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INTERNATIONAL VISION COLLECTIVE
for universal-values-based culture in the international community BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO OLD VALUES: ENVISIONING A POSITIVE CULTURE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM A Workshop Series WORKSHOP II: THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS AND A POSITIVE CULTURE 24 April 2008, 777 UN Plaza, New York DEBRIEFING SUMMARY We are very appreciative of the presence and genuine engagement of those persons who participated in the workshop, and take the opportunity to thank them again for making the time and space in their busy work lives to be with us. Through this debriefing we share some of the highlights of the workshop, with a view to providing a sense of the event and its outcomes to others who were unable to attend. Featured speaker: Mr. Carne Ross Facilitators: Ms. Alisa Clarke, Dr. Joni Carley ***************************** Observations and remarks by Mr. Carne Ross, Director of Independent Diplomat, former UK Mission Representative at the UN *********************************** The workshop segment was separated into several exercises: In “Vision quest: a positive culture”: Participants were invited to take a moment to remind themselves what brought them to work in the international community and to reconnect with that spark of enthusiasm. The facilitator then asked for each person to envision a values-based system in the year 2018. The different visions were grouped around the qualities of “Idealism” and “Pragmatism”. For “Reality check: what elements for a values-based culture currently exist?”: Participants examined how their experience of the current system reflected the qualities or values they had identified for their future vision. Both positive and negative observations were noted. Positive elements encompassed creativity, tolerance and respect for diversity, acknowledgement of the common interests of humanity and patience. Negative aspects included insecurity, power imbalances and warfare, injustice, terrorism, the narrow definition of states, and lack of openness at the individual and organizational levels. Under “Options and mapping”: The facilitator asked for participants to group themselves around their preferred visions and to identify as a group the different options which could take them from their current reality to the future vision qualities. For “Idealism”, recommended approaches involved forming an organization dedicated to solving the problems identified (such as IVC) creating effective communication on all levels, reflection and meditation, and being open and honest. For “Pragmatism”, the suggested measures covered the establishment of inclusive partnerships, taking risks, caring and warm strong leadership, mentoring on an individual level, ending meetings with practical and bold action steps, assigning responsibilities to specific individuals or institutions, follow-up and monitoring, responsibility/accountability to principles, and scholarship. For “Way forward: Me, we and the millennium”: The facilitator asked the participants to choose an option/s which most resonated with them and to identify a way or ways in which they could act on the chosen option, either personally or collectively. Each participant was then invited to declare what concrete, practical action they would take in moving forward on their selected option from that day. Participants could take away their own personal worksheets indicating their vision, option and declaration with which they would move forward. In wrapping up, the facilitators noted that this was an ongoing process and invited participants to continue to be engaged and active in this work. ***************************** Some participant comments on “What did you take away?/What worked best for you?”: “Self-reflection and new ideas – I also enjoyed meeting the people attending the workshop” “A nice experience/ the meditation and moving to new concepts” “Self-awareness and reflection” “Meeting other people” “You can learn (a lot) from everybody” |
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