Second Learning Partnership encounter in Utrecht

Damanhur participated in the second Learning Partnership encounter in Utrecht, Netherlands, February 28 - March, 5 with the Center for Human Emergence hosted at the seminar spaces of the Venwoude community. Learning Partnership is a collaboration between eight different European realities to create a two-year curriculum on "Transition to Resilience," changing current urban environments into ones that are more sustainable. Resilience is the capacity of responding to world concerns in a positive way, making the most of resources and consuming less while living a satisfying life. The curriculum is intended for change agents, universities, non-governmental organizations and city administrations.

Each of the six Learning Partnership meetings shall be hosted by one of the participating organizations, and the first was held at Damanhur in January 2010. The one in Utrecht was hosted by the Center for Human Emergence at the Venwoude community. Some members of Venwoude came to Damanhur about 13 years ago in 1997 to learn about community structures during a moment of dynamic growth for their community, successfully applying Damanhurian systems within their context.

Macaco Tamerice attended the meeting in Utrecht as representative of Damanhur. She shares, "The encounter was a very fruitful and pleasant experience, held in an atmosphere of collaboration amongst highly motivated people. We shared a lot of information connected to tools and learning processes." Learning Partnership integrates the diverse approaches, theories and methodologies originating each of the organizations to create flow into a new design.


Here are the organizations and their tools:

Global Ecovillage Network (GEN Europe): Ecovillage Design Education, a curriculum on how to create community based on four main areas ~ economy, ecology, social and worldview

Damanhur: The community experience of Damanhur

Findhorn Foundation: the community experience of Findhorn

Transition Town (Totnes and Ireland): Transition Town, a model for converting urban environments and creating ecological and autonomous communities with solidarity-based social structures, able to develop resilience and reduce carbon dioxide emissions

The Permaculture Academy: Dragon Dreaming, developed by John Croft and inspired by the philosophy of native Australians, a method to create successful projects, bringing four areas into equilibrium ~ dreaming, planning, doing and celebrating

Center for Human Emergence: Spiral Dynamics, a way of thinking about the complexities of human existence and understanding the evolutionary status of a society

The Hub (Brussels): The Art of Hosting, new communication technologies and skills to create synergy amongst professionals

During the course of the meeting, the participants entered into a mode of effective collaboration aimed at creative solutions and new synergies. One of the most significant outcomes was the sense of creating a new society through collaboration. The focus was not about each viewpoint being right or wrong, but rather finding the most fitting solution for a particular question. As a result of this meeting, the group has clear ideas for the structure of the curriculum, and they shall begin writing the curriculum during the next Learning Partnership meeting.

Each Learning Partnership encounter features an organized outing, and in Utrecht, the group went to visit the Quality Center women's refuge, in contact with the Center for Human Emergence with applied Spiral Dynamics. The Center supports 60 women refugees  from various cultural backgrounds on their way toward integration into Dutch society. Each of the women has a one-on-one relationship with a Dutch mentor, who offers support in navigating social support systems in the Netherlands. Macaco noticed similarities between the approach at the Quality Center and the Damanhurian philosophy, with its emphasis on the effectiveness of going directly to what is needed and valuing that which works in practice.