
October 19 – 20, 2020
Location Sesimbra, Portugal at the Social Learning Lab. A fabulous venue looking out to the sea, perfect for creative thinking, and new friendships.
This workshop is a two-day immersion into Liberating Structures from a social learning perspective. It is for leaders who want to design activities that are not only engaging but that are also rigorous about developing the learning capability of a group that is trying to make a difference.

What’s it about?
When and how are Liberating Structures, a set of group processes and methods, useful for leaders of communities of practice or social learning spaces?
What value is created by these processes and methods? How do we know when to amp up this value and when to dial down what creates less value?
The workshop is designed as a social learning space and based on key principles of social learning using liberating structures processes and methods. This experience provides the basis for reflecting on the design of your own agendas for meetings and when and how to adapt them.
Bring an agenda or an activity you have designed and come away with a better one!
Who should join?
The workshop is for people who want to take a social learning approach to using the processes and methods of Liberating Structure to help:
- Create spaces at (often contentious) boundaries between different groups
- Hold a space of uncertainty, so that no-one jumps in too early with opinions that crowd out creativity
- Make sure that diverse ways of thinking and engaging are contributing to the learning capability of the group: what we do and don’t know about what works (or not) in practice


Criteria for joining …
At least one of these should apply to you:
- I have some idea of what Liberating Structures is
- I want to know more about Liberating Structures and about social learning
- I’m a leader — or an aspiring leader — of a community of practice, social learning space, or peer-to-peer group of people
- I’m keen to make my activity design more engaging and productive
- I want to be more intentional in choosing processes and methods that are more likely to lead to a change in something I and my group care about



Bev Wenger-Trayner
Bev has been designing and facilitating for social learning for many a year! Our focus is always on learning how to make a difference. Some of the processes and activities of Liberating Structures have seeped into our repertoire. One thing for sure is that people often underestimate how important activity design is for developing a vibrant learning partnership and for having an impact.
Nancy White
Founder of Full Circle Associates, Nancy helps groups connect and deliver results, in person and online. She designs, facilitates and coaches people, inventively weaving together process and theory to advance their practices, putting learning at the center with achieving results. She is a leading practitioner of Liberating Structures and brings graphic facilitation into her organizational development practice.
Etienne Wenger-Trayner
Etienne has worked with, written about, and facilitated communities of practice for a few decades. There is a big overlap between liberating structures and the kind of activity design that enables communities of practice to act as productive social learning spaces. I am excited to explore this intersection in this workshop.
Reserve your space
We have only 20 spaces so book now to ensure a space.
I am interested
OR
Register and pay now
for the workshop here:
See here for logistics of how to get to Sesimbra and where to stay.