development4all.org

[Lisinka Ulatowska]

AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAMME IN THE NETHERLANDS: A WORLD THAT WORKS WELL FOR ALL

Globalization is proceding and we have the choice: a world governed by a few wealthy powerful people at the expense of all others, or a world that works well for all.

Almost one year ago, it became clear that despite increasing numbers of people undertaking actions to neutralize or counter the far policies being employed by the US Administration as a means to hold on to a position of power in the world, the reign of fear was holding sway.

Looking at this phenomenon more closely, it was evident that disrupting relationships is easier than working together closely. In musical terms it was as if the members of the peace movement were heading generally in the same direction, but were not really tuned into each other, nor were they tuned into the evolutionary forces at work: we were like musicians in a symphony all playing slightly off-key and thereby subtly supporting the cacophony produced by the prevalent fear policies being used by those grasping for power.

The All-Win Network gathered some 14 NGOs together. These all were dedicated to promoting the all-win principle which states that if all people are allowed to develop their unique strengths and help others to do develop their own, that we are building a strong foundation for a world that works well for all.

The 14 NGOs undertook to organize a series of monthly events in Utrecht, the Netherlands, all based on deepening our understanding of the all-win principle. They each had diverse foci in their work: world government, yoga, human rights, education, world citizenship, values, meditation, etc. Each event would be organized by 3-4 organizations which would share their expertise, their resources and the expenses and together create an event that was much more diverse than any one organization could create alone and that for less money and less expenditure of energy. All 14 organizations undertook to publicize these events in their newsletters and web sites and each event would be maximally interactive. And so an innovative pilot project was born that was called: A World that Works for ALL.

The aimed for outcome was for each participant to learn to apply the all-win principle to as many aspects of her or his life as possible and all organizations would benefit by learning how their work related to all others.

Beside an individual benefit, this programme aimed to help create a synergie between participating organizations which could help to create a tipping point if this pilot project were duplicated by sufficient other organizations worldwide: a tipping point from an atmosphere of fear to one in which people saw the benefits of an all-win approach to community building and developed the necessary all-win skills to bring this about.

This project, a World that Works for All. takes place each last Friday of the month in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Participants have come from Belgium and the idea is met with great interest.

Regular participants are helping to make each event more meaningful. For instance, Mary Bisch cooks a delicious dinner for all to enjoy after 4 hours of intense interaction. The communal meal enables participants to get to know one another better and continue developing the insights gained during the afternoon.

The language spoken is generally Dutch (occasionally ENglish)
The programme for the following months is as follows:
29th June, Eerlijk handelen: wereldburgerschap in naaste omgeving.
31 August, Approaches to Peace
28 September, A continuation of the afternoon on The Secret held in May: applying the law of attracting what you want into your life.
28 October (Sunday) Divers approaches to Transpersonal Psychology
30 November: applying the all-win principle to education (provisional title)
31 January, 2008. A Cafe on the Basic Income (provisional title)

All are welcome to attend. For those wishing for more information and perhaps some consultation on how to apply it to their own situations, please contact: info@allwinnetwork.org.
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Author, public speaker on global community building, the all-win principle, the UN: tools and techniques for personal growth, peaceful conflict resolution, and global lobbying.
info@allwinnetwork.org, info@worldcitizensaction.com