I attended the ChangeCamp Canada tel/conference meeting on July 21st, 2009. Instead of dialing in to the meeting I chose to participate with a group of people at the Social Innovations Centre in downtown Toronto. I was wanting as much face to face time with the discussion as I could get, as this was my first experience participating in ChangeCamp. It was a planning meeting to look at the road ahead and how to build on the successful ChangeCamp events held in cities across Canada last winter.

My interest in ChangeCamp grew when Mark Kuznicki, one of the ChangeCamp stewards gave a signal online that he was interested in exploring how the work of Peter Block, author of Community – The Structure of Belonging could apply to ChangeCamp Canada.

Peter Block’s work centres on the theme of restoring communities. I’ve read all I can find (without buying the book – yet) on Blocks work. Upon reading these documents and watching a few videos, I felt that his approach/framework fit so closely with my own thinking and growth as a community worker. For me reading about the community restoration framework leaves me feeling like I’ve transcended into new territory on a practical and theoretical (consciousness) level.

Here is how Mark introduced his position to ChangeCamp Canada participants.

“This is a point of departure for our conversation, not an end. I am interested in critiques on this thinking and possible alternatives for us to consider. At the end of the day, without a community of   passionate interest and action behind a well thought out kernel, it  will go nowhere. So please join in the discussion and lets see what we can do together.”

From my brief experience with ChangeCamp, I think ChangeCamp is not only about civic or action changes it’s also about the personal changes that alter individual and collective understanding of ourselves and the world we live in. These personal changes happen one conversation at a time, with small groups of people.

In a book written by Carl Jung, Jung refers to a conversation he had with a Native American Chief who pointed out to him that most white people have tense faces, staring eyes and a cruel demeanour. He said: “They are always seeking something. What are they seeking? The whites always want something. They are always uneasy and restless. We don’t know what they want. We think they are mad.”

As we consider what we are seeking with ChangeCamp, I think we should remember the Chiefs comments. I know as a community worker and change agent, it is a continuous challenge for me to let go or check my desire to be right, liked, or a competent fixer/changer of things.

I am learning the value of laying back in my work and letting conversations unfold. In small groups that I work with, I rely more on the creative and natural abilities each of us bring to the conversation as we seek solutions together.

Conversations, one person at a time, in small groups can lead to community restoration. I think ChangeCamp can be a platform and a community for action.

Through a community restoration lens, ChangeCamp can also be a vehicle for individuals to change how we approach making changes together.

It has been an eye opener to see what outstanding work that changecamp has accomplished across Canada and I am eager to be part of the next chapter of the ChangeCamp story.

To summarize, I am supportive of Mark’s new rendition of the ChangeCamp purpose. I look forward to following the discussion and contributing as best I can.

Here are a few quotes from Peter Blocks writings that I found to be useful as I reflected on our tel/conference discussion a few days ago.

“we change the culture by changing the nature of conversation. It’s about choosing conversations that have the power to create the future.”

“The challenge in life is to convert fate to destiny.”

Thanks,

Brent