"If it's sensitive, we should be talking about it... that should be the future of school."

I'll be honest - before this summit, my understanding of conservation was not great. If I was going to use words to talk about conservation they might have included… protect, manage, defend. Then I heard Nelson Ole Reiyia speak, and everything shifted.

What began as confusion turned into something unexpected. I spent the first two hours of the summit sitting with three of the speakers, sharing a slice of chocolate cake and conversations that felt more like catching up with old friends than a formal conference meet-up. 

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to just... be? Even when we know better, life has a way of creeping in – with its achievements, targets, and that persistent need to be right. And yet, something shifts when we finally let all that go.

Something special happened recently - SHOOP® flew… and landed in the vibrant city of Kuala Lumpur.

I was working alongside the Funder Group of The Wellbeing Project and lead Facilitator Laura Bacon during their retreat, where funders gather to immerse themselves in local culture, wellbeing practices, and shared learning.

I have seen layers of understanding, relationship and shared purpose accumulate. Layers of emergence and retreat, of speaking and listening, of tension and release.

With facilitation the layers remained dynamic. 

When the facilitator wasn’t there, and the group was leading the group, things became more fixed. Roles appeared from nowhere and the need to move quickly and achieve took over. 

Sometimes we get stuck trying to make something perfect. Sometimes we get stuck in a conversation that we feel deeply. Sometimes we need to be heard, so we repeat and repeat, and repeat. 

The lead facilitator knew that bringing in this question would help keep things moving when the sprint got stuck. "Is this good enough?" 

This was a space where some people have walked the path before, while others were experiencing the journey for the first time. 

This wasn’t about who knows more - but about how we learn together. 

In this philanthropic sprint, I've watched how we can’t get to that point of learning together till you’ve danced with the experiences people bring.

In this philanthropic sprint, I've watched language transform, shape, and sometimes challenge connection. Words sometimes invite people in or accidentally push them away.

It has been really clear in this sprint process the need to have people in the room who are big dreamers alongside people who are practical shapers and makers.

This is another balancing act for the facilitator to support with the aim of turning bold imagination into meaningful action.

It has been really clear in this sprint process the need to have people in the room who are big dreamers alongside people who are practical shapers and makers.

This is another balancing act for the facilitator to support with the aim of turning bold imagination into meaningful action.

I think it is pretty bold inviting a stranger in, and inviting me in to not really participate but to witness. 

I am not sure that everyone was aware that this was a role. It might have felt uncomfortable at times. I was learning how to be it whilst doing it. I have loved it and I think it has been really important.