Dear Friends

Convergence 2012 has been a real success, especially:

• the alternating of prepared workshops and spontaneous initiatives. This has allowed those who wanted to share their practice to be seen and heard.
• the waltz in 3 movements of language facilitation which worked very well.

The involvement of everyone, backed up by the hosts of Meridon, who were very successful in their role of supporting us in many ways.
Everyone left the Convergence taking something away with them, whether it be personal or professional or both.
And finally, without boasting, I am going to tell you why it was such a big success: because I was there!
I had not registered or paid for my accommodation. I ate with you all the time but did not sleep at the château nor at the hotel. I discretely disappeared every evening behind the bushes in the park. I took part in most of your workshops from a distance but with my warm and sometimes illuminating presence. I found Saturday evening very funny and I loved being with you for the closing ceremony in the clearing. I found it very moving.
I know that you were thrilled that I was there and I promise you all that I will try to come again next time.
Until we meet again, take care of yourselves.
Your devoted servant

The sun

And that is not all.
We invite you to see the photos that were taken and another surprises at our website: http://convergence2012en.blogspot.com/.
If you would like us to publish something from you on the blog: a thought, a good bye, some photos, etc., send them to Myriam (myriam@convergence2012.eu) and we will be happy to publish whatever you send us.

Poem by Neil Meili

CASTLES IN THE AIR

In the forests south of Paris
there have been castles for a thousand years

Many of the stones are still holding hands

In two thousand and twelve
another was built on the holding of hands
and a foundation of Stones

Only history will tell
        if what they built
               and what we build
                        will last a thousand more

Newsletter 6

Voice Dialogue Convergence – September 6-9 - Paris (Château de Méridon - Vallée de Chevreuse)

Dear Friends,
This is perhaps our last post before the official gathering at Convergence. The organizing committee met together in June - with all the seriousness and gravity that typically characterizes its members - to send you some final advice to help prepare for the Convergence… or even to register. There’s still time left to do so.
Our first important piece of advice is this: enjoy your summer and … do nothing at all! (or get a lovely tan if that’s what you enjoy doing and join us in September with your inner as well as your outer beauty).
The second essential thing to do is this: exercise your creativity and prepare an outfit for our Saturday night dinner – it will be the “Sub-Personalities Dinner”. Choose which of your energies (primary or disowned) you’d like to promote and decide which clothes, hats, makeup, etc ... you’ll want to bring with you to make them visible. It’s your turn to play!
Below is the general outline of the program. The workshops listed are those that have been scheduled in advance; the workshop propositions from participants called "Open Space Workshops" will be added each day.
The Convergence Schedule:

Thursday 6th September
Be sure to arrive no later than 10:00am because we will start promptly at 11:00 am.

• 9:30 am: There will be a multi-lingual reception committee ready to greet you and handle the registration and transmission of all relevant information.
• 11:00 am: We meet each other, install the decor for the next three days and begin building our groups.
• 12:30: Lunch
• 2:30 pm: Program Overview: Presentation of the planned workshops and "open space"
• 3:30 pm: Coffee & Tea Break
• 4:00 - 6:00: Workshops
  o J'aime ona Pangaia: The benefit of people who bug you
  o Celie Fox-Cabane – Myriam Ladeuze : International Voice Dialogue Journal
  o Osiris and Team : L'Intelligence de Soi – The Intelligence of Self
  o Open space Workshops
  
• 7:00: Dinner
• 8:30: Organized shuttle return to hotels

Friday 7th September

• 7:00 am: morning activities (optional)
• 8:00 am: breakfast
• 9:00 am: home groups
• 10:0 am: break
• 10:30-12:30: workshops
  o Suzel Stiffel: Coaching and stress with Voice Dialogue
  o Ora Gavriely: Talking with Collectives and collective selves
  o Ana Barner: From judgement to integration… a 7 step process
  o Open space workshops
  
• 12:30-2:30: lunch
• 2:30-4:30 pm: workshops
  o J'aime ona Pangaia: A novel way of doing Voice Dialogue in small groups
  o Silvana Borile: The dynamics of attraction
  o Open space workshops
  
• 4:30 pm: break
• 5:00-6:00 pm:open space
• 6:00-7:30 pm: session exchanges
• 7:30 pm: dinner
• 8:30 pm:dance event
• 10:30 pm: return to hotels - shuttle bus

Saturday 8th September

• 7:00 am: morning activities (optional)
• 8:00 am: breakfast
• 9:00-10:00 am: home groups
• 10:00 pm: break
• 10:30-12:30: workshops
  o Judith Hendin : Discovering the Self behind the symptoms
  o Elisabeth Douillet and Marie-Danielle Koechlin: The beauty of the Energies
  o Open space workshops
  
• 12:30-2:30: wunch
• 2:30-4:30 pm: workshops
  o Marie-Agnès Chauvin : Dressing our feminine and masculine sub-personalities
  o Fernanda Abiuso- The activities of the Italian Voice Dialogue Association
  o Ana Barner : Voice constellation with a bonding pattern
  o Open space workshops
  
• 4:30 pm: break
• 5:00-7:00 pm: Session exchanges
• 7:30 pm: dinner with our sub-personalities
• 10:00 pm: return to hotels by shuttle bus

Sunday 9th September

• 7:00 am: morning activities (optional)
• 8:00 am: breakfast
• 9:00 am: home groups (including preparation of group synthesis of the Convergence experience)
• 10:30 am: break
• 11:00-1:00pm: sharing of Home groups and closing ceremony
• 1:00 pm: lunch
• 2:30 pm: shuttle bus to the railway station

During the summer holidays, our web site is open to answer any questions you may have or to enroll those of you who wish to join us at the Convergence.
The team wishes you a wonderful summer and looks forward to seeing you at the Convergence to share these forthcoming joyous moments with you.
The french preparation team - Letter 6 – July 2012
http://convergence2012en.blogspot.com/

Newsletter 5

Convergence 2012 – September 6-9 Paris (Vallée de Chevreuse) France

Dear friends,
Spring has arrived!
We hope that the weather and ecosystem where you live have already made this evident…
Here’s some news about our upcoming event:

• The program
We’re making good progress and at this moment we’ve got at least 6 proposals; this will allow us to put a bit of the organizational constraints together with the necessary and very welcome spontaneity in the “Convergence” style.
• The Language Facilitation
To allow “language facilitators” to profit from the workshops and not be transformed into translators, we’ve thought it best that those leading the programmed workshops choose the person with whom they want to work. This will give the “language facilitators” the opportunity to prepare their facilitation in advance we are providing for three languages in the Convergence: English, French and Italian. To help these exchanges run smoothly, we will have a workshop in 'language facilitation' at the beginning of the Convergence.
• Registration
You can follow the course of registrations on our blog and see who the participants will be (as well as your friends).
• Accomodation
The Chateau de Méridon sometimes takes a bit of time to respond but they do answer! Please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.

And to end with a surprise....
We have a gift for you in honor of the arrival of spring for those who register now. We will apply the 'early bird' fees until May 1st.
After the Spring rush, the 'on time' fee will apply.

Looking forward to seeing you soon and until then, sending you hugs.

Call from the committee

Dear friends,

You have registered for the Voice Dialogue Convergence which will take place in Paris this coming September and we are looking forward to seeing you.
Taking into account previous Convergences, many of you have asked that the program include (the proportions have not yet been fixed), presentations and workshops prepared in advance as well as other workshops created in the 'open space' format during the Convergence.
In order to create a smoother flow, we would be grateful if you would let us know if you would like to facilitate a presentation or a workshop. If you would, please send us by e-mail (info@convergence2012.eu) the following information below:
- Your name:
- Your subject (a brief description):
- Time needed (30 minutes, one hour, two hours)
- Number of participants (Maximum / Minimum)
- Material needed
- Language (s) spoken by the facilitator
- Language (s) understood by the facilitator

Thank you

The Organizing Committee

Newsletter 4

Convergence 2012 – September 6-9 Paris (Vallée de Chevreuse) France


Dear Friends,
The period of the official French New Year’s greeting is now over. With this letter we announce the beginning of another period, a simple, warm, friendly greeting!
It is with joy that the entire 2012 Convergence Organizing team is making their wish for our encounter this coming fall to be a happy, fulfilling and festive one, and for the time before this event to be full of delight for everyone.

And speaking of time passing ...
Do you know the purpose of the time between the moment the Christmas tree is decorated and the moment the Easter bunnies arrive bearing eggs?
It’s time to register for the "Early Bird” discount!!!
Before April 1st you can take advantage of this discount by joining our existing group.

Check out the 2012 Convergence blog to see what a friendly form this blog is taking – you’ll see the names of registrants and the presentation of individual members of our organizing committee.

The festivities and future exchanges are being prepared with ardure. It would be so much less joyful and less rich if it were to take place without you!

We are now putting all our energy into organizing 3 essential elements:

1. Linguistic Diversity and Sharing Languages
This is about transforming our language differences into an asset. We’re developing the concept of "language facilitators" (a minimum for our community "dialoguers") to respect those who speak their native languages and help those who do not understand it.
To illustrate this concept, a rewritten version of the episode of the "Tower of Babel" will be sent out soon.

2. The Program
This is about providing a large field to welcome whatever will emerge while not losing too much time on managing the logistics of organization. We will therefore, in a flexible manner, provide time for prepared workshops and time for spontaneous creations. Please let us know if you already have the desire to lead a workshop by using a form that will be sent to you in the coming days.

3. Answering your Questions
Don’t hesitate to contact us!

We are looking forward to seeing you soon. In the meantime, we’d like to share with you our joy in preparing for this future encounter. We extend our friendship and would like to remind you that we are here for you.

The Organizing Committee for the 2012 Convergence
http://convergence2012en.blogspot.com/
Invitation N°4 - January 31st, 2012

Invitation to Convergence 2012

Dear Friends,

Autumn 2012 is going to be a great moment for Voice Dialogue. The international Francophone group has been working with fervor. Some of you already know about this while others are just learning about it.
We’re inviting you to an international meeting of Voice Dialogue professionals (teachers and senior facilitators) that will be held at the Chateau de Méridon in the Valley of Chevreuse, about 20 miles south of Paris, France.
Our goal is to create an environment where we can share our different approaches, exchange our experiences and ask one another questions about our work.
Please find below the details to help you organize your stay:

Dates
We’ll be able to welcome you from Thursday, September 6th starting 11am until Sunday, September 9th after lunch.

Conference setting - Château de Méridon
The Chateau is in a pleasant, friendly, country setting that can accommodate up to 120 people. In order to take advantage of the time we have together we’ll all be residential – living in close proximity to one another in the Chevreuse Valley - and, except for breakfast, we’ll have all our meals together at the Chateau de Méridon.

Lodging
Below are the four hotels in the Chevreuse Valley where we’ll be staying. You are in charge of reserving your own lodging.

1. Château de Méridon: www.meridon.eu
The Château de Méridon can accommodate up to 24 people
Rooms for 2 to 4 persons with limited amenities.
The cost per person: 32€ (toilet and shower in the hall)

2. L’hôtel des ducs de Chevreuse - www.lesducs.com – accueil@lesducs.com
The Hôtel de Chevreuse can accommodate up to 40 people.
Small apartments for 2 to 4 people
The cost per apartment: 89 to 140€

3. L’hôtel de la Chapelle - www.hotelchapelle.com
The Hôtel de la Chapelle can accommodate up to 20 people
10 Single or Double rooms: 3 rooms with 2 twin beds & 7 rooms with larger beds
The cost per room: 107€ + 10€50 for breakfast

4. L’hôtel Au bord du Lac - www.auborddulac.com - auborddulac@wanadoo.fr
The Hôtel Au Bord du Lac can accommodate up to 30 people
Rooms with 2 twin beds or 1 large bed
The cost per room: 70€

These hotels offer different levels of comfort. Please check our blog for details. We highly recommend you reserve a room as quickly as possible in order to obtain the price and comfort level you desire. The hotel managers have agreed to “hold” a small number of their rooms for us.

Cost of the Convergence
The cost includes:
Participation in all the workshops and plenary talks
All meals (except for breakfast) and all coffee breaks
Morning and evening transportation between your hotel and the Château de Méridon

Depending on your inscription date, the prices are as follows:
• Wise owl : Reservation & payment before January 1st, 2012
• Early bird: Reservation & payment before April 1st 2012 : 455 €
• On time: Reservation & payment before September 6th 2012 : 525 €

Languages
We’d like everyone to be able to express themselves in their native language and be translated (simultaneously or after a pause) into the native languages of the attending participants. We’re asking those of you who are bilingual or trilingual (or more!) to make yourselves known on your registration form. You’ll be a valued source of support in this endeavor.

Participation criteria
• You have undertaken extensive Voice Dialogue training totaling approximately 30 days, not counting personal sessions and conference participation;
• You have continued your personal development with Voice Dialogue on a regular basis;
• You have practiced Voice Dialogue professionally for a minimum of 3 years.

While waiting to greet you at this exciting event, we wish to extend our warmest wishes and remind you that we are ready to help you in any way we can.

The French-speaking Organisation Committee