Books published by Dialogue Publications Ltd

The Academy continues its steady progress with this volume of working papers that were considered at the second international conference in 2019. The proceeds of the previous year's inaugural annual conference were subtitled Gathering the Field. The current volume, Setting the Bearings, demonstrates the Academy's intention to provide ongoing developmental learning and professional affiliation for those working in this essential discipline. The accounts contained in this publication reveal the recent work of 13 Professional Dialogue Practitioners from Canada, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, UK and USA. As before, the papers were circulated prior to the conference to replace the typical presentational monologues, which freed up time for dialogues amongst the participants gathered. Authors were present throughout the full three days of the conference to rub shoulders with the other participants and learn from them too. You will find extracts from these conference sessions following the papers, and postscripts written by the authors to describe their own learning as a result of writing their paper and considering it with experienced colleagues.

We do not lack platforms to communicate or venues to hold political debates, but we seem to sorely miss the time and space to think together. Whether with friends, neighbors or people from different cultural or religious groups, we rarely take the time to explore our basic assumptions and perceptions. Such explorations, however, allow us to better understand ourselves and each other before making our choices or acting on them.This book is dedicated to the spirit of dialogue. To cultivate it, the author invites us to take up six invitations: Accept that we are all related Listen with one's whole being Suspend assumptions Question with warmth and curiosity Honour the power of words and of silence Co-create new meaningMarie-E¿ve Marchand holds her doctorate in adult education, and her research has focused on group dialogue as a means of develop- ing the reflective capacity of adults. A specialist in organizational dialogue with experience as a senior executive in the Public Service of Canada, she has also been an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Laval University. She is a therapist, a graduate of Toronto's Gestalt Institute and a member of the international organization The Academy of Professional Dialogue.