Here you can find a sample of what I do in designing conversations. Have a look at my work on experience design, design thinking and Imagineering. Here you can see what I can offer as a co-creative catalyst designing and hosting conversations in education, intercultural work, organizations and communities.

I work with experience-based approach and process-oriented approach to ignite dialogue, co-creation and collective creativity, tackling complex problems in organization, schools/universities and communities.

I can also support you to become a creative facilitator of processes, groups and teams.  You you learn the mind-set required to design conversations and to ignite creativity, energy and dynamism of groups, in teams, in communities , or in institutions and large corporate environments.

 

ALTERNATIVE FUTURES ARE POSSIBLE | Breda University of Applied Sciences

Small video about our ideas and practices on education at Performatory – a specialization on social innovation. Click here

Masters TDM – Tourism Destination Management. Amsterdam field trip

Our TDM Master students embarked on an inspiring research expedition to immerse themselves in the world of research methodologies, directly engaging with “the real world out there”. Their destination: the vibrant city of Amsterdam. This field trip was designed to provide students with a unique learning experience that extends beyond the confines of a traditional classroom, fostering a direct connection with real-life issues. We kicked off the day with a visit at the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam – MRA. Our hosts gave us a great overview of the positive and negative effects of tourism as well as the goals of

Documentary making with traditional communities in Brasil

Have you ever wondered what happens when you connect knowledge from academia with the cosmovision of traditional communities? Or when you connect students from different countries to work with indigenous and quilombola youth? At the “Faces of Bocaina” project, we’re on a journey to find out . We are experimenting with education that trusts the process as it unfolds, paying attention to the co-creation of knowledge and how learning happens in interactions and relationships. We spent two weeks amidst the lands of the Guaranis Mbya, Quilombolas, and Caiçaras in the Atlantic Region of Rio de Janeiro/São Paulo (Bocaina Region). We were

Uganda: A Global Learning Journey Designing Impactful Futures

Uganda: A Global Learning Journey Designing Impactful Futures   This academic holiday has been an enriching journey of collaboration, growth, and heartfelt connections. I embarked on a learning journey in Uganda that transcends borders and expertise. Team Together, a non-profit organization of which I am a board member, invited collaborators from diverse corners of the world to join us in our work in Uganda. For ten days, we immersed ourselves in collaboration, co-designing solutions alongside the NGOs and the communities they serve. Since 2014, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with an NGO called Hope for Youth – H4YU, nestled

Design Thinking naar toekomstscenario’s voor complexe locaties

Design Thinking naar toekomstscenario’s voor complexe locaties Creative training and facilitation at the Municipality of Zaanstad, known as the Gemeente Zaanstad. The group included social workers, urban designers, and strategists. Together, we delved into the challenges of the region using the Constructionist-Design Framework, which was inspired by my latest book(https://designingconversations.us/design-thinking-e-social-construction/) . Around 20 participants engaged with the topic of “How can  Design Thinking  approach impact the Olan factory and how can we come up with some ideas and translate that into an innovative action for this place” . The goal of the exercise was to use design thinking and the

Course on “Exploring Relational Theory and Practice”

In this course, together with my colleague Ken Gergen, we discuss relational theory and practice. This course taps on the shift from the traditional focus on individuals to the relational processes that are co-produced. This 6-week online course introduces common premises and orienting ideas central to relational theory. The course consists of six modules with online conference meetings, readings, videos and online dialogues. On the first call the conceptual framework of relational theory will be developed. This will be followed by five additional conference calls to explore the material from each module. During the week, participants will be asked to

Podcast: Relational Education – How to innovate in learning processes

In this podcast, we talk about how the ideas and practices of social constructionism are even more relevant in times of Covid.

Global Thinking: Embracing Global Values while holding a local sensitivity

When can we say a leader has a Global Thinking? If your team leader has travelled to several countries is he/she a global thinker? If you work for an international organization do you have the global thinking? If your company has a foothold in several countries, is it a global company? What does it mean to be a global company? Must the company have products and processes that are consistent with the culture and values of each country? The questions above do not have one simple answer as Global Thinking is quite a complex topic. It is also a trendy

Making Places Shaping Destinations in Brazil:
A collaborative framework for innovative education

Over the years, I have been organizing international field work programs in Brazil, partnering with many organizations. In these field work programs, students, faculty and community together create a learning community within the living communities of Brazil. Students can learn from first-hand cultural diversity, transforming academic learning into practical action. As a consequence, besides educating youngsters to work with real context and complex matters, we can also support promoting more impact in Brazilian organizations and communities. The specific course: MakingPlaces Shaping Destinations is a special one. This is an interdisciplinary Minor offered at Breda University of Applied Sciences. In this

A Collection of best practices on Public Space Initiatives

The Innovation Game. State of the Art Catalogue. Collection of best practices on public space initiatives.

Capacity building on Tourism Development in Cape Verde, Africa

Capacity building on Tourism development in São Vicente and Santo Antão, Cabo Verde
Project Funded by RVO Netherlands and Ministry of Tourism in Cape Verde

Intercultural work for Public Engagement, Parelheiros – SP – Brazil

One of the projects developed by the Brazilian NGO Ibeac  is called “Ruas adotadas” (adopted streets) in which they occupied some streets of the neighborhood to give space for kids to play, for parents to engage and learn from each other, and for workshops about healthy food to be given.

Cross-cultural and knowledge exchange between Brazil and The Netherlands

The Brazilian bites is a collection of events happening throughout the year bringing professionals and acacemics working in a Brazilian context. They present their cases, studies and stories in different formats and for all types of audiences.

Sustainable Development Goals: lessons from a Brazilian Grassroots movement

I had the opportunity to organize and facilitate two days visit for a  Brazilian community at Breda University of Applied Sciences.

Training in stakeholder mapping and analysis

Stakeholder Mapping and analysis is the technique that can be used to identify the key people and organizations that you have to relate for your  project or your organization.

Workshop Customer Journey map – Norway

Customer Journey maps is an oriented graph that describes the journey of a customer by representing the different touchpoints that characterize his/her interaction with the service.

Erasmus+ Grant: Visiting Scholar at Polytechnic of Leiria Portugal

With the grant of Erasmus Program of Scholars Exchange I had the opportunity to spend a week at the University in Leiria teaching and facilitating workshops.

Innovation Games in Brazil – Creative Placemaking

Twenty-five youngsters of a region called Silva Jardim, close to Rio de Janeiro-Brazil came together to spend five days playing with collaborative methodologies while solving four challenges defined by local actors of the region.

Innovation Games workshop at the Dutch embassy in Brazil

Innovation Games in Brazil!
A workshop at the Dutch Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, presented innovation games and the community Silva Jardim where we will playing in April 2019 to develop youth entrepreneurship. 

Workshop – Poetic forms of Social Activism

Workshop: Towards relational and poetic forms of social activism in professional practice and in everyday life Together with Emerson Rasera we offered a workshop on poetic forms of social activism where through conversations in small groups, we created opportunities for dialogue and reflection for action on the topic of political tensions, social inequality and sustainability issues. Those topics are urgent to be touched up, however conflicts between different groups freeze dialogue and impoverish social life. How can we create collaborative capacity to deconstruct unfavorable approaches and move into transformative action? The invitation here is to decolonize our everyday life and

Workshop: Organization as conversations: positive change through art and play

This workshop was about understanding and experimenting how to use art and play to facilitate positive encounters, to create a safe space and to promote meaningful conversations. It was focused on how to become a co-creative catalyst, a group facilitator that can design environments to bring ideas and perspectives together in a collective creativity format. During the workshop participants learned how to use some tools from arts-based approach, a well establish method that involvesphotovoice, storytelling, pictures and visuals. By embracing such tools one can enable powerful narratives that go beyond rational linguistic representation, thereby amplifying stories and providing a more

Experience Design Course

A three days workshop on designing experiences!

Presenting at the Global conference of Positive Change

The 2nd Global Conference on Positive Change, happened in Amsterdam during the 15th – 16th November, 2018 and I was invited to present on the topic of: “Organization as conversations: positive change through art and play”.

Collaborative Design Research in Uganda: Strengthening Health & Health Services

I feel so privileged to be part of a collaboration between the Dominican University in Chicago, USA and the NGO HENU (Health Nest Uganda) in Entebbe, Uganda. I was invited to join the planning research team by bringing my designing research expertise into the field work in Uganda. As Kristin Bodiford my friend and colleague at the Taos Institute was preparing for the field work of her students in a course on Community Based Participatory Research, she consulted me on research strategies to collect lived experiences of health services based upon shared stories of older persons and dialogues with health services

Team Performance and Creative Leadership Course

I love teaching the course “Team Performance and Creative Leadership”. This course is offered to the international master students of Tourism Destination Management and together with my colleague Wesley Put we bring many tools and resources to help young professionals to perform better in teams, to learn a more relational way to lead and also to become the professional that the 21st century needs.

Brazilian Week @ Breda University of Applied Sciences

From November 20th to 23rd, I, on behalf of Place Making Shaping Destination Minor and the SER office (Strategy, Education and Research) organized a conference on Making and Shaping Destinations in Brazil at  Breda University of Applied Sciences. During this conference, questions such as How to develop sustainable cities? And how to balance urban and nature? were answered.

Culture, Sustainability, and Place: Innovative Approaches for Tourism Development

11 to 13 October 2017 Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal   Overview:  The United Nations has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. In this context, this conference will explore the place and roles of culture within sustainable tourism and local sustainable development. The conference follows from transdisciplinary work on investigating cultural sustainability across Europe and other international efforts to highlight and understand the roles of culture in sustainable development, and to develop and strengthen our cultural bridges to nature. It aims to bring together artists working with ecological and sustainability issues, cultural heritage

Social Construction: Premises and Practices – Working within the Global Context

Brief Encounters with the Taos Institute
August 2017
Reflection on… Social Construction: Premises and Practices – Working within the Global Context

Co-café at the Institute of Technology and Society in Rio de Janeiro

Co-viva, an innovative consultancy firm from São Paulo, together with NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences and Unirio organized a workshop called co-café to share knowledge and experiences on Sustainability, tourism and technology. Experts from the areas above mentioned were invited to come and to co-create ideas and possibilities together. Many creative tools were applied to facilitate a good interaction and the emergence of new ideas, inviting the group to go beyond the established understanding on the topic, expanding the possibilities and creating a better future on the topic. The outcome of this encounter is reported here:   2017_Cocafe_Report For more

Design Challenge: Towards a sustainable tourism vision for Amazonas: Creating hybrid narratives

In my role of business developer and content coordinator for the “hotspot Brazil” at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences I embraced the challenge to organize a field trip for the Imagineering Master students in Brazil with a design challenge – How to create hybrid tourism narratives in order to develop sustainable tourism in the region of the Amazonas. This present design challenge was organized as a first concrete step in building a strong partnership between our University and the State University of Amazonas, in Brazil, specially with the Ocean Samsung http://www.oceanbrasil.com, the innovation lab. sponsored by Samsung. Our goal

Innovatie in ICT & Onderwijs

CELIANE CAMARGO BORGES, IMAGINEERING – SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM – COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY – EDUCATION, DESIGNING FOR LEARNING (NHTV BREDA UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES)

Course: Soft Technology and Collaborative Practices in Education

This course on  Soft Technology,  is about providing relational and interactive tools for teachers and facilitatores to use in education. In this specific course, I was invited by Ocean Samsung lab, to work with professors from the State University of the Amazonas, management as well as teachers from the public school in the city of Manaus. The focus was on  active methodologies to promote engagement in learning. As an outcome of this event, a network of professionals interested in more relational forms of learning will be formed in order to gather together  ideas and exchange expertise. In case you can

Soft Technologies – collaborative methodologies for organizational learning processes & resources for engagement

This course was a 3 full day workshop on understanding the power of technology, focusing on soft/relational technologies in the development of innovative approaches for Organizational learning processes. The course also offered practical resources to be applied in the daily life of an organization aiming at more relational responsibility and engagement. The first day of the course was about giving the big context of our contemporary society and the need for organizational change. Topics such as globalization and technology revolution were part of the contexto. Furthermore, new management approaches were introduced, embracing the concepts of relational leadership, dialogue and relational

Experience design course – Imagineering Masters

Three days co-creating knowledge and practice in context, using the collective creativity and the ABCD model of Imagineering to come up with an experience for each challenge.

1st Designing Conversations: Welcoming Wor/ds: Brazil Encounters

On the 6th September 2016 a workshop was given in Breda by two PhD researchers from The University of Sao Paulo Brasil.
In this workshop, different ways to look at research were explored. The facilitators asked the question: What counts as innovation, and for whom?

Crossing cultures: Experience design course in a Chinese context

The experience design course to the summer school 2016 at the NHTV Breda University.

Destination Management Field work: A project of collaborative exploration in Australia & Myanmar.

Every year, the master TDM (Tourism Destination  Management) at NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences organizes a field trip in order to have the students experiencing first hand a destination, translating the classroom learning into “real world”. The students spend three months on three different destinations. I was with them in Australia and Myanmar, facilitating the changing of destination and making sure the groups are working well. My main role was to focus at the group work of the students, looking at how their interaction and  communication are helping (or not) in the exploration of the assignment. This is an

Co-creating the Taos Institute Europe through designing research principles

Workshop: Co-creating the Taos Europe through designing research principles

What is going on in Society?

Process design Course
Workshop: What is going on in Society?

Experience design Course – Manchester metropolitan university

Experience design Course
Manchester metropolitan university
6th,7th,8th November 2015, Manchester, England.

The Social Innovation Project

The Tilburg University, Faculty of Humanities, Liberal Arts and Scicences, offers a discipline every year on  social innovation in which all the students need to work on a social innovation project. The coordinator of the course Ellen Dreezens invited me to be part of the team and give a workshop to the students on how to have effective meetings when the topic is social innovation. The students have different backgrounds, from Law to marketing. Very inspiring students to work with.

Visiting Professor at the University in Brazil

As part of a collaboration program with my University in the Netherlands, I was invited to become a visiting professor at the UFPE – Federal University of Pernanbuco in Recife. In this position I will  be working with professors and students in their research and projects. In the month of October I had the opportunity to be there in person, giving a course to masters and PhD students from PROPAD (Graduate program of management). I also had the chance to participate in an International Seminar sharing my experience in didactical methodologies. Amazing experience! Click here for some pics

Palestra: Engenharia da Imaginação (Imagineering)

This talk was the opening of the event called Inovarse, with a focus on innovation and social responsibility ( www.inovarse.org.) The first topic was Imagination and I was invited to speak to the audience about the importance of imagination and how this human resource  can help us developing innovative and co-responsible projects. The event was organized by the Brazilian University in Rio de Janeiro : Universidade Federal Fluminense. Together with Inovarse, the XI CNEG – National Conference on excellence in management was taking place with a great academic program and many researches being presented. For some pics click here!

Co-designing Education: the Imagineering Approach

The Educational Institution is still predominantly functioning under the modernist paradigm in which the focus is on the transmission of knowledge, very hierarchical, linear and cognitively centred. While this might have been a good approach to train people during the industrial revolution it doesn’t make sense anymore in the technology revolution, in the society 3.0 we are living now. There is an urgency of other ways of teaching and provision of learning environments that are aligned with the needs of the 21st century. At the Imagineering Academy and the Performatory, we work with a curriculum that enable a more relational, collaborative

WORKSHOP – Health 2.0 – innovation in hard & soft Technology

Ma 1 Sept 13.30-14.30 Innov. in Hard & Soft Techn. Gehost door: Celiane Camargo – Borges & Murilo Moscheta  Over the last century technological innovations have dramatically changed the way we understand ourselves and our surroundings, which consequently have impacted our healthcare practices. A movement called Health 2.0 is growing in that direction. Initially, Health 2.0 was mainly focused on technology itself, such as search engines for data, clinical records and blogs, and as an enabler for healthcare information between health professionals and patients. Some authors, however, have already questioned the sole inclusion of the Internet as a revolutionary innovation in

Webinar: Contemporary Approaches to Theories

2014 Webinar: Contemporary Approaches to Theories. Featuring Social Constructionism and Complexity Theory

Co-creating empowerment through storytelling and photovoice – UGANDA

The Uganda project is a partnership with two NGOs – HealthNest Uganda and Hope for Youth Uganda The objectives of the project are: ONE: To discover Uganda through the eyes of its people, establishing a long-term collaboration with Health Nest Uganda, Hope for Youth Uganda as well as the Nkumba University in order to generate collaborative knowledge among all parties. TWO: To set up an intervention with the youth of Uganda. With this intervention we are trying to motivate the youth to realize their strengths and potential. In this intervention we will use the following tools, photovoice, storytelling, appreciative- and