Gemma Drake and Mafalda Moreira
Systems practices are rooted in Western worldviews informed by a dominant One World Worldview (Law, 2015; Kennedy et al., 2020), which influences the views of power we might have in our daily work practices. We believe that exploring relational worldviews based on Epistemologies of the South (Santos & Meneses, 2009 Escobar 2016) and imagination practices can help professionals and practitioners deepen their self-inquiry and positionality in relation to power to build new narratives and dialogues as acts of care and co-creation (de la Bellacasa, 2017; Freire, 1970) towards preferable futures in their work.
In this interactive workshop, we explore relationships to power informed by relational worldviews. Activities include embodied practices, movement, metaphors, and imagination practices to open new ways of seeing and acting in our work. We guide a group systems constellation activity responding to questions relating to power and positionality, moving to integration and an individual reflective activity to close. The experience provides a valuable container for practitioners to explore and practice systems practices informed by relational worldviews.
KEYWORDS: Relational worldviews, relational systems thinking, systems constellation, power, positionality, embodiment and imagination.
RSD TOPIC(S): Mapping & Modelling, Methods & Methodology