“The Festival of Facilitation” speaks to the fun, excitement and celebratory results when facilitating with groups. In keeping with the theme of the conference, sessions are required to be highly participatory and to convey the power of process facilitation in releasing creativity, generating positive energy and harnessing and nurturing group synergy to produce effective outcomes. Therefore, our themes have been chosen to embody the power and magic of facilitation:

• Releasing Creativity

Sessions will concentrate on the application of methods and tools that stimulate and release creativity in groups. Methods can be ‘tried and true’ approaches as well as those that are innovative, playful and fun. If you like to lead groups in finding creative solutions by exploring new frontiers in thinking and tapping of the imagination, we welcome your proposal.

• Generating Positive Energy

When individuals come together in a group, they bring with them a variety of energies, some of which have the potential to produce conflict. It is the task of the facilitator to sense these energies and direct the individual and group energies toward what is positive, productive, life affirming and hopeful. 

To be effective, the facilitator must also be aware of and manage his/her own energy. This theme also invites sessions with a focus on mindfulness, spiritual grounding, self-care and rejuvenation.

• Nurturing Group Synergy

The facilitator uses a variety of methods to bring out the best in a group and then focus those emergent capacities on achieving desired outcomes. Knowing how to inspire and sustain participation and hone interpersonal communication skills are helpful in nurturing the kind of collaboration that leads to synergy.