EXPERIMENTS IN GROUP WISDOM

This event is for anyone with an interest in holding space for others 😊

If you haven't launched your community yet: use us as a sounding board for your ideas, benefit from the wisdom of experienced hosts, get inspired by existing communities, leave with the support of the group 🔥

If you already host a community or group: connect with fellow hosts, celebrate successes, workshop new ideas, find opportunities for collaboration, leave with renewed energy and fresh perspectives.

WHY 'THE HEARTH'?
Hestia is the goddess of community, hospitality towards strangers, home, and warmth. Her name translates to 'hearth' and she is symbolised by the sacred fire burning in every home and city. She's known for her inner strength, calm demeanour, and commitment to peace - qualities that can help when hosting! 🔥

HOW IT WORKS:

PART I: The Hat

1. We start by contributing topics to the hat. The hat is full of topics and questionsrelevant to hosting and community building. For example:
   • What makes a 'community'?
   • How to establish the right 'vibe' for events?
   • Navigating challenging dynamics in person
   • When to collaborate with others?
2. We draw three topics from the hat
3. We vote to determine the topic of the day
4. We discuss in small groups (3-4 people per group) for 20 minutes, sharing our perspectives and ideas

PART II: How's it going?

1. We shuffle groups to meet new people.
2. In our new groups, we take it in turns to share for 5 minutes each about:
   WHAT'S WORKING WELL (or what do we hope will work well)
3. We shuffle again
4. We take it in turns to share for 5 minutes each about:
   A CURRENT CHALLENGE OR DILEMMA (or what obstacles can we foresee)

PART III: Our Communities
We come back to the big group for a quick circle where we each have the opportunity to briefly introduce our communities/ideas.

PART IV: The Social
The rest of the evening is unstructured space to continue conversations, discuss collaborations, get to know each other.

NOTES ON THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE:

• Laid back, light, fun
• Respectful of each other's time, views, ideas
• Generous listening and low pressure sharing

WHO SHOULD COME:
Everyone with an interest in hosting groups and building community. No existing community necessary! This group is not about being experts, it is about working it out together. That is, bringing our various experiences and lenses on the world together to support, inspire, and uplift one another. We believe the more perspectives, the richer the conversation.

WHERE WE'LL MEET:
The Fitzroy Tavern in Fitzrovia. In the small dining room UPSTAIRS. The nearest Tube stations are Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road. (It has a nice fire place!)