Cross Cultural Protocols Working Group Retreat – April 2017

The Cross Cultural Protocol met in Boulder Colorado from Friday, 4/14 to Sunday, 4/16 to connect in person, collaborate and move forward on visionary work we are committed to.

Dane, Darcy and Kruti flew in to meet Pinar and Ramon’s community for the retreat.  Sobey was able to join for most of the retreat via Zoom video conferencing or phone.  Members Clementine and So were unable to join us.  Special gratitude goes out to Ramon and his family for hosting the retreat at his home.  There was inspiration from all members that helped us understand the community impact of local environmental injustice as well as the clear voices of youth.

The retreated started Friday evening with a community altar, with a special dedication to the ancestors and the children.  We did a check in to connect us to each other and to set the intention for the retreat.  Based on suggestions for the weekend and people’s schedules, we came up with a plan for the next day.  Each member took on one part and we reserved the parts in preparation for the Boulder Gathering for Sunday afternoon (where all members could join except Kruti).

Saturday morning began with connecting to space- with a walk through the lands by Ramon’s home where there is toxicity (due to nuclear plants) in the land, grave impacts on the children and families of the community and “developers” who continue to build without environmental, health and spiritual ramifications.  After the walk, we gathered in circle to do a personal meditative visioning exercise on our goals of the CCP which we shared back with each other later in the day.  We debriefed the Learning Journey and made plans for continuing the work with this group as well as having another learning journey in September.  We discussed the CCP document and the additions that will be made in order to protect folks who would like to bring this into conversations with their organization.  Revisions have been suggested and the version is ready to pass onto the Stewardship Council.  We subsequently discussed the Learning Journey adventure where people shared how great the experience was for facilitators and participants.  Folks agreed that having this set, with deadlines, really helped get material that we have amongst us shared in a great way.  All said the information at the session on Gender and Sexuality was incredible.  There were ideas of how that one could have been two sessions – one with the rich content and the other facilitating dialog and activity to discuss it further.  The group suggested that we reach out to the Learning Journey Cohort 1 to see if there is leadership within the group to take a leadership role with the support of a CCP member.  The goal is to invite all of the participants to YPW events and also keep a space where conversations continue.  The second Learning Journey is scheduled to begin in September.

We also did a session where we evaluated how we did as a team and what we need from each other to continue to strengthen our unit.  We discussed our ecological niches to understand our strengths and passions more deeply.  As we discussed our ideas of consultancy and workshop facilitation planning as an income stream, we did a range of body activities that helps us think through how we feel about money and getting paid for the work of doing trainings/consultancies.  The work will continue to move forward with attention to financial integrity and design that is guided by CCP policies and values.  

We had an opportunity to share back our vision and compare it to our written/ drawn versions.  Please see attached.

We also agreed that when we are emotionally / financially tied to an issue, we should acknowledge that we are holding 2 hats and that in such experiences we should opt out of one if it is healthier.  

We closed the CCP retreat portion of the weekend with appreciations (that were recorded so we can hear them when we need love and strengthening) and a closing session that incorporated an advice/wisdom session for an issue that was alive for discussion and support.