Facilitate to Engage & Connect
A workshop from the spark: Tools for change series
Creative facilitation for emerging Indigenous leaders and changemakers
October 19, November 2, 16, 30, 2023
9:30am - 12pm PST online
xaxaʔ
from the syilx language that translates to the ability to bring imagination into physical being through action
Break free from the chaos of colonialism and build stronger communities through the power of your Indigenous imagination
We once lived in such a way that we could come out of ceremony and have the freedom to enjoy and live in our new bodies, our new knowledge and connection—there was no other world that required us to go back inside, to retreat or armour up.
In the times before colonialism, our people knew how to care for one another during all times and circumstances. Now, our collective imagination and spirit have been damaged. Colonialism and its individual-minded systems have eroded our community-mindedness.
Learning to survive ongoing oppression has meant many unhealthy behaviours have become ingrained in our communities: lateral violence, shame, judgment, and othering, to name a few.
But here’s the thing, our people are powerful beyond measure.
Our ways are still there, still intact, and still available to us.
We have the power to see through the confines of colonialism to the space where our ancestors sing for us.
pʔax the syilx word meaning to spark so as to cause light or to become “mind aware”
What if we remembered...
- ... that there is no such thing as the individual but rather an interconnected and strong web of resilient and diverse relatives?
- ... that we each have something to contribute and that there is no one way?
- ... that true power is found in a circle, not a hierarchy?
- ... that our genius comes from our imagination?
If you share our belief in the power of community, then Changemaker, this workshop is for you.
INTRODUCING
Facilitate to Engage & Connect
A workshop from the SPARK: Tools for Change series
Facilitate to Engage & Connect is designed to help build a thriving and diverse network of Indigenous facilitators supporting each other in centering Indigenous principles and ways of being.
Over four workshops together, we will explore ways to build trust and create spaces that encourage participation and expression through deep listening and strength-based communication. Our experienced facilitators will demonstrate and show you how to create safer and more inclusive spaces that ignite synergy in your workshops, meetings, and gatherings.
Combining creativity and connection is the key to healing relationships, empowering the next generation, and transforming our realities. By experiencing and using our creative facilitation methodologies, you will learn how to cultivate collaboration and hold open and authentic dialogue.
By the end of Facilitate to Engage & Connect, you will know how to:
- Manage disruptive behaviours like side conversations, interrupting, dominating voices and inappropriate comments
- Create safer learning spaces where people feel comfortable expressing themselves
- Strengthen relationships across diverse ages, professions, backgrounds and cultures
- Celebrate vulnerability, authenticity, and humanity
- Invite all voices to be heard and help people feel seen and valued
HOW IT WORKS
Facilitate to Engage & Connect is unlike anything you've attended before...
Over four online sessions, we will dismantle colonial hierarchies and remember our Indigenous ways of being and knowing using our signature IndigenEYEZ approach to creative facilitation.
Creative imagination is part of the fabric of who we are as Indigenous people, and it’s intimately connected with our power to make change. Creativity is like an energy that flows through us. The more we use it, the more we have.
As marginalized people, as silenced people, we need to stop telling ourselves that we aren’t good enough or important enough to be heard. Creative expression is part of who we are. It’s not about being the best. It’s just about saying “Yes!”
We will:
- Use our imaginations
- Play and laugh
- Tell our stories
- Stretch ourselves to build courage
- Find our common humanity
Together we will liberate our indigeneity and free our minds, emotions, hearts and spirit.
WHO SHOULD REGISTER FOR Facilitate to Engage & Connect?
Facilitate to Engage & Connect is for any Indigenous person who wants to create safer spaces within community that encourages self-expression, learning and growth.
You might be a...
A FRONTLINE WORKER
who feels resistance or disengagement from community members during interactions or meetings
A PROGRAM COORDINATOR
who feels frustrated by a lack of participation and finds it difficult to get input from their peers and colleagues
A COMMUNITY LEADER
who feels discouraged by negative behaviours that occur during meetings and gatherings that distract from a productive dialogue
AN INDIGENOUS CHAMPION
who feels suffocated by the ongoing impacts of colonialism and wants to revitalize Indigenous ways of being and knowing
REGISTER AT NO COST
We believe that our workshops, and any leadership and empowerment opportunities, should be free and accessible to those who need it to be free and accessible.
The full value of the workshop is $320. We offer a sliding scale of options for those who may have access to professional development funding or are in a position where they can contribute to their registration.
Honouring that we each have our own story that includes a diversity of experiences, challenges and opportunities, we offer multiple options in an effort to provide accessibility for where you’re at right now—you are welcome and you belong here.
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
$80
75% subsidized
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
$160
50% subsidized
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
$320
Full cost
$0 REGISTRATION
No cost registration is available to everyone
Increase participation, bring all voices into the dialogue, and strengthen connection.
Facilitate to Engage & Connect offers practical and ready-to-use tools to transform your next gathering. Foster connection, inspire hope and SPARK possibilities for a reimagined future.
frequently asked questions
At IndigenEYEZ, we aim to create a safer space for Indigenous peoples to shed the weight of colonial impacts and celebrate their authentic selves without the toll of judgment or shame. We have developed SPARK to be an Indigenous-led and centered space for Indigenous peoples.
We have a limited number of seats available for non-Indigenous peoples, which are allocated at IndigenEYEZ's discretion. Please contact us if you have any questions.