Loops of Learning Session #2

The second Loops of Learning Session was another chance to delve in to some deep thinking about who we are, where we fit in our big societal system and what a better system might look like.

The question for the night was "What does a better life look like?" and it instantly started some debate and discussion about what the word 'better' really means. One of the stand out questions was 'Does better mean we have to be better than someone else?'. A challenging concept.

During our brainstorming the themes and visions that began to emerge were:

A society where power it equally shared

• Can we 'give' power or is it the permission to take power that is required?

• Does better mean we have to be better than others, either comparing to our parents or peers?

• Does the need to be better feed our need for economic growth? At what expense?

A society where we are able to connect and empathise to reduce conflict

• Does good communciation and empathy lead to better connection, collaboration and community?

• Could we create a society where we have connection to family and friends, have good health and have work that gives us purpose? Is that a perfect life?

A society where we are able to freely choose

• How do we build a world where we feel free to choose and not fearful that our actions may have dire consequences, particularly in the context of rape culture?

After our group brainstorming we split off in to smaller groups where deeper conversations took place in each area. I then invited each group to present a summary of their thinking, for a bigger group wrap-up.

There were some interesting concepts presented, including discussion about the difference between betterment and happiness. We all agreed they don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. We also acknowledged the difficulty of 'handing over' power. It was inspiring to hear of the work people have done in areas of indigenous and cultural diversity within their workplaces, and acknowledged most organisations and change is focussed within the common 'white' paradigm of action-orientated change. This creates fast paced, agenda driven action and doesn't necessarily allow for deeper reflection time, where cause and effects can be understood at a bigger picture level.

For me, this is where the Loops of Learning purpose sits. I hope it will help us sit with ourselves, understanding who we are and how we fit in. I also hope it will help us understand the system we live in and the levers we have to pull to create the change we'd like to see in the world.

Our next session in April will focus on exploring the connection points between our system crises and our vision for a potential future. If you'd like to join one of our sessions, please subscribe to our mailing list via the Loops of Learning homepage and you'll receive notice of events.

Loops of learning is go!

YAY! Finally, after a year in and out of COVID Lockdown, after shifting dates numerous times, I finally managed to bring a group of brain-bustingly, clever people together in a room to have a deep and meaningful about their thoughts on the crises of our time.

The night started at 7pm at V Wine Salon in Richmond, which was the perfect venue with amazing wine and nibbles supplied by Vianney, the co-founder and sommelier of this beautiful wine bar, supporting Oz Harvest.

The question for the night was "What is the greatest crisis of our time ?" and everyone had been primed to consider their answers beforehand. They were given 2 mins to give a summary of their thoughts and everyone listened carefully, considering how they would respond.

It was great to see the conversations pin-ball around for a good hour after each 2 minute teaser, before we paused for wine and nibbles. The group then split off and formed smaller groups for deeper, more intimate conversations that delved in to thoughts and thinking about he issues they had raised:

• resilience in children;

• misinformation;

• our apparatus for sense-making;

• greed and wealth;

• the complexity of the world created by technology; and

• the silos we've created to try and deal with complexity.

The night wrapped up with an amazing systems map by Deakin University research Andrew Brown that helped us worked out what the next conversation will be. Watch this space :)

My reflections on the night were really positive. I think we're on to something, but there is certainly room for improvement and I'm not sure yet where we're going... but we'll be back for another session in March (pending any COVID lockdowns!).