2nd International Conference Report

We offer deep gratitude to Valerie Morris, Judy Bekker, and Elaine Millin for hosting this rich event!

The 2nd International Wilderness Guides Conference opened on Monday the 13th of October, 2004.  Its venue was the Okkie Jooste Youth Camp outside of Stellenbosch in the beautiful wine country of South Africa's Cape Town region.  The Conference started with a powerful opening ceremony that was held outside near the stream that ran through the property.  Representatives from each country present, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.A, invoked the blessings of their ancestors.  It closed with an invocational blessing ceremony performed by a ungaba from South Africa.

We then moved inside the big lodge to sit in council and share the objects we were asked to bring for a give away that represented either our work, our land, or our gift.  These stayed on the altar throughout the Conference.

The next day we used the Open Space Technology (OST) format to facilitate the opportunity for anyone to lead a discussion about any subject they were most interested in. The next day, six one-hour time slots were made available, with perhaps 5-8 offerings per session.  Notes were taken for most of them, a link to which you will find at the end of this review.

It was clear from the discussions from the day before, that the major areas of interest were women's/men's issues, and youth/elders issues.  So we sat in fishbowl councils to be able to witness one another.  The women's fishbowl council asked the question, "What is up for you in your life?"  The afternoon's session brought focus on the Youth, with presentations from Educo Africa.  Both leaders and participants took turns in the fishbowl council and shared the impact this work has had on their lives.  The leaders were asked: "What is the work that we do?  What are your achievements? and What are the difficulties that you encounter?"  The youth were asked to speak from wherever they wanted to speak.  That night there was a lively mini-expo to showcase the variety and specialties of our participants.

On Thursday, we opened with a fishbowl council for the men who shared their answers to the questions, "What is it to be a man in the world? and What are the challenges that you face?"  In the afternoon, there were three sessions of 2 hour workshops or an optional hike.

Friday, there was a very moving presentation on the outreach Educo is doing with HIV/AIDS.  That evening we celebrated with a special dinner (and dessert!), dancing the night away to a fantastaic native band.  There were 5 members: 3 men and 2 women.  They played the finger marimbas, jdembes, kudu horns! and danced.  You couldn't NOT dance to that beat!

The final ceremony was a large council where we each took something from the altar.  We shared why we were taking that object and what our intention was to carry this work forward.  It is mysterious and exciting to see some objects return to the altar that were there in Titisee Germany and continue to link new hearts and homelands.

Click here to download the OST Summaries. (PDF file)