Community interview: Karen Stockmann of Community Waikato

Communications Officer • Sep 21, 2021

We are so excited to have Karen Stockmann, Community Advisor at CNA member organisation Community Waikato, running two participatory, collaborative events at our 2022 Conference!

CNA Communications Officer Ciara O'Callaghan had a chat to Karen about why she loves running these events, how they benefit participants and why the answers to our sector's problems are within all of us!

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Day One of CNA's Conference 2022 will feature two collaborative events facilitated by Karen: the World Café and the Marketplace. These activities allow participants to access a source of deeper creativity and shared knowledge that might not be available through more traditional approaches to collaborative work. In this interview, Karen discusses what drew her to these events and how they can benefit Aotearoa's Community Sector!

Kia ora Karen! Can you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your mahi?

I have been an advisor at Community Waikato since 2011, and have worked in and around the community sector for the past 30 years as an advocate, supporter, trainer, leader and governor. I spent 10 years operating my own training, facilitation and development consultancy where I used a lot of participatory and strengths-based approaches to assist communities, organisations and individuals to achieve their self identified aspirations. I am the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Interactionz, a mother of 4 and grandmother of 3. I have a strong commitment to social justice and the importance of creating a society where everyone has the opportunity to contribute and belong in ways that are meaningful to them.

How did you get involved in running collaborative events? What drew you to this mahi?

I was first introduced to these kind of participatory tools when I went to North America in 2005. I went to an event focused on Inclusion, Diversity and Community at Ryerson University in Toronto. There I met some of the people who created these methodologies and got to witness them in action. After this experience I also participated in an Art of Hosting training in Melbourne which further cemented my interest in using facilitation tools and approaches that enable participants to create new and innovative solutions to the challenges they face. Art of Hosting describes the work of an international community of people working in this participatory, collaborative way. I've had a lot of opportunity to meet people using these tools and to use them myself and experience how effective they are.

Using these tools in an organisation or community takes a lot of trust, especially on the part of the people who hold positions of responsibility. We have been so conditioned by society to feel that as leaders we need to have the answers or find the answers; to prescribe and control everything. If we are running a conference, we expect to be in control of everything. The typical approach is to have ‘experts’ fill people up with information like they are empty vessels. Participatory approaches like art of hosting are an alternative way of doing things that acknowledge individuals, their experiences, the knowledge they already hold and the fact that they are not empty cups to be filled up!

This idea of co-creation has a long history - hosting circles, talking, sharing and story-telling is as old as time. This is how, as societies, we have historically done things. I find it really exciting that we are being drawn back to these ways of working - it brings out the strengths and abilities of people and it allows us to focus on opportunities and possibilities rather than problems; and to take a capacity-building approach, not a deficit approach.

"It allows us to take a capacity-building approach, not a deficit approach."

Can you tell us about the two collaborative events you will be running at CNA's Conference 2022?

CNA decided to include a full day of collaborative events on Day 1 of Conference 2022 because feedback from members was that they wanted to connect, be inspired by, challenged by and learn from other participants. Both of the events I'll be running - Market Place and World Café - will create spaces and opportunities for people to do those things. With large groups of people, like at a conference, it is not enough to tell people "Now go and chat to each other". These two methodologies grew from the understanding that the wisdom we need comes from within ourselves, rather than a subject matter expert coming and telling us what we need to know.

World Café was developed by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs as a response to noticing that our best work often happens when people are brought together somewhat informally but with a common focus or purpose. It is about helping people to approach challenges or areas they want to grow/enhance/develop by working together with others and exploring powerful questions - questions that are difficult to answer and bigger than what we would consider in our everyday work. The questions are aspirational, generative and lead into deeper inquiry. In World Café participants engage in conversations on a series of powerful questions specifically crafted around a topic or theme. People move around tables in an organised way, creating a cross-pollination of thoughts and ideas. One host stays at each table, which allows different groups to explore layers of conversation and multiple thoughts and ideas. The host connects and links each different conversation to the previous ones, so everyone has the benefit of all the discussions and thoughts in the room. The discussion is just as much about answering the questions as reflecting on other people's answers. Something magical often happens at the third or fourth round of conversations, the more changes, the more powerful the conversation is. You don't start from scratch each time, but instead bring in all the previous discussions. At the end, key points from each conversation are harvested and shared. Everything is pulled together around the focal question we started with. This allows us to empower people to recognise that the answers are within them and the people around them.

"People are empowered to realise that the answers are within them..."

The second event, Marketplace, is about mobilising the wisdom that is already in the room. It comes from an observation many of us have made that the most meaningful engagement at conferences is often the conversations that happen at the breaks, or between speakers, with other participants. Marketplace is an open space technology approach developed by Harrison Owens. With Marketplace we will create the space for conference participants to set their own agenda and topics for the workshops. People will be invited to bring along topics such as ideas they want input on, problems or issues they need help with, projects or achievements they want to share and other participants will choose which topics they want to participate in. There will hopefully be time for a couple of rounds of topics. One of the beauties of Marketplace is the law of mobility which means people can move around as they wish. At the end of the sessions we will harvest key reflections and learnings or insights so everyone can take something away from the experience. It's an activity that facilitates intentional conversations, it's about creating the space, holding the space and sharing the learning.

"...it's about creating the space, holding the space and learning."

What kind of topics will we be focusing on at these workshops?

World Café will be looking at how we could approach some of the key challenges and priorities facing our community organisations now and into the future. The topics we discuss and workshop during Marketplace will be up to the Conference participants! This is a chance to bring your ideas, concerns, and opportunities to discuss and share with other organisations and individuals. You will have the luxury of choosing what you want to focus on and engaging other members of our sector for ideas, solutions, feedback, different perspectives, and thoughts!

Why do you think it is important for us to have events like these at conferences?

These events are really energising and they create connections within our sector that last beyond the conference. They strengthen our communities and grow our collective knowledge - after these workshops we will know who knows what about certain topics, which organisations are working on what and who we can ask about certain thigs. All very valuable knowledge and connections!

What have you noticed about people’s participation in these events? How does it differ from general, unstructured networking?

There is a tangible energy and excitement created in the room - a really powerful positive energy that comes from exploring possibility. There is greater commitment to small actions people can take. It is very different from feeding people a lot of theory and them walking away unsure how to utilise it or put it into practice. Collaborative events are more action-orientated.

What do you enjoy about running collaborative events like these?

I really enjoy the energy, and I am always blown away by people's generosity - sharing their knowledge and experience. I like seeing relationships and connections being formed that grow in the future. There are always new possibilities that emerge and new ideas and projects that are born from these beginning conversations.

How do you think the community sector will benefit form these events, and more collaboration in general?

Community organisations in Aotearoa can be isolated and some have limited opportunities to meet with others, so these events give them that chance. We benefit through the cross-pollination that occurs, allowing us to source deeper creativity and sharing of knowledge. It's really the definition of synergy - the sum of our collective efforts is greater than the total of each individual contributor. Sometimes we aren't even aware of the possibilities and opportunities open to us - they aren't in our perspective or worldview, or we are too busy doing the day-to-day grind. These events create opportunities for people to realise those possibilities and potentials, it also creates confidence and widens perspectives - if we see what others are doing it means we can do it too.

"It's about synergy - the sum of our collective is greater than us on our own."

Thanks Karen for an awesome kōrero - we can't wait to witness these workshops in action next February at our Conference!

You can find out more and register for CNA's Conference 2022 here.

Karen's organisation Community Waikato can be found here.