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A Head of the Curve |
Date of and time of broadcast:
Friday 21st January 10am-12pm
Audio from the show: Audio for the show
The consensus process is used today by many anarchist groups to make collective decisions that best facilitate a way forward. Often used in groups like Climate Camp, activist groups and in the Quaker traditions, it is also used in business and facilitating. The concept holds a variety of interpretations and is practised through a wide number of techniques.
It has become a strong component of many anarchist groups for some, as one commentator puts it, “anarchism and consensus go together like hot vegan soup and a good day-old bagel.” But consensus is part of a wider tradition of thinking that includes finding agreements and moving forward – it is a political, business and organisation tool.
With us today to discuss such things as the meaning of consensus and how we interpret it and how it is and might be practised are:
Ghee Bowman who has extensive experience of facilitating groups of adults and young people using consensus and other techniques, in the private, voluntary and public sectors. He is an associate of ICA:UK, a leading facilitation organisation.
Jess Groeling is an Exeter University PhD student in the Department of Sociology who has been involved in activist groups for a long time; her MA n Activism and Social Change at Leeds University also provided her with a strong theoretical base for the kinds of activist methodologies behind consensus and horizontal organising.
Robin Dunford is also an Exeter University PhD student in the Department of Politics. He has been involved in radical politics both in theory and practice; his PhD examines notions of political creativity and he was involved in the COP15 protests in Copenhagen in December 2009 in which consensus decision-making was a key tool.
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