2025: Weaving Our Stories Together
— A Milestone Year of Connections and Relationships
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Often, people view the start of a new year as an opportunity to (re)write one’s story moving forward. 2025 marks that very special year for the Taos Institute as we celebrate the 90th birthday of Ken Gergen, whose vision and dedication have profoundly shaped our journey. That's 90 years of relationships! This milestone invites us to reflect on the power of co-creating stories and honor the legacy of someone who has unwaveringly championed us as relational beings.
As Cat Stevens sings in “Story, Story Night”, “Every story has a beginning, but it’s the middle where the magic lies.” This year, let’s embrace the middle—the journey. Even as the past shapes us, the future is ours to create collectively. With every step, we can make the stories richer, meaningful, and full of possibility. As we turn the page, let’s remember that it’s not just the destination but the relational moments in between that shape the narrative of our lives. So, let’s construct stories worth living, lifting social processes that foster generative relationality and sociality.
We warmly invite you to watch a video commemorating Ken’s birthday, created last December. In this heartfelt conversation, Sheila McNamee interviews Ken about his life, challenges, and lessons learned. Inspired by Ken’s future-forming ideas, we launched the “A Gift of Action” project during the celebration, offering a way to honor Ken throughout 2025.
A Gift of Action: Writing New Stories in 2025
Feel invited, be active, and connect with others! We encourage everyone to engage and share in activities highlighting the transformative power of social construction. Host a tea online, a meet-and-eat gathering, seminar, or story salon, translate a WorldShare Book, lead a social initiative, invite a collective emergence process, and/or create a research or study group or just talk with some friends or colleagues. When you undertake these activities, share your story in the Commons online community (click next to "+" in the Celebration Lounge, write your message, add a photo, and click on “Post”). Here are some sample happenings:
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Translation of the Worldshare book The Relational Imperative in Czech by Premysl Ulman and in German by Tomas Horak.
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January 13: Meet-and-eat dinner with 30 participants celebrating the Dutch translation of Design Thinking and Social Construction, a book by Celiane Camargo Borges and Sheila McNamee.
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February: online session with friends and colleagues from Denmark and The Netherlands to dream about possible Gifts of Action.
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March: Official launch of the reconstruction of the book An Invitation to Social Construction, re-written in Dutch by a group of passionate Taos Associates (Justine van Lawick, Joost van Andel, Cees Hoogendijk, Lizet van Donkersgoed, Loek Schoenmakers, Thomas Fondelli and Diana Baas). Organised by Hogeschool de Kempel in Helmond (Netherlands).
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Portuguese translation of Ken Gergen´s book Passionate Pursuits by Brazilian Associates.
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Reinvigorating the Taos Institute Latin American Council (TILAC): new members are preparing great Taos activities for Spanish and Portuguese speakers this year.
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Awakening Taos Institute Europe (TIE): Garbine Delgado, Tomas Horak and Celiane Camargo Borges are taking initiatives to reactivate and grow the Taos community in Europe.
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December in New York City: In-person Unconference on Co-Creating Socially Generative Worlds, hosted in partnership with the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Mercy University, New York. Connect with Saliha Bava to co-organize a teleconference locally.
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Year-end Publication Kickoff: We will collect the stories from the year to publish a book shaped by our collective engagement, tentatively titled A Gift of Social Co-Action: A Book of Stories. Consider this an open call for editors!
These are stories of action, where ideas come alive and inspire others, where connections and relationships are born! We hope they spark further action and contribute to our shared, ever-evolving narrative. We invite your creativity to showcase the lasting impact of social construction on our lives and organizations. Together, we are writing a middle story, far from finished, with each of us playing a vital role in this unfolding legacy.
Let’s make this milestone unforgettable through (y)our participation and creativity!
Saliha Bava, Emerson Rasera, Loek Schoenmakers
Taos Institute Board Members
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New in the Commons for 2025! | |
Coming Soon: New Self-Paced Course! | |
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START ANYTIME. GO AT YOUR OWN PACE.
What if there was no one "truth" but multiple, and all possible, realities? What if rather than resolving conflict, you could learn to appreciate and work with differing views? What if there was always a possibility to ask "how else could this be"?
We are thrilled to introduce the Taos Institute's first online self-paced course! In six modules, each with 3 short videos and questions for reflection, Ken Gergen introduces basic premises of social constructionist theory and how they apply to professional practices in all domains as well as everyday life.
This new on demand course, Co-Creating Futures: An Introduction to Social Construction, is ideal if you are curious about relational practices and want the flexibility to learn within your own timeframe.
Find out more.
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Also Happening in the Commons... | |
Join with over 2200 members from around the world in the Taos Institute Commons online community as we explore social constructionist, relational, and appreciative theory and practices. We invite you to attend the free events in the Commons to engage in rich dialogue, share valuable resources, watch event replays, and make meaningful connections with others interested in creating more promising futures, one conversation at a time. More details here. | |
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January 21, 4-4:30pm EST
Whether you are new to the Taos Institute Commons online community or already a member, we invite you to join this informal gathering to meet other Taos Institute Commons members and share stories of how you are applying (or hoping to apply) social constructionist, relational and appreciative approaches in your work and life. Stop by to say hello, we would love to meet you.
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Relational Research Network
Child Protection: Balancing a Relational Approach with Funder Requirements
February 1, 2025, 9:00am EST
The Taos Institute International Relational Research Network has launched a new series, "Worlds in Conversation," which aims to spotlight inspiring grassroots movements globally, igniting powerful conversations. Through synchronous and asynchronous engagements, we hope to generate hope, drive change, and foster connections to co-create possibilities. Our first conversation invited Plant It Forward, a Houston-based grassroots organization, to share their inspiring work: By supporting refugees and new American farmers with access to land, training, and markets, they foster economic empowerment, reduce inequalities, and build community connections. You can access the recording, join the discussion, and register for our next event in the Relational Research Network Group in the Commons.
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February 12, 2025, 12-1pm EST
| This group meets monthly to discuss how to foster belonging and liberation through the work of Appreciative Inquiry and related transformational processes. We aim to be a DEI and social justice learning laboratory focused on creating environments where all individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered. Central to our work is recognizing and naming the influences of power and privilege on our appreciative inquiry work and making the invisible visible. More details. | | | |
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Yes, You Can Publish!
A Free Writing Workshop for Therapists
January 31, 2025, 11:30am-1pm EST
This workshop will guide practicing therapists towards sharing case experiences and clinical insights in a publishable form. While excellent quantitative research is always welcome, it is not the only type of publishable work. At times, those actively practicing in the field may overlook the value of their reflections and practice-based discoveries. This workshop will provide practical tools for turning such reflections into journal article form. More details.
Illness Narratives: Novel Ideas for Working with People
February 22, 2025, 8:30am-4:30pm EST
Living with a chronic illness can be a complex and challenging experience. A life-altering illness diagnosis impacts multiple aspects of a person’s life, challenging their worldview and sense of self, effecting their relationships and work life. This intensive 6-hour workshop will offer therapists ideas and practices for supporting people navigating the complexities of chronic illness. By integrating the assumptions and principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Narrative Practices, you will learn ways to support people living with a chronic illness in re-authoring a more hopeful view of their future, building resilience, and enhancing their overall quality of life. More details.
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One way the Taos Institute carries out its mission to create brighter futures through social construction is by creating and disseminating a wide variety of resources for scholars, practitioners, and students interested in dialogic and relational approaches. These free resources span many disciplines and languages. To suggest a resource, email info@taosinstitute.net. | | |
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The Taos Institute is a non-profit educational organization. We strive to keep our offerings free or at low cost to make social constructionist, relational, and appreciative ideas available to as many people as possible around the globe. Please consider supporting our mission of creating brighter futures through social construction by making a donation. For convenient, monthly small contributions, consider becoming a sustaining donor. | | | | |
