Open Platform Open Day

The Schumacher Institute ran a successful open day for its new Open Platform programme on Saturday the 14th of March.

On a wonderful spring day, eleven people gathered together at The Schumacher Institute's office in central Bristol to take part in the first Open Platform open day.

Daphne, Ian, Nicola and her colleague Yvonne had arranged a series of activities with which to introduce the programme and encourage questions and feedback from the participants.

It began with a simulated "Village Fayre" that saw members of the Insitute each operating a table - or stall - at which they explained one of their current or forthcoming projects to the participants. The participants engaged well and brought a great number of new ideas or perspectives about each project, providing valuable feedback.

As the fayre closed, Nicola lead the group downstairs to the vacant 3rd floor and arranged everyone in a circle. She assigned everyone a number from 1 to 14 and asked that each person choose two other numbers in their heads. The participants then had to try to position each of themselves equidistant between their two chosen people. As everyone was doing this simultaneously, it quickly became absolute chaos. Running, dodging and weaving their way around for a good ten minutes, there seemed to be no end to the madness! Nicola then asked two people to stand still and suddenly the group was able to find a balance point. This was an introduction to Systems Thinking and how important it is to consider everything as part of a whole.

The participants sat down together for an informal shared lunch at about 1pm. Everyone had been asked to bring some food to pass around the group, which helped everyone to get to know one another a little better.

In addition to those present on the day, three people living in different parts of Africa were included virtually. Santo, Patrick and Paliani are from Sudan, Zimbabwe and Malawi, and each are considering their own careers at the moment, just as the other potential participants are. The three had written about themselves for the group, talking about their work, families and ambitions, which provided an interesting insight into different cultures, and further illustrating that many people share uncertainty about the future of society and the environment.

To end the day, the group divided itself into pairs to have a go at mentoring one another. This involved talking about school, university, work, hobbies, or anything else that each partner wanted to say about themselves. Some people learned that there are others in the same situation as them, and some people discovered similar or new and challenging views in others, which started off small discussions.

On the whole, the day provided encouraging interest and feedback about the programme, and it appeared to be enjoyed by all who attended.

Open Platform is now being prepared for launch in early summer this year. As the name suggests, it aims to provide an open and accessible foundation from which participants can find and pursue their own interests with constructive guidance. 

More information can be found here and enquiries about the programme can be made here.