AOC Muizenberg South Africa 17April 2010

...'The question that I worked with at the beach is one that has been with me for quite a while now and it was also my point of departure for the presentation I did at the AOC symposium.

How should I work in this world?

This question is not something specifically related to my art, but rather something that is part of my entire being in this world.

So then one might suggest that the question could be 'How should I be in this world?', but to be seems so final, whilst work implies a continuous doing. In the time after AOC on the beach, I've come to realise that there is another word that could change in my question, as to make it more workable, so at the moment it is: How might I work in this world?

Connecting things, people, ideas, impulses, myself to myself and to others, to the planet and to many other things. I have also been reading a bit of Deleuze and Guattari and have been making drawings to help me understand some of their work and this has in turn helped me

to understand my own questions more. Connecting is creating.

There are a few things that emerged on the beach, that I have been thinking about: the image of the little whole that you made on the sand and then connected to another little whole in the sand the suggestion that if one might be with the sand for long enough, one might start to understand what it is about one of the other participants was concerned about how to deal with

guilt. i've come to realise that i also struggle with this. why?! I don't understand, but its been good to identify that this problem exists intent...' By Lara

AOC Muizenberg South Africa 10April 2010

After a very complicated week, James, I feel grateful for the Agents of Change meeting and the chance to explore my concerns around interconnectedness, the chance to feel heard, and the chance to feel whole during the social sculpture exercise. From our talks I have learned that we are connected, yet at the same time there does have to be some sort of focus on ourselves, our own fears and our own concerns, and sometimes just voicing them helps a lot.

There has been a lot to think about this week, and I feel as though Saturday's meeting helped me to take a new direction. James, you helped me to understand the value of listening, and what that means. My friend Jennie and I were talking on Friday night about what it actually means to be the quiet person in the group, and how activists can be so passionate and alive. Jennie said "Just listening can change somebody's life." Feeling listened to on a few different occasions this week, including with Agents of Change, helped me to realise that this is true, and that as a quiet and more gentle person, I still have a lot to offer.

Some reflections run deep, and it takes a while for the ripples to reach the surface. This week has been one of great thought. James, I appreciate both your listening and your sharing with me. Thank you.

Design and Sustainability: Agents of Change, Informal symposium at Stellenbosch University, 27 March 2010

Stellenbosch Informal Symposium, I learned a lot, and it shaped  a new direction for the work I was doing for my thesis, and my focus for ADIPSA topics as well.  At first, while co-ordinating ADIPSA I focused quite a lot on culture and identity but from the Agents of Change group I learned how this extends out into environment and how dynamic the world is, with people shifting and changing the environment as the world shifts and shapes people.  Reality became more dynamic and in flux, and I felt very motivated.  Joseph Edozien's (http://www.sane.org.za/ )work on the economy, and taking people out of a hierarchy of oppression and into building trust between groups so that we can explore multiple aspects of reality changed my way of viewing diversity facilitation from searching for voices not heard, to a constant dynamic process of multiple realities.  I appreciated the symposium a lot, and the people who shared within this.  Muizenberg beach Agents of Change brought home the reality of listening and of creating space for all voices to be heard, and the impact this has.  I think it helped change the student passion into something softer and more open. by Nicci Attfield
further writing by Nicci: http://nicciattfield.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/working-towards-a-deeper-humanity-through-connection/

www.greatmoreart.org

http://www.fairtradelabel.org.za/

sane.org.za

http://soilforlife.co.za/

AOC, Muizenberg, South Africa, December 2009