Anew School of Facilitation

~ transform your gatherings, transform your organisation ~

 

The Anew School of Facilitation is a highly experiential, cohort-based development programme where we explore what it takes to successfully design and facilitate gatherings and events that are transformative, connected, innovative and inspiring.

What you’ll experience at the School of Facilitation

Whatever your role in your organisation, this programme gives you access to

  • Expert knowledge and experience based on more than a decade’s work in the field of people development and facilitation around the world, 

  • An opportunity to connect with your own unique Way of Being as a facilitator,

  • A deepened understanding of innovative and engaging facilitation methods and techniques

  • A step-by-step approach to designing your own impactful gatherings, and, 

  • Access to a supportive and diverse community of fellow facilitators* from around the world.

 

Is this the right fit for you?

*Whether you’re a team leader, an event organiser, a project manager, a yoga teacher,  an elected public representative, and activist, a full-time facilitator, or something entirely different, we consider anyone who regularly brings together groups of people during the course of their jobs a facilitator.

Facilitation - the art and skill of creating a conducive environment, and then designing and implementing the right process when people gather in order to reach a specific outcome - is perhaps the leadership skill of our time, enabling connection, clarity and ease in an era of great complexity, rush and ambiguity.

A typical gathering for you could be regular team meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, other organisational events, such as a strategic planning session; either online or in-person. If you organise or facilitate gatherings of any kind, and you're actively thinking about how to make them better, the Anew School of Facilitation is the next step in your development journey.

 

Why do gatherings matter?

Gatherings are the heartbeat of organisations. When you consider all the gatherings - whether meetings, workshops, seminars, 1-on-1 conversations or special events - that take place in your organisation or community on any given day, it becomes clear how much hidden potential lies locked up in these engagements. 

Every gathering is an opportunity for trust-building, deep thinking, impact, innovation and collaboration. But, because we’re so often not considering ways to intentionally design our gatherings, we frequently lose out on the chances available to us to improve the experience and impact.

We believe that if you manage to successfully unlock the potential of this one basic human tradition, you can transform your organisation and maximise the impact of your work. 

This is why we care about gatherings.

 

Invest in yourself

Registrations are now open for the next two Advanced Masterclass Programmes for 2024 - an intensive 4-day programme at a beautiful retreat space in Cape Town with an expansive garden.

It’s open to individuals from all over the world and is best suited for team leaders, executives, professionals, educators, facilitators, founders, or event organisers at an intermediate to advanced level.

Upcoming Programme

Click on the image to download the brochure.

Additional Programme for 2024

 

What you’ll learn

Online Foundational Bootcamp**:

  • Why facilitation is a critical skill for our complex world

  • Exploring your own purpose as a facilitator and the purpose of your events

  • Discovering your strengths and preferences

  • Building a container of trust for effective collaboration

  • Uncovering the needs of your participants

  • Preparing for what happens before, during and after your gathering

  • Choosing the best methods and platforms

  • The latest trends for learning programmes, meetings and events

  • Continuing your development beyond this programme

In-Person Advanced Masterclass:

  • Uncovering how your Way of Being shapes your Way of Doing

  • Creating a Thinking Environment and a container of Trust

  • Deepening your understanding of adult learning

  • Exploring the needs of your participants and stakeholders through empathy-led tools

  • Understanding the full cycle of gathering design, and identifying opportunities for change and innovation

  • Crafting unique and layered journeys from start to finish

  • Troubleshooting common challenges with fellow facilitators

  • Continuing your development beyond this programme

**There are no confirmed dates for the next Online Foundational Bootcamp at this moment, but you can sign up to the waiting list to be notified as soon as the next one opens for registration.

 

What can you expect?

This is not a normal 'training. We've thrown the rule book out of the window, and created a deeply experiential, fully international, easeful, beautiful learning programme.

Friendship is important to us.
So is purpose.
So is food.
So is beauty.
So are meaningful gatherings and facilitation.

You'll find all of this at the School of Facilitation. It is designed to be engaging, highly participatory and co-creating in nature, while supporting learning and reflection for sustained personal growth.

We see each session as an opportunity to demonstrate what we preach by using just the right blend of methodologies, content and thoughtful touches to make every experience easeful, inspiring and yet sufficiently challenging for you.

Whether we’re meeting in person

Or meeting online

 

What graduates say

Jennifer Miksch
Chief of Staff, Monarch, Germany

“The Advanced Masterclass Programme was an absolutely outstanding experience and very steep learning curve for different experience levels. Marike and Clinton practice 100% what they preach, set very helpful examples while being open to all types of questions.

They go above and beyond to both explain the practical steps but also the thinking behind each and every type of facilitation.

I can’t recommend it more.”


“The Foundational Bootcamp Online Programme offered both processes and content that are invaluable for any gathering. I can highly recommend this course to anyone looking to refine their skills and knowledge in facilitation. It allowed me the opportunity to gain insight and frameworks that are foundational to my way of being, and equipped me to identify growth areas for me and my organisation.

The facilitators also made this a highly enjoyable course by paying particular attention to how participants connect with one another in the learning process.”

Dr Louis van der Riet
Process Coordinator, Inclusive and Affirming Ministries, South Africa


Shipra Uppal
Independent Facilitator, India

“I know that even 5-10 years down the line, this program will undoubtedly be a key milestone in my facilitation journey. It has helped me, first and foremost, find confidence in my own story & purpose as a facilitator. It has also helped me hone my approach and process in designing gatherings. I loved the fact that there was ample space for questions, conversations, and peer sharing including opportunities to work on and receive ideas and feedback on our individual projects, challenges or gatherings.

Whether you are still exploring the contours of facilitation or looking to deepen your practice, whether facilitation is part of your designated job role, or whether you want to build this skill to make your team's work more effective, this program has a lot to offer!

 

A Growing Global Community of Thoughtful Facilitators

 

Still Have Questions? Speak To Us

The success of our programmes depends on you being satisfied and getting what you need in your facilitation journey. We will therefore only recommend participation if we think our offer is a good fit for you. If you have questions or need more information, email us.