No 3 Spring 2005 C E N T R E P O I N T Newsletter of the Presentation Centre for Policy and Systemic Change 37- 39 T erenure Road West, Dublin 6W. T el: 01 492 7097 Fax: 01 492 6423 Web: www.presentation.ie Email: info@presentation.ie Call for a Spir itu ality an d Radical Social Chan ge fair er, By Kather in e Zappon e Radical change means change that creates new ways of living in common. It is change that establishes mor e conditions for the freedom to imagine and choose a meaningful life, especially (though not only) for those whose options are shrunk because of f lexible inequalities in society. Radical change is the seedbed for systems - habitual ways of doing things - to evolve so that fairness, dignity, respect and opportunity become integral to the normal practices edu cation of things like raising families, making money, implementing laws and policies, teaching children. Discover in g the hidden con n ection s for lear n in g. This theory of radical social change rises up from the system Chr is McCar thy, Car mel Magin n , Mar y Keogh, Eileen O’Con n ell & Deirdr e Bu tler deep, from the invisible. ‘What is essential is invisible to the eyes,’ St Exupury has written. “We were delighted with the response from seminar ‘Spiritual awareness’ is the phrase we use to convey participants. A typical comment was; “Our education system needs to be more flexible and designed in such ‘Congratulations on creating an opportunity to certain beliefs about the essence of life. Let me a way as to accommodate the diverse needs and capacities of every “share the wealth of ideas and experience”. In articulate here some of these beliefs, which have learner”, said Dr Katherine Zappone. seeking to promote education for social been shaped by truths or insights contained within a transformation, we are conscious of the wealth that number of religious and wisdom traditions. They Dr. Kather in e Zappon e with David Rose, Pr esen tation Cen tr e’s Dir ector As a keynote speaker, at the seminar Discovering the Hidden is out there in the form of individual and have been influenced by changing practices and at the Hidden Con n ection s Con fer en ce Connections for Learning, held in the National College of Ireland, she organisational good practice,” said Ann Marie Quinn, norms in society, as well as our own experiences of outlined a new vision of education as a living system. personal or social characteristics. They may be times dedicated to seminar organiser. life. They are stated in a generic way so as to infer individual or group meditation. They may be quiet days. They may that there is no obligation to belong to one or any be public celebrations of individual and collective achievement. The “It needs to be attentive to the wider community and build solidarity “The challenge for the future is to ensure that the religious tradition in order to hold a spiritual view of list goes on. They are varied activities, engaged in regularly, with between all of the education partners”, said Dr Zappone, a research many strands are drawn together in a cohesive way. life. knowledge that they are integral to directing, motivating and sustaining consultant, a member of the Human Rights Commission and co-founder We believe a strategy for doing this is to forge and of An Cosán, a community education centre in West Tallaght. radical social change. Spiritual awareness means a belief that the essence of strengthen the connections between all of us who life is imbued with a substance or energy that is share the belief that education can be and should be Dr Katherine Zappone is an independent research consultant. shared between life forms. It is a belief in the for the kind of social transformation that will create “Education is a living system if it: supports common ways of learning; This is an extract from her keynote address given at the Hidden Connections a better world for all,” said Ann Marie Quinn. interdependence between humans and between accommodates diverse capacities, cultures, learning paths and Conference achievement outcomes; enables communal solidarity or ‘sticking humans and the world of nature. It is a way of together’; reduces inequalities of resources between social groups and experiencing a fundamental relatedness between self, REACHING OUT geographical communities; so that every person’s powers are released, others and the natural world. It is an assumption that A Semin ar to Explor e Perspectives on Ou tr each in directed and enlarged”, said Dr Zappone. relationality is a given, not a choice. What our Commu n ity Edu cation choices involve is to support or to block the cycle of Febr u ar y 22n d, Sou th Cou r t Hotel, Limer ick human development and natural sustainability. However, she warned that unless there is change in the wider social and Keynote Speaker: Dr V eronica McGivney, principal research economic systems so that the basic needs of people are met and that Spiritual awareness, then, is a way of understanding officer, with the UK, National Institute for Adult Continuing resources are distributed more fairly throughout the country, re- and experiencing the world in a relational fashion as Education and author of many books and articles on adult designing the education system or developing new pedagogies will not distinct from an individualistic or atomistic one. For learning including: Recover in g Ou tr each, con cepts, issu es bring about the substantial change required for every child, young some people, this includes an openness to connect an d practices, 2000, an d Men ear n , women lear n : br idgin g person or adult to have an equal chance to achieve. with a divine dimension of life, for example a sense the gen der divide in edu cation an d train in g, 2004. of the life force coming from something other than Education as a living system is directed towards radical social Participation in organised lifelong learning is still largely Pr esen tation girls War r en mou n t, r eceive award for the human or the natural world, or an ongoing change. “By radical we mean change that creates new ways of determined by social and economic circumstances. Low ‘Challen ge to Chan ge’ Hu man Rights In itiative experience of connection between oneself and spirit living in common. It is change that establishes conditions for income and less qualified adults continue to be under being(s). For others, its focus centres more on the the freedom to imagine and choose a meaningful life represented in education. search for a meaningful life - for a sense of purpose especially (though not only) for those whose options are Tsu n ami Disaster that includes as well as moves beyond one’s own The seminar will look at attracting under represented groups shrunk because of inequalities in society”, said Dr into learning through effective outreach strategies. It will individual and family concerns. Zappone. Pr esen tation Sisters Help showcase the learnings from a three-year pilot Outreach Deepening one’s spiritual awareness happens Initiative developed by the Presentation Centre in The seminar was attended by 130 educators, through activities intended to expand an partnership with the Southill Community Services Board, Victims in Tamil Nadu practitioners and policy makers. The understanding and experience of the Limerick. conference was organised by the interconnectedness of all that is. These may be Presentation Centre for Policy See Special Repor t In side political actions of solidarity between people of For f u r ther details con tact: An n e Coffey PBVM, 01 4927097 and Systemic Change. different classes, genders, ethnicities and other or email in fo@pr esen tation .ie, web: www.pr esen tation .ie Pa ge 10
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