DAFNI KEK
Volunteerism is one of the most important elements of Democracy because it inspires engagement and giving. In order to remain as such it should be motivated by Solidarity instincts which allow critical reflection of the people involved in a lifelong learning approach and mentality. DAFNI KEK as a non formal education entity is dedicated to the opportunities for learning that are accessible by all – especially to those that these opportunities are limited and they feel excluded and vulnerable. Especially in the current context of crisis sharing with others, at least the hope for a better life, is crucial, as it does not only mean expecting change but making it happen. Through acquiring knowledge, skills and a growth mindset, the staff and educators embrace volunteerism as an attitude and in line with their professionalism.
What we want to communicate is that Volunteerism is the integral essence of the educational role independently if this is applied by professionals or non professional citizens. Volunteerism is the value behind the understanding on the role of the citizen who applies the knowledge and reflects on the current status with a vision towards a better society for all.
Appreciative Mindset / Inquiry is not just a choice of strategy. It is a process of overall transformation of a learning organization which is open and inclusive. It is the constant self reflection of the organization and its people about power relations, privilege and diversity in the practice of teaching and learning. These three are the inherent questions to be in alert when an adult education organisation develops outreach strategy, designs and plans learning activities and take care for each one involved in order to become conscious on the personal strengths and goals.
Searching for inspiration implications on AI, we become more familiar with the concept of Appreciative Inquiry, as the constructive process that searches for everything that “gives life” to organizations, communities, and larger human systems when they are most alive, effective, creative and healthy in their interconnected ecology of relationships.
To appreciate, quite simply, means to value and to recognize that which has value – it is a way of knowing and valuing the best in life
To adopt an appreciative Mindset consequently, it means to be grateful or thankful for – it is a way of being and maintaining a positive stance along the path of life’s journey. And not incidentally, to appreciate is to increase in value too. Combining the three:
– appreciation
- as a way of knowing,
- as a way of being and
- as an increase in value
– suggests that Appreciative Inquiry is… a constructive mode of practice.
As a constructive mode of practice, it aims at designing and crafting human organizations through a process in which valuing and creating are viewed as one, and where inquiry and change are powerfully related and understood as a seamless and integral whole
Inquiry is all about openness, curiosity, creative questioning; its spirit involves what Whitehead once called “the adventure of ideas.”
The appreciative mindset: a need for an effective AI process Mindset is defined as the “constellations of beliefs, preferences, and practices that the people possess for maintaining continuity in the ways they react and adapt to the changing environment”
(Sinha and Pandey, 2007).