2019 SKILLS SYMPOSIUM: Meaningful Tools, Powerful Outcomes

Ask yourself these three questions:

• Are you running out of constructive ways to bring people together in conversation?
• Are you hearing from the same people over and over again and consistently struggling to hear from diverse voices?
• Do you value strong relationships and building community participation capacity?

Join us for an interactive session, where you can learn and EXPERIENCE some new, innovative and effective public engagement techniques including:

Socratic Circle – prepare to take a backseat and support the power of conversation. Designed to embrace emotion, explore divides and share diverse experiences, a Socratic Circle may be just the tool you are missing.

Ideas Fair – get ready to take your open house to a whole new level. This highly-interactive technique is perfect for a drop-in style event aimed at gathering rich, qualitative data that only face-to-face interaction can bring.

PhotoVoice & Storytelling - We all have stories to tell, that share our experience and highlight what’s most important to us. It’s also been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. So, let’s combine our love of stories and pictures, apply today’s technology and make meaning of complex issues.

Technique 4 is up to you! - Scenario Planning, Streeter Interviews, Deliberative Forum, Conversation Toolkits – the choice is yours. As a group we will determine our final technique that is relevant to our shared context.

PLEASE NOTE: International IAP2 members require a code to register. Please contact info@iap2.org to obtain it.

— Cancellation and Substitution policy —

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will:

• Receive a participatory and interactive session that introduces four tools to bring people together in meaningful ways that create powerful experiences
• Understand the design and implementation of each technique and how it would be useful in different projects, conversations and applied with different stakeholders
• Experience the tool such that they will be able to modify, design and customize the technique to suit specific needs and circumstances
• Walk away with the excitement, motivation and know-how to try something different

Trainer(s): Kim Hyshka & Erin Pote

Kim Hyshka, based in Edmonton AB, is a Principal with Dialogue Partners Inc. With over 10 years working in the field of engagement, she has developed a passion for designing and facilitating conversations that matter and creating engagement experiences where participants feel valued, relationships are built and initiatives and projects move forward. Experienced in both large and small-scale projects, she has facilitated community forums in large urban centers as well as walked pipelines with Elders in the remote wilderness. Kim is an active member of IAP2 Canada and is a licensed IAP2 Foundations trainer and co-develops and trains Dialogue Partners’ courses.

Erin Pote brings her background as a teacher, along with skills and experience as a facilitator on complex, emotional issues. She is a trainer and developer of Dialogue Partners’ courses and advanced training programs in Public Engagement. She has assisted in the design and delivery of countless client custom courses and regularly supports the creation of new material and exercises for these courses. She specializes in design and implementation techniques for public participation that support a shift from conflict to constructive participation. She regularly teaches courses and workshops on techniques for high emotion public participation, including photo voice and Socratic circle.

#Schedule at a Glance