The Inclusive Museum Conference 2012
Cave Hill, Barbados | University of the West Indies
- Visitors
- Communications and Education
- Collections
- Culture and Intangible Heritage
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Talking Circles
Talking circles are meetings of minds, often around points of difference or difficulty. They are common in indigenous cultures. The inherent tension of these meetings is balanced by protocols of listening and respect for varied viewpoints. From this, rather than criticism and confrontation, productive possibilities may emerge.
The purpose of the talking circles is to give shape to a conference that is wide-ranging in its scope and broad-minded in its interests. They also give people an opportunity to interact around the key ideas of the Conference away from the formalities of the plenary, paper, workshop and colloquium sessions. They are places for the cross-fertilization of ideas, where cycles of conversation are begun, and relationships and networks formed.
Talking circles are not designed to force consensus or even to strive towards commonality. Their intention is, in the first instance, to find a common ground of shared meanings and experiences in which differences are recognized and respected. Their outcome is not closure in the form of answers, but an openness that points in the direction of pertinent questions. The group finally identifies axes of uncertainty that then feed into the themes for the Conference of the following year.
The talking circles meet for two 45-minute sessions during the Conference, and the outcomes of each talking circle are reported back to the whole Conference in the closing plenary session. They are grouped around each of the Conference streams and focus on the specific areas of interest represented by each stream. Following is the talking circles outline that is currently in use, but we welcome feedback and suggestions for improvement from participants.
Talking Circle 2 (45 minutes): What is to be done?
Closing Plenary: 15-minute contribution to the closing plenary by the talking circles facilitator.
It is important to note that each talking circle may be organized in any way that members of the group agree is appropriate. They may be informal and discursive, or structured and task-oriented. Each talking circle group has a facilitator.
The Role of the Facilitator
The facilitator must be comfortable with the process of thinking ‘out of the square’ and also embracing multiple and diverse scenarios. The process is one of creating a kind of collective intelligence around the stream. The facilitator should shape a conversation that is open to possibilities and new lines of inquiry or action; they should embody a spirit of openness to new knowledge rather than the closure of advocacy. The facilitator is required to keep a record of the main discussion points. These points need to be summarized for the talking circles facilitator who will make in a 15-minute presentation in the closing plenary session at the Conference.
Talking Circle 1 (45 minutes): Who are we?
- Orientation: members of the group briefly introduce themselves.
- What could be the narrative flow of the talking circle sessions?
- What could be the outcomes of the work of this group and its contribution to the closing plenary session, the Journal and the Conference as a whole (including the themes for next year’s conference)?
- Assessing the landscape, mapping the territory: What is the scope of our stream? Do we want to rename it?
- What are the burning issues, the key questions for this stream?
- What are the forces or drivers that will affect us as professionals, thinkers, citizens, and aware and concerned people whose focus is this particular stream?
- Where could we be, say, ten years hence? Scenario 1: optimism of the will, Scenario 2: pessimism of the intellect.
- The setting: present and imminent shocks, crises, problems, dilemmas – what are they and what is the range of responses?
- What are the cleavages, the points of dissonance and conflict?
- What are the dimensions of our differences (1)? Politics, society, economics, culture, technology, environment.
- What are the dimensions of our differences (2)? Persons, organisations, communities, nations, the global order.
- Where are the moments of productive diversity?
- What are the bases for collaboration (1)? Politics, society, economics, culture, technology, environment.
- What are the bases for collaboration (2)? Persons, organizations, communities, nations, the global order.
- What’s been coming up in the parallel sessions in this stream since the last talking circle?
- What is the emerging view of the future?
- Can we foresee, let alone predict alternative futures?
- Looking back a decade hence, what might be decisive or seminal in the present?
- Scenarios: can we create images of possibility and agendas for robust alternative futures?
- Directions: conventional and unconventional wisdoms?
- Strategies: resilience in the face of the inevitable or creative adaptation?
- What could be done: review the scenarios developed in Talking Circle 1.
- Axes of uncertainty: working towards the right questions even when there’s no certainty about the answers.
For further dates, please visit the website after the closing of the current round.
You may submit a proposal to the Conference Review Committee for an In-Person Presentation, or a Virtual paper at the Inclusive Museum Conference. If your Conference proposal is accepted you may submit a written paper to The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum. All proposals, presentations and papers must be in English.
You may find a complete list of proposal types on the Conference website.