Since November 2015 I have started exploring, practicing and experimenting with the creation of participatory online spaces. What does it mean?
A group of people has a need to meet. It can be a team working on a certain project, a group of people interested in a similar topic, an organisation wanting to engage the wider community around their project, a group of practitioners exchanging experience and forming a community of practice….and so on. The purpose of the meeting can be as diverse as to relate and connect, to inform, to get some work done, as well as many others.
At a certain date and time those people meet in a live online room. Technically, such online rooms are offered by a number of software providers such as Zoom, Skype, AdobeConnect Meetings, MaestroConference, GoToMeeting, WebEx Meetings, appear.in and many more. Logistically, it simply makes such a difference. Imagine you need to meet with 40 people. Normally you have to organise a physical space and everyone has to come there. Still challenging, even if all the people are in the same city. What if they are from all over the world? And what if all you need is 90min quality time spent together?
How to spend quality time with 5, 15 or 50 people in a live online room? This is what I am truly passionate about!!!!!!
How to create meaningful live online spaces? How one can relate, connect and communicate with 50 people…for 90min? How to create space where everyone can contribute to the common purpose? How people can come out of such live online spaces with more energy, clarity and inspiration?
It is possible and once you have experienced it you don’t want to go back to “normal”!!! To design and host participatory online spaces I combine different methods, practices, skills and world views. I work with the Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations that Matter, A Small Group conversations, Action Learning, WE-spaces and many others.
The essence in my work is as simple as to:
- Clarity the need
- Listen
- Work with questions
- Go for simplicity
- Design for participation and engagement of everyone in the room
- Dance between design and emergence
- Respect the time
- Work skilfully with the technology
- Bring all my presence and awareness to what I do
- Co-create with other practitioners
Where does my experience come from?
Practice…practice…practice…
I have partnered with pro-action learning in the design and hosting of online programmes of different types (StoryMatcher, My Meaningful Work, Action Learning Community of Practice, Pro Action Cafe Online), and for oven an year I have worked on a daily basis in a remote team, exploring different methods, practices and technologies for more meaningful and efficient online work.
Since November 2016 I am organising, hosting and co-hosting regular live online calls. Since then, every week I am hosting or co-hosting at least one live online call with between 5 to 20 participants. Some of those online spaces are very experiential, where we regularly try different methods.
Since 2016 I have chosen to work with the Zoom software, using it in all of the above projects as well as offering technical hosting for a number of other online meetings and events. Since 2017 I am also supporting other people to become Zoom technical hosts by offering Zoom Exploration Journeys.
What can I offer you?
I call myself a designer, a host and a technical host of participatory online spaces. See what does it implies in professional services.