What is the 'Imagine' approach and what is an 'Imagine' Event look like and feel like?

People often ask me this and here is how I once described it. It's participative, its creative, it gives people hope and releases their imagination and creates possibility. It creates a safe space and atmosphere for people to give of their best, to talk about what they care about and to receive support from others there to take these ideas and dreams forward. Imagine events are created usually with a partner who has the same vision but is not sure how to 'do' it i.e. run an imagine event or how to get to a desired future. Imagine events work well when they are co created by partners who each contribute what they do well and between them create something neither would have been able to create on their own. They have spontaneous elements to them as well as questions, creativity and conversations. They have processes that allow people to engage and to get to know lots of people in the room fast. The Imagine process was created by Bliss Browne of Imagine Chicago who first used Appreciative Inquiry in a regeneration context with young people playing a key role. It has been copied all over the world. Sometimes you can find things in unexpected places. Tomorrow I will tell you where I have observed amazing 'events' which have been co created and demonstrate many of the above ingredients. They are not in places you might expect to look. Till tomorrow.