24 August, 2011

An R M A dissemination seminar


How wonderful to see everyone really opening up to others and telling them about their personal hopes and dreams ! Just one of the many positive comments following a recent RMA seminar in Gent. This seminar was held last June as a channel of dissemination within the framework of a project in which 6 European countries are involved. The project focuses on applying the Reciprocal Maieutic Approach (RMA) as a specific method and starting point in educational and/or training activities and goes under the title of
"To EDucate is to make possible the DIscovery of LIfe".
And a discovery tour it became ! Attending a taster session, organised as part of a dissemination seminar of the RMA approach, the participants collectively explored views and dreams under the watchful eye of the RMA coordinator / trainer Hans Donders.
The seminar kicked off with a solid introduction to the principles of the RMA methodology and its founder Danilo Dolci. This proved to lay the basis for a friendly, open-minded and non-judgmental atmosphere in the group. After that, while sitting in a circle (symbolic for the sharing of power and feeling equal), participants needed little encouragement to start sharing their views. After all, the strength of a maieutic session is that people can freely express themselves, knowing (and feeling) that empathy has been established in the group, the key cornerstone in genuine human relationships. In such a mutually supportive atmosphere there was ample room for spontaneous and natural tuning into the other person's thoughts and feelings, whatever these were.

All in all, the RMA dissemination seminar provided interesting and useful information about the potential of the RMA methodology. But most of all, the seminar had a positive as well as empowering impact on the participants, a stimulating by-product.
(This project is co-funded by the European Commission through the Lifelong Learning Programme under the action Grundtvig Multilateral projects.)

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This blog post reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained herein.