Active Hope + Work That Reconnects

Facilitator training

A nine-month blended programme building capacity for Active Hope and facilitation of the Work That Reconnects in Ireland.

This training programme aims to support and empower people working in social and environmental justice contexts on the island of Ireland, through facilitation training and co-learning experiences with Active Hope and the Work That Reconnects (AH/WTR).

AH/WTR is a structured transformative process designed to help people grow their capacity to face disturbing world crises such as climate change, and play their part in responding.

Upon completing the training, participants will be equipped and well-practiced in both living and facilitating Active Hope/The Work that Reconnects in their own communities. They will have designed and implemented workshops. They will have a strong sense of their strengths as well as areas where they feel inspired to grow, and have access to resources, mentors and organisations that can guide and support them in further sharing and developing the work.

As the WTR is originally a US-based approach, this programme aims to further examine its relevance in Ireland, to build collaborative networks and approaches, and explore what adaptations can and should be made within the work to better support Irish movements for social and ecological justice.

We also aim to explore ways that AH/WTR could be scaled/integrated/implemented in educational, organisational or social/communal contexts, and to create recommendations for educational institutions, organisations and communities to embed AH/WTR into their curriculums and processes.

Programme structure

This programme is scheduled to run from Sept 2026 - May 2027, and will be capped at 25 participants.

The training is organised by Anna Swisher; co-designed and supported by Chris Johnstone (co-author of Active Hope with Joanna Macy). In addition to regular contributions from Chris, the training includes guest teachers and co-facilitators every month - in person and online - across a range of topics and areas of expertise.

Details of schedule and content will be available soon. Please register your interest by clicking the button below to be contacted when this information is available.

SCHEDULE + What's included (Subject to change):

One in-person daylong every month (on a weekend day) - 9 total sessions. Daylong sessions include foundational teachings and practices, facilitation skills, practice time, adapting the work for various groups, finding your own voice, combining with other modalities, conflict + power dynamics, games and play, nature-based work, critical examination, exploring the Irish context, anti-racism/anti-oppression, living the work, co-facilitating, and many other emergent topics.

Monthly online supplementary sessions (2-3 hours) with visiting contributors/facilitators from across the globe. Supplementary topics may include, but are not limited to: Cultural repair/peacebuilding, De-colonisation, reaching underserved communities, indigenous perspectives, social enterprise and other organisational structures, getting funded, intercultural competency training, adapting for various audiences, etc.

Practice groups

1:1 Mentoring Sessions with Anna (2 sessions included, scheduled as desired, to support you in a project/facilitation initiative)

Materials for independent study

**If there are particular topics or skills that you would like to explore, please include this information in your expression of interest!**

Our aim is to keep the training accessible, while still paying facilitators a fair and liveable wage. The training will be offered on a sliding scale.

Any questions should be directed to AnnaSwisherIreland@gmail.com.