Ever had those moments at gatherings where you left feeling like you didn't really learn anything about how people are doing? Or spent countless hours with family, yet still feel like they don't truly know you? In some social circles, it's always the same voices dominating the conversation, making it exhausting. 😓 And meeting new people? Breaking through the ice can be tough.

Zusammen mit Impact Hub Zürich und One Planet Lab hat collaboratio helvetica den Changemaker Workshop Bundling Forces organisiert.

How to prepare, design and hold space for emerging and transformative collective action. Read here our findings and learnings of the Nova Helvetia journey.

“You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”

― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed

Our vision is that organisations in Geneva and beyond leverage their full potential to use innovation to respond to societal needs by transforming their employees into intrapreneurial leaders, connected to a wider community of changemakers and disruptors that are paving the way for the new economy.

What we usually say is that Radical Collaboration is both a toolset and a mindset. We can practice being together, in relationships with one another and the collective both on a practical level as well as on a more energetic and emotional level. To practice collaboration takes a lifetime to master. In this lifelong practice, we see the Catalyst Lab as a boot camp. In order to bring upon systemic change in the world, improving and deepening your relationships is a key skill and is, unfortunately, often underestimated and practised insufficiently.

This toolbox entry describes the dialogue principles we are using in the Catalyst Lab and in other formats like Social Innovation Labs or dialogue evenings. They will give you an idea of the kind of conversation we are inviting when practising dialogue. The dialogue principles serve as a basis for facilitating different dialogue methods, for example, triads, dialogue walks, or fishbowl.

A dialogue walk is a method in which two individuals explore a question in a deep conversation while being on a walk outside. It gives participants a space to dive into a deep conversation, practice authentic sharing and deep listening, and get to know each other's perspective and experience on a topic. It can be used as part of a dialogue event or also as a sharing tool in any other form of participatory workshop.

The way we listen and pay attention in a conversation can profoundly shift the quality and depth of that conversation, and the quality of relationship we are able to build to one another. Listening is probably the most underestimated leadership and community building skill.

Factory farming, animal suffering and agricultural practices that harm the environment shape my daily life, privately and at work. The Catalyst Lab presented me with the opportunity to open a dialogue space and expand my view on how others perceive the problem around these issues through a generative dialogue – a challenging and fascinating endeavour.