Pro Action Cafe: From Passion to Action

In a world with more and more divides, it feels more precious than ever to be able to gather in a safe space where every participant can open up, connect, and share their passions and resources to create a better world.

Last week, Knowmads Hanoi, Art of Hosting Vietnam, our partner ClickSpace and about 25 participants successfully created that space, where 6 callers received support for their projects, and the rest of us contributed ideas to moving those projects forward using a hosted process called Pro Action Café. It was chilly and windy outside, but inside ClickSpace, ideas and inspiration were flying around while personal connections and a great energy were being formed.

The projects the callers brought with them weren’t just cool ideas, but meaningful initiatives: starting a radio channel specifically for visually impaired individuals to navigate through daily life; offering free legal advice to disadvantaged groups such as women, children, and the LGBT community; promoting critical thinking through reading; using the drawing of faces to express feelings and emotions at the moment; raising awareness and eradicating stigma against people with mental illnesses; and encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone, dream less and do more.

After 2 rounds of conversations to clarify what’s the deeper story behind the project and what’s missing or overlooked, the callers were invited to reflect on what they have learned about themselves and their project, and what their wise next step would be. 

“This was the most productive evening since I entered university,” caller Nguyen Thu Trang commented, after getting support for her project to promote critical thinking through reading. For Vo Tuan Son, the caller who wants to bring free legal services to disadvantaged groups, this event not only provided him with the practical support he needed, but also the encouragement that he never received from his teachers in school.

​The event was the first info meeting for the 1st Art of Hosting Training in Vietnam that will be held on December 15 - 18. The Art of Hosting, in short, is an approach to leadership that uses facilitation to invite conversations that allow groups to learn and collaborate to address complex challenges. This drawing, using one of the methodologies of Art of Hosting - Graphic Facilitation - may help explain better. ​

For more information on the training, visit www.artofhosting.vn. We will have another info meeting coming up, so stay tuned!