The Ethics of Participatory Processes: Dynamic Flux, Open Questions - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 317

Table 21.1 Outline of sessions of a participatory discussion group on the ethics of participatory
processes
Session 1—Autobiographical introductions
At the start, four principles for participatory processes were presented:
P1. Facilitators should not try to lead without arranging assistants and support
P2. Participants always know a lot about the topic at hand, so bring that to the surface and
acknowledge it
P3. Respect for other participants and for ourselves is the fi rst objective, on which basis
participants are more comfortable taking Risks that lead to Revelations (new insights) and,
through the experience of generating those insights, get Re-engaged with our work and lives
(Taylor et al. 2011 )
P4. Do not leave any session without taking stock of where we have come, individually and
collectively
The session consisted of the following activities (with corresponding principles in
parentheses):
• Guided Freewriting (Taylor and Szteiter 2012 , pp. 89-90) starting from “When I think
about the questions I have about participatory processes around environment, science,
ethics, action, what comes to mind includes…” (P2, P3)
• Share in pairs our hopes for the discussion group (P2, P3)
• Autobiographical introductions: Each person takes 5 min to convey how you came to be
the kind of person who would be invited to this Cary conference and join a discussion
group on ethics of participatory process (P3)
• Share in pairs “connections and extensions” seen among the introductions, including
things you didn't include that you might have (P2, P3, P4)
• Two assistants arranged to confer with facilitator about next session (P1)
• Closing circle: “Something you're taking away from this session to chew on” (P4). (The
audio linked to Taylor 2011 includes mention, among other things, of the diversity of
motivations to participate and diverse kinds of participation, the diffi culty of communicat-
ing and incorporating different values and perspectives, and the challenge of moving to
action and making a difference.)
Session 2—Dialogue and Rapid small-group work
Two activities explored whether and how ethics of some kind can inform participatory process
in relation to linking environment, science, and action:
• Dialogue process (P2, P3, P4)—90 min of listening and structured turn-taking on the topic
(Taylor and Szteiter 2012 , pp. 70-75). (One provocative query emerging from the dialogue
was whether ethics is possible without participatory processes.)
• Rapid small-group work (P2)—20 min to create and report on a “Program for developing
an ethical framework for participatory processes, with special attention to interaction
among diverse social agents.” (The activity served primarily as a warm-up for the
homework and third session. Themes from end-of-session reports included sustained
engagement in listening, having stories be heard, and the tension between incremental
progress and taking on Big Issues.)
Between-session homework: Compose fi ve statements, questions, or reservations that are
important to you concerning development of an ethical framework for participatory processes
(continued)