Jul 3, 2019
Community Holding Program: Zooming in on the Hub Hosts as a Global Community of Practice
Very quickly after the launch of u.lab in 2015, the Hub Host Community started to grow. The beauty and the complexity of communities resides in the fact that you cannot really build them. You can take care of them, support, and help coordinate, but our Hub Host Community is the perfect illustration of something that was “wanting to be born” by itself, with just a little dose of initial guidance.
In the beginning, Julie Arts, Senior Faculty at the Presencing Institute. was the one who noticed this phenomenon rising. As a ‘human search machine’ she connected people with each other, based on where they lived or what they worked on. Soon, Simoon Fransen took over and built the structure that still exists although its form is (of course…) constantly changing. A structure that exists out of regular Zoom calls, newsletters, a Community-platform on Slack, and offline (in-person) Hub Host Programs
Today we count 1334 hubs registered on the Presencing Institute website since 2015. Not all are still active, and some only recently joined, but there is no doubt that it is a very vibrant community of practitioners. People all over the world learn and apply the learnings together, they gather when u.lab runs and many of the community members continue to work with each other all year long. What they have in common is a clear sense of purpose: to support change through awareness-based action, and for that there is no doubt that we need the community.
The strong sense of being on the journey together is made very tangible during the weekly community video-calls. Regardless of which “generation” of Hub Hosts people come from, working all over the globe, people in this setting begin to form part of a team. The calls support the feeling of belonging and more importantly, they are a constant source of inspiration. Through the years we have developed towards a Community of Practice and together we have harvested a considerable amount of knowledge and experience, and built a tangible network. That said, hubs also dissolve — a spontaneous and natural process. The connection however lasts over time, and it is lovely to hear about how people continue connecting and meeting. Using one of the platforms when they are on holiday, or even when moving to a different country: transitioning from Istanbul to Montreal becomes a lot easier when you are able to join a hub and immediately speak the same language again.
Where to start? — ‘If you can’t join one, BE one!’
Founding a hub can be as simple as gathering during the Live Sessions (Live, or even recorded) with a few friends / colleagues in your living-room, or as big as meeting weekly with large groups. The essence is ‘simply’ journeying through u.lab together in a way that serves your learning process. There are no rules, only opportunities.
- Check out the Presencing Institute (PI) Hub Host page.
- Read our Hub Host Guide:
- Join the Hub Host Facebook Group to stay abreast with all updates about our Hub Host Support including calls, newsletters and more.
Over the past few years the Hub Host support network has kept on developing. Although initiated by the Presencing Institute (PI) team, we are now supported by the Hub Host Holding team, that formed out of a few dedicated hosts from all over the world, covering all time zones with Community Calls. And more importantly: with connections all over the world. A growing spider web of joined heads, hearts and hands teeming up in this amazing community.
The next u.lab 1x MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) launches on 12 September 2019 and will run over 13 weeks, until December 2019. You can enroll here.
