Dialogos ltd
Conversational
Mentoring, Coaching & Facilitation
for Personal, Institutional & Social Change
"A chat with Valia is taking a branch out to explore other worlds" DD
"We talk to the people close to us all the time, but quite often it's about everyday stuff... Conversations about
bigger things in life arent's always as easy to just slip into, even though they are often a lot more important.
Things like which set patterns in your life you'd like to change. Or whether you feel you are making
good use of your talents." - Flow 35
Conversational mentoring is a meeting of minds where both the mentor and the mentee take turns to lead
and feed into the other, helping release the restrictions of the mind so you to take those risks needed to
bring change and trust the process so you can not only find but also amplify your unique voice
as an individual and as a small collective working in the field of social change.
Building, creating and nurturing for social transformation
Kuumba is a space that nurtures the visions and ideas of socially engaged creatives and collectives through coaching and mentoring. Through informal mentoring circles and workshops we coach, mentor and facilitate a space for taking initiatives into design level and executing them. The workshops are designed for incubating and crystalising ideas for individual and collective projects. We:
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Support the visions of social changers, activists and socially engaged collectives and organisations.
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Share tools for attendees’ own personal and professional socially engaged commitments.
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Offer toolkits and handouts to support attendees’ practices.
Our sessions cover topics that include:
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What are you seeking to change? An exploration of values in relation to what we are seeking to change.
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What are you longing for? An exploration of our visions, dreams and what we’re longing for and alignment with our practice.
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Who are you connected to? An exploration of who is in our ecosystems and the space it creates for alignment with our aspirations for change.
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Sharing exercises and practices that attendees can use in their personal practice.
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Mentoring and incubating a project attendees have.
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We also offer tailored workshops and project consultation please email hello@sesamathloapothecary.online to introduce yourself and your project
KUUMBA PATHWAYS
Conversational Mentoring Circle
How do you see yourself and your role in these changing times? What role do you feel you can play/want to play at this moment in time?
Conversational mentoring is a meeting of minds where both the mentor and the mentee take turns to lead and feed into the other, helping release the restrictions of the mind so you take those risks needed to bring change and trust the process so you can not only find but also amplify your unique voice as an individual and as a small collective working towards social transformation.
Our conversational mentoring circles are intimate gatherings of 6-8 people, including the facilitators.
Facilitator Training
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The Kuumba Facilitator Training program focuses on building capacity for agents of change to support the communities they are in. After the program, trainees can facilitate Kuumba workshops for agents of change tailored to the context and communities they serve. They will also receive resource toolkits and ongoing mentoring.
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Example: a facilitator training tailored to the Vietnam context, funded by the Manaaki New Zealand Alumni Small-Grants Fund from the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam.
"Don't aim to speak from the top of your voice but from the depth of your spine" - Zainab Saibi
As a "guide" and "weaver", I believe in meeting you where you are and assisting you with what you are looking for in order to grow while sharing those tools you need to implement change in that aspect of your life that needs it most.
A skillful mentor with years of international experience through diverse organizational, social, cultural and educational contexts, I take a conversational and holistic approach to mentoring and coaching.
I work with individuals and small collectives that act as catalysts/advocates/activists for positive social change both at a personal and community/collective level. I facilitate the “unmooring” from old bounded spaces towards new “unused futures”.
Depending on your location, we can have either face-to-face or online sessions tailored to your needs. I offer my mentoring skills in the following areas:
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Mentoring for Social Change Communication: for individuals (activists, social change communication and community development practitioners) and collectives serving communities (Individual Sessions and CommSoCha Certificate Program)
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Experiencing Conversational Mentoring Circles: in collaboration with Sesa Mathlo Apothecary's Kuumba program
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Building Networks & Developing Conversational Teams: mentoring for small groups/collectives
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Experiencing Conversational Women's Circles: supporting the collective feminine transformation
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Mentoring for Writers/Authors: supporting the writing process, developing research portfolio, publications plan, editorial feedback
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Envisioning Career & Life Change: guiding through the challenging times of change (Women Embodying Change Individual Sessions and 6 Sessions Program)
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"Re-wilding" the Self: walking in nature mentoring conversations
"Thank you so much for mentoring me …. for giving me a direction in order to reach my destination… You are not only extremely skilled at your work but also are a wonderful human being."
"...Thank you for inspiring and advising me at a time in my life when it was very much needed."
"I really appreciate your support and enthusiasm for my project and for helping me to find the magic in my work rather than just let it be a tick box exercise. I really took heed of your words of advice too and feel excited about what's ahead."
Qualifications/Professional Development
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Governance for Ethnic Communities - Governance NZ, Migrant Careers Support Trust, and Women on Boards
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Work that Reconnects/Deep Ecology Certified Facilitator
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Institute for Women Centered Coaching, Facilitating and Leadership Certificate Program (currently in training)
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Mastering Positive Psychology, a science-based online course by Positive Psychology, certificate of completion, August 2020.
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Pluralism for Resilient Societies, UCA 20 hours certificate program, August 2020.
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Core Coaching and Mentoring Skills, ILM Endorsed Foundation Program: Wild Goose at Findhorn Foundation College, Scotland, 2018.
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Coaching Certificate: ANZCAL, February 2018.
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Citizen Advocacy: A Human Rights-based approach, online course by Human Rights Education Associates, Oct-Dec 2014.
"Conversational coaching is the art of informally using coaching techniques during the course of an everyday conversation. Coaching can have a variety of purposes but the main premise is that the coach assumes that the person being coached is the best person to create their own solutions and in addition, has all of the resources and information they need within themselves.
Conversational coaching can be used as a way of helping someone to establish their desired outcome, make the best possible decision about a given situation, analyse a complex scenario, look at an issue from a new perspective, find a solution to a problem or simply just trigger a new or more positive pattern of thinking." - Sharon Grant
Mentoring for Conversational Leadership is about helping you to appreciate "the extraordinary but underutilized power of conversation, recognizing that we can all lead, and adopt a conversational approach to the way in which we live and work together in an increasingly complex world." - David Gurteen
Poem and art by Alex Stone, published with the artist's permission