Art of Hosting Training

Ecological and ecosystem scientists, social scientists, conservation and sustainability experts, green business, policy makers, change makers and social innovators are invited into a collective inquiry.

How can ecosystem science, people, and place become courageous partners to transform towards a sustainable future for all?

3 days to explore...

What becomes possible when our knowledge of ecosystem science is fully grounded in societal needs?

How can we use collective intelligence practices to inform scientific explorations for a sustainable future while respecting different worldviews?

What is the role of open science in social-ecological innovation?

Current human activities are putting the planet at risk by degrading the ecosystems we rely on, limiting opportunities for future generations and restricting the possible futures we wish to cultivate.

We need to understand earth’s limits while re-establishing our connections to the natural world, each other, and have the courage to contribute to restore and regenerate our ecosystems.

What can we learn from ecosystem science that could dramatically impact our societal decision making for a sustainable future?

How do we integrate different worldviews to work more actively to find applicable solutions?

Contact us for info

This is a 3 day residential based training in the beautiful location of the Université de Montreal’s Biological Field Station in the Laurentian region of Quebec on the Art of Hosting conversations that matter. This is a bilingual (English/French) event.

Location: At the Biology Station of University of Montréal

Costs 700$ – 1200$ + taxes

Costs include:

  • Training
  • Meals
  • Materiels
  • Accommodation (3 nights)

Team

Join a team of local and international practitioners of Art of Hosting, scientists.

Chris Corrigan
Chris Corrigan

Steward of the global Art of Hosting community, Chris is a teacher and facilitator of strategic conversations and a practitioner of the Art of Hosting whose work invites collective intelligence and collective leadership to be activated in the service of complex challenges. Chris has worked locally and internationally in a large variety of contexts including social services, indigenous community development, immigration and refugee issues, business, government, food systems and education. He has written and contributed to numerous books on the role of participatory processes in activating new forms of leadership and community development. His well known weblog, Parking Lot, has charted his own learning in the field since 2002.

    Samantha Slade

    Percolab | Going Horizontal

    Conscious entrepreneur, Samantha created Percolab as a living lab to prototype new ways of working together. For over 20 years, she has been put her background in anthropology and learning design in service of innovation and system change work in North America and internationally. Author of Going Horizontal – Creating a Non-Hierarchical Organization, One Practice at a Time (BK Publishers) and TedX speaker on Business as Commons.

    Paul Messer

    Percolab

    Paul uses design thinking to work with complexity. Tapping into his background as an industrial designer, Paul draws real-time visual map murals and makes custom objects to support group innovation and co-design processes. As a designer, Paul’s creative drive and prototype mind thrive on constraints. Engaged in the ArtHive, FabLab and FabCity movements, Paul understands how creative processes can affect social change. Creator of the Visual Thinking Lab and active member of the international visual practitioner community.

    Jonathan Jubinville

    Matière brute

    Experience facilitator and curious intuitive, Jonathan has cofounded Matière Brute with the intention of contributing to the development of a culture in alignment more with the living than machines in organizations. He’s working with relational intelligence in service of a greater resilience in face of the complex challenges of our time. He has a Master degree in sustainable development management and conducts independent research on living systems and their significance at the social levels. He’s next step is to cocreate a social ninja school in nature for kids.

    Roxane Maranger

    Professor, Aquatic Ecosystem Ecologist at Université de Montréal, President-Elect the Association of the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography

    Roxane has been conducting research in aquatic ecosystem science for over 25 years. Conscious of the need to protect the ecosystem services humans rely on now and into the future, she has been exploring how to merge social innovation practices with the open science movement to achieve broader sustainability and conservation goals. Passionate about making ecosystem science matter in societal decision making, she is developing a more value-ladened social-ecological innovation system to better enable the co-creation of ecosystem science knowledge, to more effectively communicate its importance for human well-being.

    Nicolas Fortin St-Gelais

    Chercheur postdoctoral Université de Montréal | Directeur Scienfique et co-fondateur CANN Forecast

    Throughout his PhD in aquatic ecology, Nicolas developed a strong interest in data science. By participating and organizing multiple events integrating environmental issues and open data he realized how powerful quantitative decision tools are for better informed decision-making. He developed InfoBaignade, a tool to predict water quality used by the city of Montreal to assess the recreational safety of various beaches, and is currently developing a novel methodological approach to evaluate the vulnerability of lakes and rivers. Now he wants to further push the frontiers of integrating data science in socio-ecological approaches.

    What is Art of Hosting?

    Art of Hosting is a set of simple yet powerful principles to design and facilitate conversations and work that taps into the whole potential of groups and individuals. It is also an international community.

    Art of Hosting takes a holistic approach to conversations so that they can lead to wiser actions.

    Art of Hosting is an open-source social practice that incorporates (but is not limited to) methods such as:

    • World Café
    • Complexity theory
    • Open Space Technology
    • Circle Practice
    • Storytelling & Story Harvest
    • 8 Breaths of Design
    • The Art of Harvesting ​

    Much of the art and power of the Art of Hosting approach comes not from any individual method but learning to blend and tailor a combination of methods to serve the need and purpose of the unique context a practitioner is working with, using an understanding of underlying patterns of process design.

    Ecological Field Station

    This training will take place at the Ecological field Station of the Université de Montréal. It is a vast territory with pristine lakes protected since the 1960s.
    We will be able to swim, canoe, hike, hang in a hammock, play badminton, soccer etc.
    There is simple onsite lodging for 50 people in two pavillons (2 persons per room).

    If you have any questions...

    contact us

    Art of Hosting Training

    Ecological and ecosystem scientists, social scientists, change makers and social innovators are invited into a collective inquiry.

    How can we harness the power of collective intelligence practices and the knowledge of ecosystem science to restore and regenerate the planet’s natural assets now and for future generations?