Migration as Practice

The experiment: What if we invited participants to engage in a weekly reflection practice in the four weeks leading up to the gathering? 

The why: There is only so much depth and nuance we can reach within a one-day gathering where most participants are only meeting each other, and engaging with the core skills, for the first time. We wanted to protect our in-person time for practicing the skills vs. us presenting or explaining the skills to participants. The invitation to engage in reflection around each of the four core skills in the lead-up to the gathering is meant to 1) expose participants to DIA’s framing of these skills, 2) give them space to become conscious of their own relationships to each of these skills, and 3) come into the gathering more aware of their own strengths, challenges, questions, and boundaries in practicing these skills in the presence of others. 

The outcome: Even though participants didn’t know each other, the knowledge that each of them had received and engaged with the weekly practices accelerated the process of building trust, intimacy, and shared language across participants. This meant that the conversations that unfolded were deeper, more nuanced, and more honest. The fact that participants had worked through the reflection prompts in advance meant that they came in less attached to “getting something out of the gathering” and more open to allowing their somatic impulses and intuition to guide their decisions in the moment.

“I am truly enjoying the emails and the voicenotes. They are paving the way for the gathering. The voicenotes are poetic. I even listen to them twice. Maybe I’ll listen to them more. Because it speaks to me. The informal approach and the poetic approach – those speak to my soul.” – MaP participant

“The emails have been extremely hilarious…You’ve curated it in a way where everybody picks up what they want and what they need in that experience, and that’s really really beautiful. I remember seeing the first email on exploring truth-telling…I remember immediately feeling like “Ooo this is heavy, this is deep work.”…My interaction with it has been really meaningful…I’ve been really appreciative of the level of depth that it’s uncovering within me…I have really enjoyed the topics and I think these are things that I deal with in my own life and work.” – MaP participant

“Honestly I’ve been loving all of them so far. I love listening to Mathura’s voice and then reading through the transcript at the same time. When I finish that, I write down my thoughts and then go through the questions.” – MaP participant

The experiment: What if we asked everyone on our initial list of invitees to consider inviting a +1 (e.g. a friend, a colleague, a family member, etc.) to the gathering – someone who they would define as a migrant, and who they believe would appreciate being able to attend?

The why: Jenn, our CEO, has had one too many experiences of being at conferences, workshops, etc. and wishing that she could have brought someone with her to deconstruct why it sucks, gush about why it’s amazing, or anything in between. We’ve also had participants come out of previous DIA programs and/or gatherings, filled up by the experience they had but unsure of how they might explain it to people in their lives who weren’t there. So, we wanted everyone to have the option of having someone there that they could share the experience with, should they want to.

The outcome: Most participants were open to inviting a +1 and did so. About half of the +1s who were invited were able to attend on the day of the gathering. We also appreciated the chance to connect with new people who were aligned with DIA’s values and ways of working, but had been outside of DIA’s current bubble.

“This is validating a lot of things from my experience as a migrant…what I’m realizing from all your weekly messages is that it’s very grounding because it makes me feel that I’m not alone, I’m not crazy in my thoughts. It helped me make sense of my own feelings much better as well.” – MaP participant

The experiment: What if we offered invitees the opportunity to attend an optional virtual meet-and-greet where they get to meet us (Jenn + Mathura), and hear the story of how this gathering came about, before the deadline for confirming attendance?

The why: While invitees received a pretty thorough not-one-pager that shared our intentions for the gathering, they didn’t know how the gathering and the core skills fit in with DIA’s overall strategy, programming, and visions for the future. Additionally, some invitees knew both Jenn and Mathura, others knew one of us, and some knew neither. We wanted to create opportunities before the gathering for participants to get a sense of who we are and how we move, and have space to ask questions and/or voice doubts.

The outcome: The meet-and-greet was attended by 25% of invitees and received great feedback from those who did. Even those who didn’t attend the meet-and-greet expressed a lot of gratitude for the recording, which they chose to watch on their own time.

“We just don’t have enough good language about this. I really appreciate the opportunity to be in these spaces and have conversations around this because that is building my capacity to talk about these things in a realm in which we are not currently talking about them.” – MaP participant

The experiment: What if we resourced participants to go out into the neighbourhood and collectively determine and purchase lunch for the group vs. having it catered for them?

The why: First and foremost, we wanted to practice sharing responsibility and challenging the norm that hosts must always feed their guests. We were happy to resource (aka pay for) the food, but we wanted participants to be actively engaged in figuring out how to feed the group. We also wanted to support local businesses, have participants get out for a walk and fresh air, and allow room for a little whimsy in the meal we ended up creating together! 

Participants were divided into groups of ~3 and each group was tasked with going out to the restaurants in the neighbourhood and bringing back something to share with the group. To make sure we ended up with some variety and food that everyone could eat, we compiled a list of dietary restrictions within the group ahead of time, and assigned each group to grab something specific (e.g. a plant-based protein, halal protein, a vegetarian dish, savoury carbs, dessert, etc.). Each group was resourced with $50 to purchase their contribution, and we also shared a map of restaurants in the area.

The outcome: This experiment delivered on multiple fronts! Despite it being the thick of winter, participants appreciated being able to leave the space, move their bodies, and get some fresh air. Because all the restaurants on the map we offered were within a 5 minute walking distance from our gathering venue, the groups returned with enough time to eat before the afternoon programming. The variety of food was incredible, everyone had enough to eat + some seconds, and we had very little food left over and/or go to waste – which is not often the case when we’ve gotten food catered. Given that the participants knew about this experiment ahead of time, we didn’t experience any resistance to the exercise from them either.

The experiment: What if we set up the space and programming as four stations (one per core skill) that are each based on a hands-on activity?

The why: While the hands-on activity may not be directly related to each skill, it gives participants something to do while talking or thinking about the core skill at each station. It gives them a place to direct any energy that needs to be moved through their bodies. Making something with their hands allows them to literally MAKE something out of whatever emotion they may be experiencing as they engage with the core skill. While eye contact can support connection, it can also be tiring to maintain over a long period. The hands-on activity gives participants permission to look somewhere else, whether they are talking or listening, without being judged as rude or insensitive.

The outcome: The hands-on activities (e.g. making paper cranes, making collages, completing a jigsaw puzzle, and finger painting) were a hit. In addition to the intentions described in “the why” above, these activities also facilitated 1) unawkward moments of silence in between conversations about skills and 2) inspired organic connections between the activity they were doing and the topic they were discussing (e.g. the links between doing a puzzle and weaving the micro and the macro).

“I felt so welcome and I really felt so comfortable today with a lot of people. I think this is like the first time in a while that I felt safe enough to just be, to exist, and really just not overthink and enjoy the moment.” – MaP participant

The experiment: What if we gathered the group at the beginning and middle of the day to set individual and collective intentions for how they want to show up, and let them determine how they want to spend their time during the morning and afternoon programming blocks? 

The why: Given that participants had already engaged with the four sets of reflection prompts (one per core skill) in the lead-up to the gathering, they already had a sense of which ones they were most curious to explore with others, which ones they were most challenged by, and which ones they felt ambivalent and/or reconciled about. We wanted to create a space where participants could name and be accountable to their individual and collective intentions, without having us direct their experience. The intention-setting was preceded by several grounding exercises that brought participants into their bodies, and invited them to verbalize their “no’s” (i.e. boundaries) so that they could create space for their yes’s (i.e. intentions, how they want to spend their time / energy) to emerge with clarity.

The outcome: In response to the framing of choose-your-own-adventure, some participants moved around to multiple stations, whereas others stayed at the same station for the whole programming block. Given that these were choices they made, they were also accountable for the experience they had as a result of these decisions. The intention-setting circles at the start and middle of the day were powerful in guiding their choices, and there were times when participants 1) had an emerging need override their initial intention and/or 2) had their intention met in a way that they hadn’t initially anticipated. As hosts, it required us to let go and trust participants to exercise their agency in a way that felt fulfilling for them.

“I don’t think that it’s often that I go into a space where there isn’t a planned purpose in my mind of how to do it right. But today, I feel like it was purposely planned in a way that there is quite literally no right way to do it. So it became an exercise in freeing myself from that, and then just being able to sit with it in a way I haven’t given myself space to do before …how often on a Thursday, in December, are you able to do something like that? It just felt like there was a warm energy from everybody because of the space and the freedom to do that.” – MaP participant

“The gathering was about being holistic and bringing my own identity as a whole…I feel like in my life, I divide myself in different parts for people.. I don’t really have a space where I can be authentic to myself…But in this space, I could really hold myself in contradiction and just be both things at once.” – MaP participant

“We are constantly in a state of self-discovery and negotiating how we show up with the world, but we don’t have enough spaces that hold us in safety, security and care to let that person fully emerge. We are constantly compartmentalizing ourselves. The morning conversation was really just me appreciating that this space was held and curated for that.” – MaP participant

The experiment: What if we offered the opportunity for ‘open space’ as an option for the afternoon programming block, alongside the four stations focused on the core skills?

The why: Open Space offers an opportunity for participants to suggest a conversation they’d like to have and invite others into that conversation. While we wanted participants to spend time engaging with and practicing the four core skills, we also wanted to leave space – after they had spent a morning doing exactly that – for them to go deeper into what resonated for them, what was still challenging them, and/or what they wanted to explore further, especially in community.

The outcome: During the post-lunch intention-setting circle, several participants shared some topics they were keen to explore further in an open space conversation. Of these topics, the conversation around grief was the one that garnered the most interest from participants (about ⅓ to ½ of the group was engaged in this conversation at any given moment during the second programming block), and those who chose to participate were very affirmed in their decision to do so.

“I think that conversation that we had this afternoon was maybe the most joyful and loving conversation about grief that I’ve gotten to be a part of. It was a very sweet way for us to navigate what is clearly both very personal, and also a shared and collective experience…I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity to be part of a conversation like that.” – MaP participant