Moving from ‘Can I do it?” to “Yes, I can do it” in a small, poor aging village
By Yahui Fang, Lawrence (Larry) Philbrook , Evelyn Philbrook
a story of social transformation
This is the story of how a poor and aging rural village in southern Taiwan learned to move from “Can I do it?” to “Yes, I can do it.”
As the village’s only public elementary school had closed due to declining enrolment, the project began with efforts to help youth learn how to solve problems and build competence through ‘learning by doing’.
Then the work moved outside the school, bringing together many village people to transform life in their village collaboratively.
The story is told by Yahui Fang, a project-based research fellow at the University of Southern Taiwan, who initiated the curriculum experiment with support from facilitators Larry and Evelyn Philbrook.
Initially, Yahui and other project-based researchers recruited by the university’s project worked with school faculty to arrange several courses to address community transition. These courses included:
- a Design Thinking program for youth to explore their everyday life, encourage their ability to identify problems, propose problem-solving solutions and take action through team-building and teamwork;
- a ‘humanitarian architecture’ course devoted to capturing daily life experiences of this dispersed village and to weaving diverse images of ‘the community’ (a collaboration involving the author, a non-profit organization called AHA, and architecture department faculty));
- helping farmers record planting information; and
- providing training in facilitation skills.
In the monthly Design for Change program, students were encouraged to identify their real problems and then gradually find a solution through group discussion with a process of ‘feel-imagine-act-share’. As youth learned how to solve problems and built their competence through learning by doing, they gradually came to feel a sense of self-efficacy.
Moving outside the school
We moved this work outside the school three years ago by inviting other local actors to join us in a curriculum-design committee that would implement Transformative Scenario Planning (TSP) integrated with ICA Technology of Participation (ToP) methods.
Developed by Adam Kahane and colleagues at Reos Partners, an international social enterprise, TSP enables people to transform problematic situations through building a strong alliance of actors who deeply understand each situation, one another, and what they need to do.
TSP provides a practical model that stakeholder teams can use to proactively shape the future. As well as using stories about possible futures to influence what could happen, TSP works to create a whole-system team and a ‘strong container’ — a structured space that can physically, psychologically, and politically support the team as it experiments with new ways of acting, relating, and being.
Using a combination of TSP and participatory methods, the working team created a social space in which many stakeholders — students, residents, community association, facilitation volunteers and community leaders — could initiate entrepreneurial activities that linked relationships and resources (cultural and social capital, in particular) in both formal and informal learning settings.
From ‘we-they’ to ‘we’
Engagement with the students and teachers began by using methods they had learned on their own journey into community development with a group of professional facilitators from The Institute of Cultural Affairs Taiwan(ICA).
This experience created a different level of understanding of the invitation being offered to the community. It shifted the We/They to We, where everyone’s voice can be heard and respected and where each person brings his/her own grounded experience to the practice when he/she moves on site.
There were four key steps in the process.
The first was ‘team building’. Students and the community were invited into a process that would bring new methods to help them in their exploration and then in working with all stakeholders to identify priorities and options, some shared and some diverse.
The second was observation of what is already happening in the community. A field trip was used to gather data, offering a comprehensive screening that allowed the teams to explore and document the community’s reality, both externally and internally. While each stakeholder had their own perceptions of needs, this process pushed them collectively towards a more systemic perspective.
The third step, Future Scenario Planning, engaged all participants in creating possible future scenarios and identifying their collective vision for preferable scenarios.
Finally, we looked at “what can be done” or “must be done”. We created a social space within which people were invited to use their shared vision to develop further actions and strategies, rather than focusing only on the resources on hand.
In this social space, students, community associations, facilitation volunteers and community leaders joined together to think and dream. Through field trips and data plotting in a mixed stakeholder group, community residents identified their indigenous wisdom related to community regeneration.
Personal and community transition
Local actors who engaged in this process saw their personal journey as an ongoing interaction that blended together personal and community transition.
“I am sure my intentions to be here is to take care of the elderly, support resurgence of Siraya culture through developing community economic enterprise,” said Willow, former secretary of the Community Development Association. “ I want to create intimate connections among residents. As the work proceeded, I reflected what is important to me and got a sense of self-renewal.”
The man who served a principal of the local elementary school from 2011 school year said his mission is to unleash the potential of children in disadvantaged rural areas.
“It is a “mission impossible” to transform the local education in such a disadvantaged rural area. But this is the right thing to do. Let’s keep at it! ….It’s a waste of time just stand along, just living in the moment and we must do our best.”
Eventually, these efforts either created or strengthened the local system of actors and local networks with the common aim of stimulating local communities. A place-based curriculum was created with a focus on community-based assets, and the local Community Development Association linked elderly care and cultural resurgence. Further transformative actions emerged as the faculty, students, and local actors worked together.
The collaborative teaching impact at local elementary school is a case in point. First, the principal invited me to share the community-engaged course model and the methodology of Design for Education at the school faculty meeting. Then, at regular teacher development gatherings, I was able to collaborate with a class to incorporate asset-based inquiry and learning in such areas as with abode-style architecture, agrifood education, and local history drama program. Teachers learned how to implement these peer-based co-operative learning methods with students, enhancing students motivation and achievements in class and in extra-curricular activities.
Yahui Fang adult educator and adjunct assistant professor at General Education Center, National Pingtung University. She received her Ph.D. of Adult Education from National Normal University of Kaohsiung. Her research interests include civic engagement, adult education, community empowerment, and social change. Yahui also is a senior coach for community worker and NGO organizational development, as well as an invited consultant in life-long learning, experimental education and the community regeneration committee for local government. She specialized in community organizing and planning, adult education, teaching and curriculum design, participatory approach of public/community engagement and multi-stakeholders’ collaboration.
Lawrence (Larry) Philbrook Certified ICA ToP Facilitator (CToPF) and Assessor. IAF CPF 2007–2011. 2013 -2017. Named to the IAF Hall of Fame. He designs processes for teams and leaders in varied cultural settings for over forty years. Larry joined the ICA in 1972 and worked outside the US since 1977 doing extensive company and community-based projects in over 30 nations including 25 years as director of ICA Taiwan. Larry’s key skill is in tailoring designs and facilitation processes to specific needs while helping to recover a sense of respect and trust as a basis for transformation.
Evelyn Philbrook On the board of ICA International, as Vice-President of Asia 2006–10. Evelyn has worked with ICA since 1972 in diverse program and teaching capacities around the world. Evelyn was part of the UNDP Leadership for Social Artistry program in 2009 under the Jean Houston Foundation, USA and continued sharing Social Artistry work in Taiwan and across Asia. She is helping to guide and design a new program, the Profound Journey Dialogue with ICA Taiwan and “Wizard of Us” Mythic Facilitation Journey utilizing Social Artistry mind, body, spirit exercises.
