became apparent that there was an audience eager for relevant reading materials. We began simply with small, inexpensive books on social construction, and appreciative inquiry. This opened a flood gate. Since that time some
38 books
have been published on such wide-ranging topics as mediation, therapy, aging, healthcare, dialogue, education, organizational development, and peace-building. Many of these now appear in multiple languages. Yet
,
because the cost of printed books is prohibitive for many people, we also began a new initiative:
Worldshare b
ooks. Here we began to offer books online, free for downloading. Again, the outpouring challenged the imagination. Now freely available to the world are some 30 different books for downloading, and in 12 different languages. I am especially pleased by the recent offering of several books in Arabic.
All these activities were congenial with our status as an educational non-profit. But what about more specifically educational efforts? We began by offering scattered workshops, later add
ing on-line courses. Small footsteps soon became leaps and bounds, as we began
collaborat
ing with several European universities to prepare thoughtful practitioners for a
PhD degree
. Over 120 PhDs have now graduated from this program, and the current number of applications is far greater than we can accommodate. For more specialized training, we have joined in collaboration with the Houston-Galveston Institute to form the
International Certificate Program
in Collaborative Practice. Thanks to the efforts of energetic Associates, that program is now offered in 12 countries. There are continuing efforts to offer MA degrees in relational leading and in dialogic practices. But in the meantime, the newly minted Diploma program offers unlimited opportunities for constructionist related inquiry.
There are so many shooting stars that lighted the way forward. Associates organized a network on relational research; an electronic newsletter on positive aging now goes out in 9 languages. The Taos website - visited by tens of thousands each year - is now a repository of freely available materials on social construction and related practices. A small
grants program
s funded 64 Associates around the world in their creative projects, from helping child victims of the civil war in Colombia, to creating a communal feather nest, now in a Beijing
museum
. And a contract has just been signed for a Handbook on Social Construction and Professional Practices.
I am almost breathless writing these words, and especially as I think of the mammoth creative efforts of all those joining together in the co-creation. All of us should now join together in cheers of co-appreciation.
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Taos Institute Events and Gatherings
The Many Ways to Get Involved...So many exciting opportunities coming up...We hope you take a look here...
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All are welcome to join in this International Learning Festival! Part 3 of an ongoing series that focuses on how our educational systems and practices can meet the needs of youth now and in the future.
Location: Hogeschool De Kempel, Helmond, The Netherlands
We hope you join in this important conference!
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The 4th International Congress on
Collaborative-Dialogic Practice
June 27-29, 2019
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Submit your Proposal Now!
Historic Brno, Czech Republic
Colleagues from around the world will gather to explore Collaborative-Dialogic and related Practices at the 4th International Congress in historic Brno, Czech Republic, June 26-29. We will focus on the exploration and practice of Collaborative-Dialogic Practice across contexts, cultures, and disciplines. We invite you to submit a proposal addressing our theme: inviting connection, conversation, creativity.
Theme: Inviting connection, conversation, creativity in education, psychotherapy, research and organizations and other topics of interest.
Save the Date and plan to join with hundreds of practitioners, academics and students in Brno, Czech Republic!
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Relational Welfare - Organizational Capacity & Relational Leadership Practices
June 26 - 28 2019, Aarhus, Denmark
Joint Action, The TAOS Institute and Aarhus municipality are excited to invite you, your colleagues and relationally sensitive practitioners and scholars, to our 5th Nordic Conference in Collaborate Practices and Human Centered Governance. This year we further expand our focus from last year's topic: practices of leadership. We are examining how leadership builds and develops organizational capacity and relational welfare practices.
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Join with many practitioners and scholars from various dialogic practices who are coming together to share, learn, and laugh together.
Who's coming? People like you who care about how to make our everyday lives even better than yesterday. People who are in the space of social construction, collaborative dialogue, narrative practice, brief coaching and counselling, and many more. Parents, teachers, leaders, consultants, and facilitators. You got it, anyone can come and everyone will experience something meaningful and transformative in sharing stories, views, and our journeys together.
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Relational Constructionism, Inquiry, and the Arts of Transformative Change
Date: March 5 - 7, 2019
Location: The Malvern Hills, Herefordshire, England
Presenters: Dian Marie Hosking and Sheila McNamee
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An Inquiry into Relational Leading Practice,
an 5-week online course,
with Ginny Belden-Charles
- Social Construction: Premises and Promises - a 6-week online course, with Celiane Camargo-Borges
Friends of the Taos Institute Workshops and Events
- Social Therapeutics: A Search for Method for Our Times, with Lois Holzman & Guests, Hosted by East Side Institute
- Crossing Borders - Linking Lives - 5th European+ Conference | Narrative Therapy and Community Work - NCD2 -
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The Taos Institute's International
Diploma in Social Construction and Professional Practice
This program is for you if:
- You are looking for an opportunity to explore an area of interest, and complete an engaging project and not a university degree.
- You are looking for a coach, mentor or advisor with whom to work on a project or research you have been thinking about doing but need support to move forward.
- You want to engage with others from around the world, in a virtual learning environment.
- You are looking for a community that shares your views, ideas, and values around collaboration, appreciation and relational capacity.
- You work well with self-motivation, and self-driven learning objectives.
- You want to increase your skills, challenge yourself, and learn something new.
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6-week Online Course with
Ken and Mary Gergen
EXPLORING RELATIONAL THEORY AND PRACTICES
- MONDAYS, February 4 - March 11, 2019 - Register by Jan. 23rd.
About the Course:
-
Relational theory now provides cutting edge ideas relevant to practices across the professions. The major theoretical shift is from the traditional focus on individuals to the relational processes that are co-produced. This 6-week online course introduces common premises and orienting ideas central to relational theory. The course consists of six modules with online conference meetings, readings, videos and online dialogues.
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Weekly live calls, readings, videos, activities, learning partner conversations, online learning platform with weekly commenting.
- Week 1 - Module 1: Relational Theory: Why Now?
- Week 2 - Module 2: The Mind as Relationship
- Week 3 - Module 3: Multi-being: Ourselves with Others
- Week 4 - Module 4: Dialogue: In Theory and Practice
- Week 5 - Module 5: Putting Relational Theory to Work
- Week 6 - Module 6: Relational Ethics in Action
For all the details and to register today, visit:
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World Appreciative Inquiry Conference
Nice, France, March 19 - 22, 2019
Generating Constructive Conversations for the Common Good
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relationships and conversations that make a difference
ISSUE 8 Now Available!
Open access online journal
Articles in both English and Spanish
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WorldShare Books includes publications in English, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Arabic, and even Farci.
Donate to the Peggy Penn WorldShare Books Fund
This fund helps to cover the expenses of offering these online books free of charge to anyone in the world.
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Paths to Positive Aging: Dog Days with a Bone and Other Essays
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by Mary and Ken Gergen
Mary and Ken Gergen are devoted to the cause of reinventing aging. To focus on the gains of aging is to realize that the later years are among the richest and most rewarding of one's life. In their dedication to this reconstruction, the Gergens publish the Positive Aging Newsletter, an electronic newsletter, available in seven languages (
www.positiveaging.net).
In this book, the Gergens share ideas and experiences designed to inspire others as they age.
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Communicating Possibilities:
A Brief Introduction to the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)
by Ilene Wasserman and Beth Fisher-Yoshida
Communicating Possibilities is an introduction to the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM), a practical theory which at its roots, is an approach to looking at our social interactions. In the process of stepping back to look at our interactions and how we construct our social worlds, we open possibilities of alternative paths and outcomes. CMM offers tools and frameworks to use so when we pause and notice what we are making together and how, we open up spaces to make better choices with more desirable relationships each turn of the way.
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First Appreciative Inquiry Book for Kids - STAN AND THE FOUR FANTASTIC POWERS
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by Shira Levy, Marge Schiller, Sarah Schiller, Max Schiller, with illustrations by Stefanie Rudolph
Stan and The Four Fantastic Powers presents readers with a new way of looking at their world and the possibility of becoming change agents. Appreciative Inquiry encourages the use of positive questioning, collaboration, curiosity, and creativity, using the AI 4-D cycle represented through Stan's Four Fantastic Powers:
* ME Power: discovering strengths
* SEE Power: dreaming future possibilities
* WE Power: working as a team to develop goals and a plan
* DO Power: delivering the plan
For more information
→
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Sign up for this free newsletter in the following languages:
- English
- Spanish
- Danish
- German
- French
- Chinese
- Portuguese
- Greek
- Italian
By focusing on the positive aspects of aging, and the availability of resources, skills, and resiliencies, research not only brings useful insights into the realm of practice but creates hope and empowers action among older people. By moving beyond practices of repair and prevention, to emphasize growth-enhancing activities, practitioners also contribute more effectively to the societal reconstruction of aging.
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Join the Taos Institute NING Online Community website
Participate in online conversations, share resources, ask questions, connect with others doing similar work. Also, we feature special events on this community website.
Join in many different forums, groups and conversations:
1. Taos Institute Europe
2. Collaborative Governance
3. Relational Learning
4. Relational Research
5. Taos Latin America
6. Intergenerativity and Innovation
and many more at:
http://taoslearning.ning.com/
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Welcome (Bienvenidos) to the International Journal of Collaborative Practices. The Journal brings together members of a growing international community of practitioners, scholars, educators, researchers, and consultants interested in postmodern collaborative practices.
Sponsored by Taos Institute and Houston Galveston Institute
Issue 8- Available Now in English and Spanish -
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You can help to make a difference...
In a world needing more opportunities for collaborative, appreciative and dialogic practices, you can make a difference by supporting the Taos Institute's efforts to bring about more promising futures.
Help us to continue our work in:
- Creating and Expanding Collaborative Practices Globally
- Promoting Dialogic Means for Reducing Conflict
- Providing Degree and Diploma Opportunities for Practitioners
- Offering Cutting Edge Publications in Multiple Languages: Free or at Low Cost
- Generating Resources for Positive Aging
- Creating Global Forums and Conferences for Constructing New Futures
- Creating scholarship programs for students in need
Given the current global context into which we are moving, we feel the work in which we are engaged is more important than ever. We hope you can join with us as we continue to develop resources to aid the global community in co-creating more viable futures.
The Taos Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and all donations are tax deductible in the US.
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The Taos Institute's mission is to bring together scholars and practitioners concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value.
We are committed to exploring, developing and disseminating ideas and practices that promote creative, appreciative and collaborative processes in families, communities and organizations around the world through a social constructionist lens.
We look forward to your participation in the dialogue.
Keep up with our updates!
Dawn Dole, Executive Director
The Taos Institute
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