The Spring VPAR-NEARIMeet of 2021 was held online on April 17th. The theme of the meeting was ‘Critical Reflection’. Attendees came from all over the globe and contributed generously to the conversations that were focused on learning with a ‘life-affirming energy’ and with underpinning values that carry hope for the ‘flourishing of humanity’ (Whitehead, 2018).
The meeting was ably chaired by Cornelia Connolly and opened with the reading of the NEARI ethical statement by Bernie Sullivan.
VPAR-NEARI Ethics Statement
This was followed by the first short presentation (Round Robin) of the afternoon. This was presented by Cathy Clarkson, who set the conversation alight for the meeting.
Short Presentation by Cathy Clarkson
Our amazing guest speaker was Stephen Brookfield. His thought-provoking talk was entitled ‘Modeling Critical Reflection’.
Stephen Brookfield speaking about ‘Modeling Critical Reflection’. The slides from this presentation can be found here.
A conversation in breakout rooms followed and on our return to the main room, the following discussion ensued:
Extracts from the conversation at VPAR-NEARIMeet
Tom Cosgrove took the baton then with the second short presentation (Round Robin) of the day. Many attendees were moved and inspired by his critical reflections.
Short Presentation by Tom Cosgrove
The meeting concluded with updates from VPAR-NEARI and from colleagues in CARN and EJOLTs.
The next meeting will take place in September 2021.
