In July, two Canadian representatives (Geneviève Dick & Firyal Mohamed) participated in a special trustbuilding training put on by IofC International and held at Caux, Switzerland. Led by the knowledge and wisdom of two expert facilitators, Rob Corcoran and Matthew Freeman of the USA, over twenty participants spent 4-days deep diving into the basic frameworks and principles of trustbuilding, expanding on best practices of the Community Trust-building Fellowship program which was developed by IofC in Richmond, Virginia. Of note was the participation of Fetzer Representative Shakiyla Smith in the training- emphasizing the ongoing role of co-collaboration and co-creation Fetzer envisions with IofC International on this endeavour.
The program structure incorporated learning and reflections on: ‘Becoming an Authentic Leader’, ‘Healing Wounds of History’, ‘Skills for Honest Conversation’, and ‘Building Effective Teams for Healing and Equity’. In particular, pilot countries had a chance to explore and deepen their analysis of the specific context and needs of their respective pilots, and were offered trustbuilding tools, methodologies, and skills in dialogue and facilitation for participants to take back to their localities and consider in the context of their pilot projects.