In this issue:

1. Core Purpose of From the Four Directions
2. Leadership Story - Bridging Generations in Senegal
3. For Reflection - Excerpt from David Whyte's Crossing the Unknown Sea
4. An Invitation to You
   
   
   

Core Purpose of From the Four Directions

From the Four Directions is a global leadership initiative of the Berkana Institute.

• We dream of a world where every organization, whether in business, government, or public benefit, knows how to bring out the best in us humans: our creativity, our caring, our desire for peace and health.
• We believe that changes must come from citizens and leaders working in their own communities across the planet.
• We support the work of life-affirming leaders (a leader is anyone who wants to help) in finding their clarity and courage to lead on behalf of the issues that most concern them.
• We work around the globe to organize local conversation circles on life-affirming leadership. Citizens and leaders name their hopes and challenges, learn from colleagues, and act courageously to move their hopes into reality.
• We network local conversations into a global presence of "people everywhere leading the way" to a future of possibility and promise for all.

When Cire Kane, 30, joined the first From the Four Directions Practicum at Hazelwood House in South Devon, United Kingdom, in many ways he was following the tradition of his Senegal culture. He grew up in Fouta and Mbacke, where elders sit in circle beneath a Baobab tree, as they have for generations, to discuss the issues of the day. Yet, when his turn to speak at the practicum came, Cire passed and listened until everyone else in the circle had spoken. True to his cultural heritage, he waited for the elders to speak first.

When he finally did speak, Cire explained that in his country of 10 million people, half of whom are under the age of 20, the youth are not invited to join the elders in circle. A separation exists between the generations, between the clarity and wisdom of the elders and the creativity and courage of the youth. In circle at Hazelwood, Cire experienced the profound understanding that emerges when generations listen to each other.

After four days in circle, Cire returned home determined to bridge the generational divide and tap the creative strength of his culture. He gathered youths together in circle and invited one elder to join them. "He never believed that youth could have such willingness to create change, such bright ideas and courage to act," says Cire. The elder then convinced other elders to join the circle, and many more circles ensued that collectively explored the conditions in which youth can be supported to emerge as leaders in their communities. These conversations inspired Cire to form the Synapse Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurial leadership and life-affirming leadership in youths.

Cire found his skills and perspective were needed very soon. In February 2001, students and faculty at Cheikh Anta Diop University clashed in a serious protest. Students had requested government officials raise scholarships to match increases in the cost of living. However, some student leaders had illegally confined a professor in order to get both government officials and university staff to pay attention to their struggle. After vain negotiations between authorities and students to liberate the professor, police intervened. Tensions were very high. The protests resulted in the shooting death of a student.

Cire quickly spoke with a professor at the university whom he knew, and encouraged him to invite faculty members, staff and student protestors to gather in circle. When the circle convened, the participants listened to each other's perspectives and realized that their views of each other's positions were incorrect. Their conversation helped them build trust and understanding that led to an easing of tensions on campus.

As Cire's own work as a leader has emerged, he has continued to gather in From the Four Directions circles. During conversations, it became apparent that young leaders from around the world who had started leadership centers to address local community needs shared similar challenges. "We felt alone in our communities," Cire says. So between circles, they started sharing their experiences and contacts through e-mail and on a Web bulletin board. These local/global leadership centers have become incubators for life-affirming work. "The circle calls us to form," Cire says, "to create space where ideas can incubate and actions can arise."

For Reflection

From David Whyte's book, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity (Riverhead Books, 2001)

Sooner or later we admit that we cannot do it all, that whatever our contribution, the story is much larger and longer than our own, and we are all in the gift of older stories that we are only now joining. Whatever our success at work, in the financial markets, or in the virtual worlds now being born, we are all in the gift of much older work, we are all looked after by other eyes, and we are only preparing ourselves for an invitation to joing something larger.

An Invitation to You

The From the Four Directions Network now includes more than 1,500 people in more than 30 countries. We would love to have you join us in this work. There are many ways to be involved:

• start a From the Four Directions circle
• participate in a circle
• make a donation
• contribute resources
• explore more learning together

The From the Four Directions Newsletter is published monthly. We welcome your comments, suggestions, and stories. Please visit http://www.fromthefourdirections.org/, email info@fromthefourdirections.org, or call us in the United States at 801 377 2996.