Do you have a good social change story to tell?

The Barefoot Guide Connection presents this online writing class for people who have been involved in social change processes of any kind. You probably have good stories of change to tell and important insights to share from those experiences. In this class you will learn to write your stories in ways that capture their rich reality and meaning.

In your interaction with peers you will also learn some valuable listening, dialogue and feedback skills that can be brought back to improve team learning in your organisation.

The class takes place over 4 sessions between Monday 8 May and Wednesday 17 May 2023, on Zoom.
An Online Class in Four Sessions
The class will be in 4 sessions on Zoom, of 3.5 hours each.

N.B. the times are in GMT - go to the Timezone Converter (https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/) to find the time where you live.

SESSION ONE
Monday 8 May 2023  - 11am to 2.30pm GMT

A step-by-step process to write your first draft of about 800 words, using the Outside/Inside Story free-writing technique.

SESSION TWO
Wed 10 May 2023  - 11am to 2.30pm GMT

After a brief input on a powerful listening approach (head/heart/feet) you will enhance your story before reading your draft to two peers to get valuable feedback. And give them feedback too. You will then incorporate the feedback into a next draft. 

SESSION THREE
Friday 12 May 2023  - 11am to 2.30pm GMT

We will introduce you to the Action Learning Cycle to enable you to draw valuable insights, learnings and implications for future practice to include in your draft. You will then get peer feedback on your second draft and immediately incorporate that into a third draft. 

You will then send your draft to the facilitator who will give you editorial feedback to learn from and incorporate into your fourth draft.

SESSION FOUR
Wednesday 17 May 2023  - 11am to 2.30pm GMT

After an input to assist you to polish your language, improve your beginning and ending and stylistic improvements you will receive final feedback from your peers to enable you to produce a final draft.

Writer's Guide
We will provide you with a comprehensive and helpful Writer's Guide, full of practical advice to finetune your writing pieces. 

Your facilitator
Doug Reeler has facilitated Barefoot Guide Writeshops and provided coaching and editing support for writers for the past ten years. He also practices as an organisation and practice development facilitator with Tamarind Tree Associates.
The Course Fee
in total
65 euros / R1200 (South African)
The Course Fee
in total
65 euros / R1200 (South African)
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Our Experience 
The method developed by the Barefoot Guide Connection during the past ten years has culminated in a wide array of eight Barefoot Guides, articles, reports, blogs written by communities of practice in social change fields like health, environment, organisational change, agroecology and inclusion. Most of the hundreds of people we have supported to write stories from their own rich experience had never imagined they could write something worth publishing. But they have and so can you.

Our approach
We facilitate enjoyable processes to help participants to overcome their writers’ block and to use the writing process itself to reflect and learn. This also helps those involved in monitoring and evaluation to develop a deeper learning dimension in their practice.​​
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What previous participants have said about this course
 “During the writeshop I experienced my story coming alive and communicating directly to my audience. The direct and honest feedback from my peers helped the story to get even more on purpose.”
 
“Such a simple process, yet so profound. Absolutely loved it. Can't wait for the next session. I feel like the next Jane Austen.”
 
“This course has stretched and deepened how I think about what I write.”
 
“If you're a leftbrainer, just do this course. Even if you don't particularly need to write anything, although it would be best if you did. It shakes you up and resettled you in a better way!”

WHAT HAVE OTHERS SAID ABOUT THE bAREFOOT gUIDES...

The Barefoot Guides have been the key influences in my life and work… my constant companions in my community and organisational development work. 
Marie Corcoran-tindill, Trainer, Facilitator of community and group processes, Dublin 

The Barefoot initiative is itself an exciting expression of social change. 
Inez Hackenberg, Utrecht University 

As a trained action learning facilitator their guides have helped me work with grassroots communities in Myanmar and Thailand. 
Kevina Maddick, Program Manager at Right To Play, Bangkok 

The Barefoot Guide's transformative process… shows us the way to transcend borders, sectors, limits, to break the silos! 
Vincent Stevaux, ITECO, Bruxelles

Barefoot Guide has been creating phenomenal content for the critical process of experiential reflection at both individual and organizational levels. 
Jesse Chen, Changemakers, Washington 

…a wonderful contribution to open access knowledge, grounded on a great depth of experience and horizontal learning from across the world. 
Samantha Button, East Africa Program Head, Maliasili 

…the Barefoot Guide collection is having a great influence, especially the lives of field workers and communities. 
Muta Wakilu Tamasco, Ghana 

The Barefoot Guide Connection has a unique and truly transformational approach to collaboration, learning and facilitating social, transformational change across borders. 
Tobias Troll Director, EDGE Europe at EDGE Funders Alliance, Bruxelles 

This unusual and exceptional volume (and series) is hugely accessible yet deeply rooted in solid theory and extensive practice across a wide range of contexts and fields. Expect from it something truly unique in its combination of insight, reflection, experience and highly usable mixed text/visual presentation. It is not "dumbed down." I have seen it bite as deeply at high academic and professional level as at grassroots community leadership level, an astonishing achievement worth honouring. 
Professor Jim Cochrane Cape Town 

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