Participant Reflections

On September 26th, 2009, 150 guests gathered at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, BC to begin the 2009 Connecting for Change dialogue.  The guests were participants, facilitators, Nobel Laureates, musicians, Dalai Lama Center Trustees, and volunteers. The guests ventured from across Canada and the United States and from around the world to experience 2 ½ days of connecting for change.

Read about the Participants' comments (4.42 MB PDF) about the Connecting for Change learning journey.

Visual Reflections

View the Visual Facilitation Images created by Mariah Howard and Avril Orloff.

View the Interactive Visualization Story created by Sky (Jim Schuyler) of the Dalai Lama Foundation.

Participant Stories

"I truly believe that individuals can make a difference in society. Since periods of change such as the present one come so rarely in human history, it is up to each of us to make the best use of our time to help create a happier world."

- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

We learn, grow and connect through the collective power of storytelling.

Share your stories of what has emerged for you as a result of the Connecting for Change 2009 Dialogue and the connections that have been made.

For articles already posted, visit the Resources Page .

(Click on 'Add New Comment' to post your thoughts. If you want to send photos, email them to the Dalai Lama Center.)

C4C Participants were asked what gift did they receive from this experience? Here are just a few responses:

• Seeing how people of such diversity could come together to create community.
• The increased recognition that we are all part of this global community.  There simply are no accidents.
• The gift was knowing how extensive goodness actually is.
• The incredible array of passionate people that gathered together with the hope to change the world.
• I think one of the greatest gifts was the concept of the possible. Surrounded by many people who have dreamed big and accomplished great change and improvements in their communities was not only inspiring but motivating and reminder to me that no dream is to big.
• The reminder that together people come up with more ideas and solutions that are seen through a different lens and offer new possibilities and opportunities.
• The generosity of those who were present, and the sincerity was unparalleled.
• Experiencing heart-to-heart communications with varied individuals whom I did not even know before Saturday the 26th September has shown me that not only is it possible to feel the solidarity but also to actually collaborate in solving difficult problems.  It gave me an expansive and clear sense of how connected hearts, which is distinguished from individuals' rational understandings of given issues and conceptual outcomes, can produce miracles and brought me an astonishment with a shivering excitement that I am part of a large collective of human beings which, in resonance, has unlimited potentiality.