Summer time and the living is easy, that’s how the old song goes.  Well, one thing that was not so easy is to gather enough participants for a 2.5 half day SALT initiation training in English.

However, nothing is lost.  Together with Radmila, the creator of Generation Why Not?  (Check out the Facebook site here) we decided to give a 1-Day…

As I am rereading the summary of our initiation weekend, I realize that there were two learning items that I had not included in the initial report.

The first reflection was around the envelopes.  While the core of our work consists of identifying our strengths and those of others, I believe we need to be mindful not to create an artificial and contrived exercise around the envelopes.  In other words, the observations should be stimulated but not forced.  Otherwise the danger is to…

A drizzly February Friday afternoon, but soon the halls of our new training venue (Institute of Neurocognitivism) is filled with warmth and laughter around the cocktail tables filled with edibles and drinks.  Our 12 participants have all arrived and are getting to know each other.

But of course, that is only the timid beginning…

The above words were spoken by Namara Arthur Araali, the founder and Director of Health Nest Uganda (HENU).

What follows is the story of an extraordinary man who has accomplished extraordinary things.

The story of Namara Arthur Araali, now 48, probably began with his childhood, more specifically with his grandmother.  She showered him with unconditional…

On September 17-19, we had our second SALT training in English in the Belgian capital. 

12 inspired, curious and inspiring participants came from many places (even as far as Switzerland), but most were from around here and many were professional facilitators who came to know and appreciate the SALT approach and who expressed their dream of building it into their work. …

A rainy spring morning in a small village in Wallonia (Belgium), but the faces greeting us were bright and shiny.  The sun came from a different place.

And it kept shining throughout the day as we, a team of 8 Belcompetence facilitators, accompanied about 40 citizens (aged 15-70+) hailing from different surrounding villages for a whole weekend of SALT.…

Back to Molenbeek . . .

. . . This time on a smaller, but certainly not less important scale!

During one of the follow-up meetings on the Molenbeek initiative, there was a new face in the circle:  Karim Azemian, a co-founder of ASBL Repère, an organization that seeks…

Picture this:  14 citizens of all ages (well, not really.  Most were aged 50 and beyond) and different backgrounds and social levels in a large room of the town’s large cultural center.  14 people who committed themselves for two full days, plus one evening, of learning about Community Life Competence Practices (CLCP).  When asked what brought them there, one middle-aged lady said:  “My feet.”  Others provided more content:  Wanting to learn something new; wanting to become involved; wanting…

Molenbeek, a Brussels municipality that has gained international attention for being of the most prolific  breeding grounds for jihadists.  There are many reasons and possible explanations for the genesis of this fact.  I will however, not go into the root causes for this situation.  Instead, what I’d like to focus on here is what citizens are doing to make…