Capacity Building and training

Transformative Leadership Training

Activate Labs workshops seek to create local capacities for peace and leadership around the world: in our work places, communities and homes. An experienced team of facilitators conduct transformative training that guides leaders to become asset to their work places and communities, harnessing active listening skills, creative conflict transformation, community building skills and assertive nonviolent communications.

The workshops pedagogy is participatory, dialogical organizational development modes, experiential learning and community building practices. Experiential learning models offer leaders an opportunity to gain skills and capacities that leverage their own agency and assets.  Different than lecture type of pedagogy, experiential learning gives participants ownership and empowers them to lead.

The Transformative Leadership workshops teach participants how to lead and collaborate in times of conflict and challenges based on affirmation, communication, co-operation, community building and transforming power. The workshops are an intensive, two-day learning experience which teaches interpersonal collaborative problem solving and conflict transformation skills through a series of step-by-step processes. These experiences in small groups and one-to-one interactions build a sense of community and trust through exercises focusing on:

●     Affirmation — Building self esteem and trust.

●     Communication — Improving both listening skills and assertive methods of expression.

●     Cooperation — Developing cooperative attitudes that avoid competitive conflicts.

●     Creative Conflict Transformation — Getting in touch with the inner Transforming Power to resolve violence. Role plays provide an opportunity to explore this power and learn new and creative ways to respond to real life conflicts in our lives.

The Transformative Leadership Workshop usually takes place in two consecutive days with a total of 16-18 hours.  We also conduct shorter 3-4 hour workshops that focus on a topic such as: resilience, listening, trauma, anger, and building consensus.  The program entails level 1, 2, training for facilitator workshops and mini focused workshops.  Level 1 focusing on building community through affirmation and communication, active listening and assertive communication. Level 2 workshop is topical and concentrates on building consensus and co-operation with the team around a certain topic.  Topics are chosen through a consensus process and then the facilitator team custom creates an agenda for the group. Workshops ideally have up to 20 participants.  Mini workshops are topical and usually focus on team building and listening- groups can be as large as 30 people.