Compassionate Systems in Asia Pacific
The Compassionate System’s community of practitioners is flourishing in Asia Pacific and is now launching a series of community calls to connect practitioners across the various hubs. The first series of calls will launch in May 2022 and features practitioners from many of the active hubs within the area. Our thriving group of Practitioners in Asia Pacific have been regular participants in all our calls, despite the challenge of joining late at night, into the early hours of the morning. These calls will be a celebration of the continuing work across the region, and we hope to deepen collaboration and connection across the different hubs. Here is just a flavor of the work growing across the region.
SINGAPORE
In Singapore the work has centered around Dulwich College where their efforts were recognized by the International Schools Award in Ethical Education in 2019. The work has grown steadily through teacher champions and master practitioners to explore complex issues, to build strong classroom relationships and as a central part of the wellbeing curriculum.
Artwork around generative social fields done by students of Dulwich College | Singapore
HONG KONG
The work has expanded out to include schools across Singapore and a collaboration with schools in Hong Kong through the CATALYST Education Lab (CEL). CEL has worked closely with a vibrant network of schools to integrate compassionate systems for students, teachers and the wider school community. Co-facilitating workshops and exchanging resources has connected teachers and principals in both Singapore and Hong Kong. “In today’s volatile and challenging world, compassionate systems has truly helped us strengthen our own sense of hope and agency. And we hope that it’d be able to do so for more people in Hong Kong.” says Angele Law, our compassionate systems master practitioner at CEL.
Workshops at CATALYST Lab with master practitioner Jacob Martin | Hong Kong
JAKARTA
The Jakarta Hub launched with a summit led by Peter Senge and Mette Boell in December 2019 at the British School of Jakarta (BSJ) and their collaboration with the Center has grown from strength to strength with over 30 student ambassadors actively engaged in projects in school, the local community and with student ambassadors around the world. Their school vision is centered around compassion with a daily wellbeing program co-created by tutors and student ambassadors and a middle years curriculum focused on the SDGs. Both the programs have compassionate systems at their heart. Ana, our compassionate systems master practitioners at BSJ notes that, “The introduction of CS thinking and tools has helped our community use a common language; develop a common understanding of the role we play shaping systems (physically and emotionally); develop habits of mind (through repetition and relevant scenarios); encourage critical thinking and discussions amongst our students and staff. It has helped us be better people and I am glad that we, embarked on that journey.
THAILAND
In Thailand work began in the Darunsikkhalai School for Innovative Learning where a compassionate systems approach has been at the heart of many classrooms as well as other innovative projects such as the Sustainable Food Lab and MITTA supporting local organizations where a compassionate systems approach supports their work on sustainability and wellbeing.
JAPAN
In Japan work is spread over a number of school sites with a long-established network of systems thinking workshops and newly developed school sites in Tokyo and Hakuba. Students from two Tokyo schools are currently participating in a Sustainable Development Goals project around Ocean Awareness and there are plans for workshops with more schools in Tokyo.
AUSTRALIA
In Australia Woodleigh is actively integrating compassionate systems into student personal projects and curriculum and has recently launched the Compassionate Systems Collective as a basis for growing compassionate systems across a wide network of schools in Australia alongside their ReimaginED conference which will take place in October.
We look forward to hearing practitioners share their work through the community calls and will share more stories from the individual hubs in our future editions of the Newsletter.
See list of all Newsletter - Spring 2022