The 2017 On Purpose Fellows Weekend — an international affair

Andy Daly, On Purpose London January 2012 Fellow, writes about the Fellows Weekend, which takes place once a year for all the Fellows of the On Purpose Associate Programme.

As I write I have just come back to London tired but inspired from the 2017 On Purpose Fellows Weekend. The event is an annual opportunity for alumni of the On Purpose Associate programme to get out of town, reflect on how things are going, catch up with old friends and make new ones. Spending a couple of days surrounded by like-minded folk who are working at a wide range of purpose-driven organisations is a great source of inspiration, energy and ideas.

I have been to all five of the Fellows Weekends so far, and there are certain things common to all of them. In no particular order:

· Rural surroundings

· Communal cooking

· Meaningful conversations

· Fire

· Long walks in the country

· Pub lunch

· Music

· Singing

· Dancing

· Arguments about what goes on toast at breakfast time

I particularly appreciate the meaningful (but never dull) conversations. Do you sometimes feel lost and unsure of where you’re heading? How did you feel the last time you failed at something, and what did you learn? What do you do on a day-to-day basis to be happy? Questions that we often forget to ask when we’re focussing on the inbox.

But despite all the above similarities, this Fellows Weekend felt a little different. It was a weekend of two languages, with a quarter of the people attending this time French. On Purpose now operates across 3 cities (London, Paris and Berlin) and it was great to see a number of Fellows making the trip over from Paris to Oxfordshire.

I’ve been pushing for the Fellows Weekend to be more mobile geographically, and there is widespread enthusiasm for holding the next one in France. My hope is that we’ll see representation from all three On Purpose cities next year.

Another trend I’ve noticed is groups of Fellows beginning to make weekend trips to visit placement hosts in other On Purpose cities.

This all gives me great optimism that as it evolves the On Purpose Fellowship will operate as one international community rather than distinct national groupings. We live in uncertain times with populism currently making gains against internationalism. This, in my view, makes it all the more important that communities such as On Purpose cooperate across national borders.

I am already looking forward to doing it all again next year — in France. At which point I will no doubt be pushing for the 2019 Fellows Weekend to happen in Germany.