2016 May Intercultural Leadership Training in Paeroa New Zealand

Dr. Anna Storck was co-organiser of this event and workshop provider for the young people. One of the answers to the question: why the leader of the future needs intercultural competence goes binned creating better relationships across cultures. We need the perspective of different cultures in order to live the story of humanity of the future, we are oneness, and as we speak different languages we see the world from the different point of view,collective intelligence, for all solutions we need. As much as anything, the world today needs mature mentors and initiators to support young people to grow into visionary artisans of cultural change, the new leaders who will guide humanity through the transformation that the greater Earth community wholly depends upon. Project funded by Ministry of Social Development

Here is my mihimihi – an introduction speech, which I have prepared for my workshop about intercultural competence at the marae in Paeroa, NZ.

For better understanding the Maori context you should know that the mihi whakatau (Māori formal greetings) is the Māori term used to describe a formal speech of welcome and is undertaken by a Māori representative. Mihi whakatau is traditionally used for welcoming, introductions, openings and general purpose which take place off the marae. The marae (meeting grounds) is the focal point of Māori communities throughout New Zealand, some kind of a fenced-in complex of carved buildings and grounds that belongs to a particular iwi (tribe), hapū (sub tribe) or whānau (family). Māori people see their marae as tūrangawaewae – their place to stand and belong. Marae are used for meetings, celebrations, funerals, educational workshops and other important tribal events.

At the beginning of any hui, following the pōwhiri (formal welcome) or the mihi whakatau, a round of introductions and speeches – or mihimihi – usually occurs. During this time, people ordinarily stand to share a little bit about where they come from and who they are in relation to this (i.e. share their pepeha, or tribal aphorism); many share significant parts of their whakapapa (genealogy).

While whakapapa is about the recitation of genealogy – lineage or ancestry – it also literally means to ‘place in layers’ or ‘create a base’. It places our people in a wider context, linking us to a common ancestor, our ancestral land, our waterways and our tribal (and sub-tribal) groupings. Hence, the literal translation fits with the broader meaning of ancestry and the expansive nature of its ‘layers’.

The whakapapa is about relationships, with both the land and with people. The name tangata whenua or ‘people (tangata) of the land (whenua), makes reference to this relationship, as does the term mana whenua, the mana (prestige) held by the people of that place. The importance of the foundational relationship with the whenua and its enduring ability to sustain us is described aptly in the following whakatauki (proverb):

Whatu ngarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua.
People will perish, but the land is permanent.

 

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa (hallo everybody here)

Nag mini uni ki a koutou katoa (warm greeting to everyone)

Ki te atua -tēnā koe (to God – greetings)

Ki a papatoonuku tēnā koe (to mother earth – greetings)

Ki the whare tēnā koe (to the house – greetings)

Ki the hunga mate (farewell the dead)

Ki the hunga ora (welcome the living)

No Poland ahau (I am from Poland)

Ko Ślęża the maunga (my mountain is Ślęża)

Ko Bystrzyca te awa (my river is Bystrzyca)

Ko papa te Wiktor (my father is Wiktor)

Ko mama te Anna (my mother is Anna)

Ko Anna Storck toku ingoa (my name is Anna Storck)

No reira (I finish)

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa (greetings to all)

Our Intercultural Leadership Training took place there and it was not the first time for me when I had to provide the workshop barefoot  (I have done it for example providing the workshop inside the mosque – the Islamic house of prayer), but it was the very first time, when I mentioned my parents and the place where I come from instead of introducing myself  in terms of positions and degrees. It gave me a feeling of a great connection with myself and helped to speak from the level which is focused on the whole, connected both to my past and to the emerging future that links to my emerging self, to who I really am. What a beautiful cross cultural experience!

Dr. Anna Storck | http://www.interculture.co.nz

2015 July Spirituality goes into the university!

There had been two weekend workshops in January and in July this year in the private university of Witten-Herdecke in Witten. The workshop under the title Transparent Communication was facilitated by the Institute for Global Integral Competence (IfGIC). Transparent communication is an attitude, a goal and a communication tool for more awareness and connectedness with and beyond the consciousness. It includes three perspectives of the intrapersonal (within a person=personal experiences, well-being und feelings), the interpersonal (between two persons on the level of the energetic interaction) and the transpersonal (above the two persons including the bigger system). The main focus of the workshop laid on practical exercises of those three dimensions. Through the exercises conducted frequently in a triad, the participants could not only learn intellectually about the transparent communication but also really feel and experience it as a personal experience.

The workshop was a part of the program called Studiumfundamentale, which comprises workshops with various topics open for all students regardless of the subject they study. There were 14 students in the first workshop in January and 32 in the second workshop in July. The students were on the one side open for exercises and on the other they were questioning the assumptions of the transparent communication. These combinations together with the personal experience lead to an interesting dialogue about spirituality. Moreover, there were many interesting reflections in the essays which needed to be written for getting the credit points afterwards.

In conclusion it can be said that there is a big interest and an open and healthy critical attitude in this university towards such workshops and getting trained in new form of communication to respond to the challenges of this century.

We are looking forward for more seminars to come!

Love

Marion

2015 Juni „Exploring the Inside of a We“ very practical and alive

The name of the whole conference was „we – in the middle of life“ (dt.: wir – mitten im leben), so that I wanted to contribute to this subject with my workshop.

My workshop was splitted in two parts 60min each: First a sneak preview with 2 other people such as Steffen Karneth from evolve magazine. Each of us had a 20min short presentation of our work and afterwards a 1,5h workshop in the evening.

In both parts it was important for me that the 20-30 participants could have a real inner experience afterwards. Both parts where a mixture of theory, some guided meditative parts, small group exercices and also exchange with the entire group.

My idea and very important aim for me as well was to create an „open space of listening and acting“ at the same time. So that every short encounter with someone else during this seminar is inspired by a small gap of not-knowing for everyone, so that we don´t reproduce only the past again and again. Inspiration in action, so to say.

I was very satisfied and happy to experience, how deep and easily most people went into the exercices. We could see, how much we can harvest in very simple settings in a short timeframe like this, when there is a high level of fine-tuning with more subtle energies. All the feedback I received was very beautiful and touched by the space we created together.

I would have loved to have more experience like this through the whole conference.

One of the participants was Dr. Galuska – Medical Director of the Heiligenfeld Clinic in Bad Kissingen. And I´m very happy to be in touch with the Heiligenfeld Clinic and to present my work as well as the Integral Roadshow during the next HeiligenfeldKongress in June 2016.

Stay tuned for more!

Yours

Martin Bruders

2014 July Seminar at the Uni Witten/Herdecke

Some days ago Kazuma and Martin gave a beautiful workshop in Witten at the University of Witten/Herdecke. The title of this seminar was “Heilende Kommunikation durch Integrität und Energie”. We had a lot of fun with all the students mainly from psychology and medicine. Very interesting dialogues took place, which led us to some new answers and also to new questions about cosmopolitain communication in the area of health.
Thank you to all of you who have been with us.