Downloading
You started reflecting about your current idea about climate justice.
What did you mean by climate justice before starting this process?
These meanings are based on the knowledge you acquired in the past and the experiences we have gone through. This first definition is what it is, a starting point for this process. During the process, you may identify some elements of this definition and your world view regarding climate justice you would like to let go of, others you would like to keep and others you still don’t know might emerge.
connecting with each.
This is the so-called Co-Initiating phase or – in a more precise way – the Downloading phase.
What do we mean by Downloading?
The downloading phase was described by Beutelschmidt et al (2013) as follows:
“The process begins with the downloading phase. Downloading stands for talking and acting out of our familiar patterns of thinking and behaviour, i.e. out of how we currently look at an issue or problem and how we would solve it with our now available ideas and procedures. You could also say: we discharge our superficial knowledge, i.e. what comes to our mind first when we are approached about a topic.
This phase is essential, because as long as this knowledge is not discharged, it is difficult to open up to other perspectives and options. It is like the cork on the wine bottle that has to be pulled first so that the wine can be smelled at all. As facilitators, we pay attention to the basic building of a trusting and resilient working level in this phase of downloading. We also speak of the formation of a ‘working’ vessel”.
The aim of downloading is to bring the familiar thinking that exists within us into the room and make it visible.”
Which tools did we use during the Downloading phase?
- “Wanted” posters or personal profile with questions regarding to your inspirations, your definition of climate justice and you contributions you would like to share with this group.
- Six thinking hats about climate justice. We started exploring what do we know about climate justice, our emotions about it, etc.
- 4 levels of listening: With this tool we may get aware that we are mainly listening at the “Downloading” level and that there is still room for improvement to advance towards factual, empathic and generative listening.
- Team clock (special focus on “forming” phase): Coming together in Learning Teams means going through a team building process as well. We start forming our Learning Team, exploring who is who, etc.
Six thinking hats
Here you find a description of the tool “Six thinking hats about climate justice” (optional):
May be, you would like to take another look at the 6 thinking hats exercise we worked on during our first session: