Dear OD for Life friends & family,
We hope this message finds you well in time of both transformation and stillness.
What's happening?
Eliza and I (Ramona) emerged from the Europe gathering 2024 with a sense that as our movement solidifies, it’s time to intentionally explore questions of growth and diversity. This aligns with a broader collective spark arising with OD for Life to sense out the edges where we intersect with larger systems, including social siloes and systems of oppression.
We hence decided to start an Action Inquiry around the questions:
📍What does it mean for connection amongst humans to "put Life at the center"?
🧭 As advocates of biodiversity, how do we relate to human diversity as a movement and as OD for Life practitioners?
✨How does human diversity relate to our mission / vision?
💐 Do we wish to grow in diversity? If so, how might nature guide us?
💪What conditions & practices may help All of Us thrive and positively engage the diversity amongst us as a movement?
We explicitly don't want this to be a standard DEI initiative. Though we'd like to come to decisions and potentially actions, we're committed to doing this the "OD for Life way" - truly living the questions. By going through this process, we hope to also generate insight on what practicing OD for Life regarding diversity in any organization.
Our Ask to you
Since this is about diversity, we believe “the more, the merrier.” Each session will welcome different voices, including those new to OD for Life. Please check the session outline below and consider where your voice is needed—and let us know if there’s someone we should invite!
For example: Do you know someone who may want to join OD for Life but may not feel it's accessible / inclusive for them? Or someone holding particular wisdom around diversity and inclusion?
You can reach out to ramonafricke24@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding participation - we also have templates to send out invitations if that's helpful :)
Sessions Overview & Save the Dates
Our flow may evolve a little as we go, but for now you can mark your calendars for the following 1.5-hour monthly sessions leading up to the 2025 EU gathering:
Session 1: Friday, January 10th 7-8:30pm CET
Theme: What's got diversity to do with OD for Life?
Here is the Zoom Link
We warmly invite: OD for Life Members & OD for Life friends who would like to join multiple sessions of this Action Inquiry - Especially those who may feel like they're "on the edges" of this movement, e.g. feel in any way "disconnected" or "alone".
We'll have an open discussion to kick of the action inquiry and build connection, asking:
What assumptions do we hold about diversity with regards to OD for Life?
A look at our vision & mission statement: What does putting life at the center mean in a world full of oppressive systems, silos, "bubbles" and monocultures?
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Session 2: Friday, Jan 24th, 7-8:30pm CET
Theme: Taking Stock - Identity Wheel & Fishbowl Reflection
Calendar Invite here
Zoom link here
We'd love to welcome friends, and all sorts of external people (the more diverse, the better!) to this session - so bring your kids, parents, grandparents & friends from across the globe!
Through a collective journaling exercise based on the Identity Wheel, we'll develop a "constellation of diversity", providing a visual & tangible sense of our current diversity in all aspects of diversity (age, education, race, culture, ...)
What good things do we already have?
What do we want to grow more of?
Is there sth missing?
What fears or concerns do we have?
In a "fishbowl" format, we'd then like to invite reflections from "outsiders":
How do we look from the outside?
What feelings come up to outsiders listening to our conversation and witnessing our current constellation?
What are some blind spots we may have inside the movement?
All to then close & harvest together.
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Session 3: Friday, Feb 21st, 7-8:30pm CET
Theme: How do growth & diversity interrelate?
Calendar Invite here
Zoom link here
This call will be open to anyone from inside or outside the OD for Life. Special invite to anyone interested in "healthy growth"; resource flows & culture / governance. We'd also love to hear from people who hold concerns either about being welcomed & safe within OD for Life, or who have concerns about us becoming more diverse.
This session will build on the previous insights generated on what our intentions for growth may or may not be as a movement. Holding questions like:
How may we healthily grow what we want to grow?
How do we ensure we don't grow things we don't want?
What resources do we need to follow our intentions?
What limitations or concerns may arise from a lense of finance & governance, if any?
We'll likely look into techniques of rewilding as a light guiding frame here - if we look at homogeneity within our movement as a monoculture, what could a process of rewilding look like?
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Session 4: Friday, March 21st, 6-7:30pm CET
Theme: Hospicing & Shadow Work
Calendar invite here
Zoom link here
This session will be for OF for Life members only, as well as some Friends who may have engaged in previous sessions who want to further engage & help guide this inquiry.
In this session, we'd like to hold space for any fears, frustrations, concerns or challenges that may have emerged during this process so far. Questions could be:
What in the out-there do we feel like needs to die regarding human diversity if we want All of Life to thrive?
And in-here? What do we need to hospice & let go of if we were to become more diverse?
Are there any fears, concerns and challenges? Or things that want to be guarded / stewarded if we were to engage in a process of increasing diversity?
What conditions, processes & resources are needed for us to address these things? How might we support one another?
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Session 5 (finale): Friday, April 18th, 7-8:30pm
Theme: Harvesting & Action Drafting Workshop
Calendar Invite here
Zoom link here
This session will be for OF for Life members only, as well as some Friends who may have engaged in previous sessions who want to further engage & help guide this inquiry.
We'll share learnings from all previous sessions & invite everyone to reflect on their own take-aways and standing regarding the theme of diversity. From there, we'll see what intentions and actions emerge.
What have we learned about diversity?
How do we feel about our movement's diversity now?
Do we want to become more diverse? If so, what kinds of diversity? -> Forming an intention.
How might we invite (what) diversity in more, if any? Does that need any organizational structures?
How do we keep the essence of being in inquiry, relationship & deep exploration as we move into action?
Any implications for the 2025 gatherings?
...
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Big hugs,
Ramona & Eliza (aka "the young folks")
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