nanopolitics handbook - Minor Compositions

To prepare is to touch upon these different considerations in one way or another.This exercise may be taken up in the very course of a meeting and/orbe taken on by a subgroup. The point of the latter option is that those whotake care of it can also learn to prepare, to try and propose new ways of doingthings, to risk themselves and finally also to fabricate knowledge based onthis experience.exercisefacilitation: a person within the subgroup is picked as the facilitator for this particularmeeting. Facilitation is a difficult function. It requires training (it needsrepetition), particularly for those who haven’t yet been exposed to it, as well asrequiring putting oneself at risk (to force oneself to take on new habits) and aclimate that can accommodate and protect this attempt. For some, this functionis about opening/closing down discussions, encouraging exchange and beingattentive to the unfolding process as well as to roles (and how they can be activated).For others, it’s as much about helping the group to think. That’s to saythat this function also reaches deep down into a group process, through synthesesand attempts at articulating problems.So we’ve got two lines of force. One is more focussed on form, profilingitself with respect to the deeper layers: for instance, when the facilitating personwants to say something about contents, s/he can pass on her role ortemporarily suspend her function (this is without doubt best when first learningto inhabit facilitation). The other line operates on both levels at the same time– and one level isn’t better than the other, it’s a question of style. Taking on thisrole is maybe about learning and cultivating a certain style.the beginning of the meeting: this is an in-between moment. To take the time toaccommodate this passage is to offer oneself the possibility of creating afavourable climate. This first period allows for the articulation of four tasks:1. Reading and/or approving of the last meeting’s minutes. This smalltechnical point has the advantage of allowing for a smooth entry into work,to remember where one comes from and to revisit a point or two if necessary.2. Second, the facilitator shares her proposal for the meeting procedurewith the group, as elaborated during preparation. The discussion here willfocus on understanding the proposal and not on criticizing it. Critique willcome after testing it.3. Third, the ‘weather’ point. A moment when the members of a groupgive account of their physical or affective state (joy, tranquillity, being an-68