Narrative Reverberations: Community Conversations Around the World and Across Generations
Full week: Friday-Friday, June 14-21, 2019
Program: Sunday- Thursday, June 16-20, 2019
Narrative Camp 2019 will bring together a diverse blend of practitioners & teachers of different ages and different languages from around the world to take turns interviewing each other about the past, present and future of Narrative Therapy. We think of this Narrative Camp as a Definitional Ceremony, with several of us approaching retirement being interviewed by younger folks, some of whom know each other personally. We will then reverse the process to interview fresher voices in the field about what excites them most about directions in their work. At other times, participants will join up in different cottages around shared narrative themes. Some people will stay the entire week, while others will stay for four days on Lake Champlain.
Our 2019 Program
We love to foster inter-generational and multi-cultural connections. Everyone benefits from these inspiring exchanges that level the playing field and bring together both seasoned and early career voices. This year we will bring together practitioners/teachers across generations using a Community Conversations approach to group work created by Gaye Stockell and Marilyn O’Neil (Sydney, Australia). We will devote a 1/2 day to interviewing our elders – people approaching retirement – about their experiences of the past, present and future of Narrative Therapy. On the next day, we’ll interview fresher voices in the field about what they are finding most engaging in their work. If you would like to participate in these interviews, be sure to fill out the questionnaire at the bottom of the registration page.- Narrative Initiatives Around the World: cohosts Pierre Blanc-Sahnoun (France), Sumie Ishikawa (Japan) and Hanne Robenhagen (Russia);
- Narrative & The Body: cohosts SuEllen Hamkins (Northampton, Massachusetts), Lynne Rosen (Los Angeles) & Laure Maurin (Bordeaux, France);
- Power & Relational Accountability: cohosts Steve Gaddis and Narrative Therapy Initiative (Salem, Massachusetts);
- Narrative Responses to Climate Change with Digital Story-telling: cohosts Jenny Freeman (Berkeley California) and Etienne Proulx (Quebec, Canada).
- Narrative Supervision & Training: cohosts SuEllen Hamkins (Northampton, MA) & Larry Zucker (Los Angeles)
- Refreshing the Spirit of the Work: cohosts Peggy Sax (Middlebury Vermont) and Stephen Gaddis (Salem, Massachusetts).
With your help, we will continue to build the program. As always, there will be lots of spontaneous space to explore emergent topics.
Schedule
Those of us staying for the entire week will arrive on Friday. On Sunday morning June 16, join us at 11am for a bagel brunch; our official program will begin at 12;30 pm and finish by 1pm on Thursday, June 20th. Community Conversations will take place for half-days in 2 cottages each day. We’ll also schedule pre-dinner conversations focusing on particular themes at different cottages. The rest of the day is free time for restoration and other informal activities: kayaking, hiking, cycling, swimming, sharing meals, yoga by lakeside watching glorious sunsets and hanging out talking on verandas. This year we are very happy that a number of musicians are joining us. Some people also like to visit nearby museums, towns and other sites. Our videographers will be available to document some noteworthy conversations.
Program Registration
We understand many people are on tight budgets. We do our best to make this gathering affordable. In addition to cottage rental, here is a breakdown of the fee:
- Food: Total: $100. Sunday-Thurs will include 5 catered lunches ($15 x5 = $75) + cookout dinner on Sunday evening @ $25. We are planning a potluck dinner for Tuesday, June 18. Otherwise, cottages will be responsible for their own breakfasts and dinners, free to make their own arrangements to join up with others at any time.
- Fee for Program (Sunday-Thurs: half-days): $225 or $125 reduced fee for students/early career/limited income. (Note: This rate will cover a range of expenses including rental of The Projection House- a beautiful new lakeside meeting space, snacks, and videography).
- TOTAL for Sunday-Thurs: $325 or $225 reduced fee.
Please note: We also welcome donations, which we pledge to put to good use to promote training, professional development and continuing education in a narrative approach to therapy, organizational, and community work. No donation is too small — or too large! All donations are tax deductible.
Accommodation
Our accommodation is now full! We’ve reserved nine gorgeous cottages to accommodate everyone who signed up. Thank you for filling out the survey to let us know your preferences. While some people will stay the entire week, others chose the four-day option. In the spirit of simplifying, we aggregated the number of bedrooms/beds to calculate a basic fee for renting a room/shared room. If you signed up, you should have already received an email with cottage assignment. Please register for Accommodation in order to secure your room by selecting either Paypal (to pay now) or Check (to either send in a check or pay when you arrive).
Please note: If you are eager to come, and not signed up, please contact us. Sometimes space does open up.
Transportation
Vermont is a small, rural state. Narrative Camp will take place on Thompsons Point in Charlotte Vermont about 1/2 hour drive from Burlington International Airport. Some people prefer to fly into Montreal, New York or Bost0n airports, and then take train or bus to Burlington/Essex Junction. Otherwise, we have limited public transportation. It’s easy to rent a car, or to get rides from locals. Here in Vermont, we do our best to live by our steadfast values of community-mindedness, neighborly ways and hospitality. Please fill out the questionnaire on the registration page to tell us any transportation plans and questions. As long as you arrive at a reasonable hour, we will do our best to arrange pick up at the airport, bus or train station.