Imagine Scotland - Calling all 'Sticky Stories' Stories are Powerful

Today after a long gap, I had a conversation with a dear friend and colleague Bliss Browne. Home for Bliss is Chicago but she travels the world. The last time Bliss was in Scotand was in November 2004 for an event called 'Appreciative Inquiry From Vision to Action' which followed on from work done in partnership with Communities Scotland Scottish Centre for Regeneration and the communities of Leith, Pollok and Greenock. Other organisations also supported the work in different ways, namely Communities that Care, Greater Pollok Development Company,Phoenix Community Health Project and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. SCR's very first masterclass was by Bliss on the topic of The 'Appreciative Inquiry' approach to involving communities in regeneration.' In the April of 2003 Bliss and I created and facilitated the first Imagine Scotland event in Edinburgh. There were gatherings in Orkney, Caithness, Ayrshire, Dundee, Kyle of Lochalsh and the Western Isles. Prior to that there was a speaking tour in 2000 reaching Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dumfries. There is more but suffice to say that this is a journey taken by many people in Scotland to Imagine Scotland. If you were at any of the above gatherings, or indeed at any of the many events that took place in Leith, Pollok and Greenock between January and November 2004 Bliss and I would like to hear your story. Why? Stories are powerful. We can all tell stories and stories stick! To get you started here are two great questions gifted to me a few years ago from another colleague Alasdair Baker. Focusing on the event/s you attended, What do you remember? What difference has it made? Please tell us. Why is it important? Stories shape identity and identities are socially constructed through the exchange of stories. No one story defines a person, team or organisation or for that matter a country. On 31 March Bliss returns to Scotland to hear our stories. Imagine it. Let the story telling begin.