Invitation
We are excited to announce a residential, 'Art of Hosting & Harvesting Conversations that Matter Training' (also called 'Art of Participatory Leadership') training program over 4 days, at a beautiful green location in the outskirts of Bangalore. We welcome all who are interested in exploring participatory leadership while co-creating a thriving community of practice in India.
We find ourselves at a moment in time when the polycrises seem almost insurmountable and though we are busy trying to respond, the old ways of working seem not to be working and indeed are part of what created many of the problems we face. Many of us feel we need to figure out how to do things differently and slow down to focus on creating quality over quantity. As Bayo Akomolafe suggests, “The times are urgent, Lets Slow down”
What if we became curious about what is changing and evolving? What if we found the open heartedness to truly listen to people we disagree with, and what if we discovered that in the cracks we find hidden wonders and our disagreements point to breakthroughs….?
We invite you to join us in March to learn how to create the conditions for such conversations and how to access our collective wisdom.
The Art of Hosting/Participatory Leadership is a response to our global complexity, at a time when institutions and democracies themselves are failing to address the increasing chaos in our world. It is a testing ground for those seeking to find new effective and healthy patterns for organising, innovating and interacting to create new forms that serve us all better.
The training is fully participatory to allow participants to experience methods, models and practices.
"What becomes possible when we meet the complexities of our time with courage, curiosity and compassion?"
March 27-30, 2026
Venue:
Fireflies Intercultural Center, Bengaluru, India
Language:
The training will be held in English
About the Art of Participatory Leadership
The Art of Participatory Leadership is an approach to leadership that scales up from the personal to the systemic using personal practice, dialogue, facilitation and the co-creation of innovation to address complex challenges that we face in the world today.
It’s an emerging set of practices for facilitating group conversations of all sizes, supported by principles that: maximise collective intelligence; welcome and listen to diverse viewpoints; maximise participation and civility; and transform conflict into creative cooperation.
The Art of Hosting is known as a highly effective way of harnessing the collective intelligence and self-organising capacity of groups of any size.
For more information, see: http://www.artofhosting.org/
Methodologies and Practices
The Art of Participatory Leadership blends some of the most participatory, powerful methods to create open and meaningful conversations that lead to engagement and good results. The methods used in Art of Participatory Leadership include: World Café, Appreciative Inquiry, Open Space Technology, Pro-Action Café, Collective Story Harvesting, Graphic Facilitation and more…
But this is more than a suite of methods – it is also a practice. We call it the Art of Participatory Leadership because it is an art to become skillful at helping ourselves and others work well together, especially in these times of increasing complexity. We talk about hosting, because what is offered here is not a typical facilitation or moderated session. It gives attention and care to all aspects of people’s work together, intending to host them just as any host would welcome the guests and make sure they have everything they need to make their visit fruitful.
Our Team
Meet the team of passionate souls holding the space together for the practice.
THE HOSTING TEAM
India / The Netherlands
Brazil / China
Hungary / Austria
India
India / UK
India
India
India
We are Inviting
Managing directors & senior leaders
Project Managers & team leaders
Changemakers, artists and storytellers/journalists
External & internal Consultants
Those working in NGOs or community
Teachers & school administrators
Parents
Students and youth leaders
Anyone who feels called by this invitation
What will we learn & practice together?
Design collaborative initiatives and projects
Host meaningful conversations and harvest actionable insights
Apply Art of Hosting and Harvesting methods to your projects and challenges (such as World Café, Open Space Technology, Circle practice…)
Be more resilient and equipped to adapt to an ever-changing world
Leverage models for working with complexity, conflict, and emergence
Translating your ideas and seeds of innovation into experiments and initiatives
Notice and shift in personal, team, and systemic behaviors and norms
Introduce the benefits of participatory leadership to your field
VENUE
Fireflies Intercultural Center
Fireflies Intercultural Centre - Dinnepalya, Kaggalipura Post, Kanakapura Road, Bangalore, spread over 10 acres, Fireflies Intercultural Centre is an island of green on the edge of Bangalore. It celebrates our intimate connection with Mother Earth. The woods of the campus give it the feel of a tropical rain forest even though it is on the rim of this metropolitan city. With its plentiful trees and flowering plants and being home to many types of birds and insects, Fireflies is a great place for strolling, meditating and finding your own way to commune with Nature. This is a residential training and we encourage all participants to stay in or near the venue where it will take place.
Registration Details
Participation Fee
To support inclusivity while ensuring this international training remains viable, we offer a 3-tiered fee structure:
Independent participants / Small NGO/ enterprises (<10 employees): ₹29,000 (Euro 350)
Large NGOs / Government / Academia: ₹39,000 (Euro 450)
Corporate / International Organisations / Internationals: ₹49,000 (Euro 550)
We have an early bird discount (₹2000 off per ticket) for the first 9 participants who register for the training!
- Returning Indian AoH participants can also enjoy ₹2000 off!
Special discount for 3+ people from the same organisation (10% off)
Rates modified for foreign currency to account for exchange-rate realities
SCHOLARSHIPS & ACCESSIBILITY
It is our intention to make this training accessible to participants from different socio-economic backgrounds, especially to those working in and with grassroots communities.
To prevent finances from being a barrier, we are happy to offer some support (₹5k-10k per person) for travel / accommodation costs for limited numbers of participants. We strongly encourage you to reach out to us if the training fee or or travel/accommodation costs are a barrier to access this training. Please write to artofhostingindia@gmail.com to apply for a scholarship based on your financial need.
Fees are set by organisation, but we recognise this may not reflect individual circumstances. Your selected fee supports the training and preparation work, with an option to contribute more to help subsidise access for others.
Accompanying Family Members:
If you feel that you could participate better if your partner and child accompanied you to the venue, they are welcome! The costs associated with their food and accommodation needs to be arranged privately.
Cancellation Policy:
We understand that plans can change and life happens. A challenge in preparing for an event is that all the planning depends upon the people who join. So it's helpful if you let us know of any change in circumstances as soon as you are able. The following policy helps us hold this training with care and fairness for everyone. Cancellation fees apply as follows:
More than 30 days before the start date: 50%
15 - 30 days before the start date: 75%
14 days or fewer before the start date: 100%
Of course, you may transfer your place to someone else without any surcharge - just let us know the details!
Draft Schedule
DAY 1: Friday, March 27
11:00 am – Arrival & Registration
12:00 pm – Welcome Lunch
13:00 pm - Training starts
DAY 2: Saturday, March 28
Full day training
DAY 3: Sunday, March 29
Full day training
DAY 4: Monday, March 30
15:00 pm Training ends