From the 5th till 7th of October 2012, NextGEN Europe convened a meeting in the community of ZEGG, in Bad Belzig, Germany. Over forty people from ten different countries gathered to discuss further steps and actions of NextGEN following a preliminary meeting at the 2012 GEN Europe Conference in Krishna Valley, Hungary in July.

The conference started on Friday afternoon with an introduction of NextGEN and review of previous efforts and projects. The facilitators then led a Dreaming Circle using the Dragon Dreaming process developed by John Croft. Participants shared their ideas and visions about what NextGEN could be in the future and what would best make the organization able to fulfill their dreams. The next step of the process led to grouping of these ideas into three crucial topics: connections, communication and education. From this process, other areas emerged which led to more detailed planning in smaller working groups. The Sunday harvest of all the planning offered many promising goals, each with tasks and responsibilities associated with them. NextGEN intends to create a new and highly improved website, develop new methods of communication, generate a more effective way for participants to stay connected, and keep the heart-to-heart connections vibrant and alive. The group also intends to hold another meeting at the GEN conference in Schweibenalp next July! One more great project that emerged during this meeting is a group of inspired NextGENers who plan to ride bicycles to the conference in Schweibenalp, initiating the first MOBILE project of the NextGEN movement! After just two short days, attendees left ZEGG inspired, hopeful, and excited to form new friendships and social networks. Continue reading →