|
|
Welcome to the website of Vérène Nicolas For information about Ossian, please click here My passion is about opening and facilitating spaces within and between people, create conditions for empowerment (at personal and community levels) and ultimately contribute to social and environmental change. My practice is anchored in the popular education, environmental and eco-feminist movements. I first came across the Training for Transformation, a participative approach to personal, local and societal transformation when working in Ballymun, a deprived area of Dublin in 1997. Since moving to Scotland in September 1997, much of my focus has been to make this training and other participative approaches to learning more accessible to individuals and communities facing social and ecological injustice. In 2002 and 2003 I had the immense privilege to take part in an in-depth Training for Transformation course run by Anne Hope, Sally Timmel, and their colleagues at the Grail in South Africa. My experience is recorded in my "South Africa Diary". Have a look at it if you are interested to know more about this fascinating experience. Since September 2005, I've been co-ordinating the MSc in Human Ecology jointly delivered by the Department of Geography and Sociology at Strathclyde University and the Centre for Human Ecology (CHE), Edinburgh. In parallel, I have been working at the CHE and developed the Community Programme with colleagues Nick Wilding and Gina Headden. Our work aimed at empowering and equipping grassroots people to become leaders for change in their community. Our training approach is inspired by action research methodologies and the Training for Transformation. Our most recent focus was to work with ethnic minority communities on issues of empowerment and local democratic processes. I am also passionate about ecofeminism, linking women’s activism, poverty, environmental issues, creativity, spirituality and multiculturalism. My partner in life and work is Alastair McIntosh, well known Scottish land reformer, writer and lecturer. We sometimes work together like running workshops and courses. Our most recent experience took us to the radical Christian Greenbelt Festival in August 2006 where we run a workshop on 'Sacred Marriage'. Our long term work focuses on spirituality for activists, for example, addressing the central question of, "What's the Point?". What is the point to work so hard to try to change a world in despair when there is so little hope left? We strongly feel that the answer lies in spirituality. Following the death of our baby son, Ossian, I will be on maternity leave until June 2007. If you'd like to contact me, please send an email to the following address: mail-verenenicolas.org (replace - by @) Keywords for this site: Verene Nicolas Home Page, France, Scotland, Ireland, Montpellier, Montaud, Cévennes, Kinghorn, Edinburgh, Easterhouse, Pollok, Govan, South Africa, Grail Centre, Centre for Human Ecology, Training for Transformation, Community Empowerment Programme, women, feminism, spirituality, participation, agriculture, rural development, Alastair McIntosh, People and Parliament, Embracing Multicultural Scotland, stillbirth ...
Last Updated: 17 Feb 2007
|
