In June 2019 we held the second open enrollment generative somatics course in Europe. This time we gathered in an amazing space in a small town called Tábor, south of Prague in Czechia.
It was an opportunity to transform, heal, learn and practice together based upon a commitment to grassroots activism in connection to central eastern europe.
Future course work is in planning for Fall 2020. Updates can be found on this page later in Spring.
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Here the call out for the 2019 course:
“in our bodies – on the streets”
personal and social transformation
a 5-day generative somatics training
for grassroots activists in Central Eastern Europe
Mon, 17.6. – Sat, 22.6. 2019
Tábor, South of Prague, Czech Republic
course description – print version
Application and full-time attendance required.
Application deadline: March 15
APPLY HERE: OpenOffice or Word
Participants of the 2015 course are welcome to apply. Often people find it useful to take courses multiple times, plus this one will be slightly different in content.
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In June 2019 we are offering a 5-day generative somatics training near Prague, Czech Republic.
The training will be held in the Czech Republic, June 17-22, 2019, at CESTA – Cultural Exchange Station in Tábor -, 90 km south of Prague.
This course is geared towards grassroots activists from Central Eastern Europe. The group size is limited to around 25 people, accepted through application.
The course will be held in accessible International English. Sadly, we are unable to provide simultaneous translation. Space will be made for comprehension questions and people’s native languages.
Who is this course for?
Everybody involved with grassroots struggles within Central Eastern Europe is welcome to apply. Applications from underrepresented groups within activist communities are especially invited. While we know that systems of privilege and oppression are always at work we will do our best to create a liberatory space and appreciate everyone’s help in doing so. We are aiming for a room with shifted majorities, where usually underrepresented groups hold the majority while people from majority backgrounds within activism feel equally welcome. We give priority according to the following factors:
- Actively involved in social and environmental struggles
- Part of underrepresented groups within activist communities / facing systemic oppression in society
- Work / interest in the intersection of healing work and activism and interested to pursuing work in this area in the future
Trainers:
The course is led by a team of trainers: Gesine Wenzel, Hilary Moore, and three teaching assistants. Gesine and Hilary have a long history of involvement in grassroots struggles and are part of the generative somatics teaching team in the US. Bios here. All teaching assistants have been involved in organizing and practicing generative somatics in Central Eastern Europe since 2014.
Finances:
We hold a strong commitment to making this training accessible to participants regardless of their ability to pay. At the same time we need to cover the costs of the course. We have some additional funding but need the course basics to get covered by participants.
We are offering a sliding scale of 50-500 € in order to be as inclusive as as possible. Please pay as much as you honestly can. Do not hesitate to contact us if you need support for travel costs or if money stops you from coming.
Logistics:
Accommodation: Shared bedrooms.
Food: Vegan. Request for participants’ help with kitchen tasks.
If you have any special needs let us know.
This training is alcohol and drug free.
Unfortunately, the space is not wheelchair accessible.
What else you need to know:
This course is geared towards participant’s personal transformation and our collective capacity for resilience, power and healing. We request that people use the practice only for personal use and do not teach it unless they have been trained to pass it on.
Participants will not walk away with a tool box of new methods but with a set of practices and somatic experiences that transform and heal life over time. Participation in the course will impact people’s political activism by who they become and what they are able to bring to their work.
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Trainers Tábor Course 2019:
The course is led by a team of trainers: Gesine Wenzel, Hilary Moore, and three teaching assistants. Gesine and Hilary have a long history of involvement in grassroots struggles and are part of the generative somatics teaching team in the US. All teaching assistants have been involved in organizing and practicing generative somatics in Central Eastern Europe since 2014.
Gesine Wenzel has been training in generative somatics since 2008. Born and raised in Northern Germany she came to the US in 2007 in order to pursue a decade of study and practice, fueled by a deep commitment to social transformation.
Gesine is part of the generative somatics teaching team and has been shaped by diverse grassroots struggles in European social and environmental justice movements. She also holds the rank of black belt in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu and a Master’s degree in Somatic Psychotherapy.
For the last ten years she worked as a somatic psychotherapist and coach in Oakland, supporting queer and trans folks and activists. Recently she returned to Europe. In 2004 Gesine had co-founded Activist Trauma Support in the UK and has since been led by a vision of a paradigm shift toward embodied activism – supporting individuals, collectives and movements toward greater connection, resilience, cooperation and power.
„This work changed my life, and the impact of this approach on our political movements as well as our communities and our very selves can offer a path towards the transformation we want to see.“ – Gesine Wenzel –
Hilary Moore is a working class writer and anti racist political education trainer that lives in Berlin, Germany. She grew up in Eastern California and was politicized through direct action campaigns for climate justice in the United States. She is a former coordinator of the Catalyst Project, a collective supporting grassroots organization nationwide to build strong anti-racist practices, and has taught with generative somatics since 2014. She co-authored Organizing Cools the Planet: Tools and Reflections to Navigate the Climate Crisis (PM Press, 2011) and the forthcoming No Fascist USA! The John Brown Anti Klan Committee and the Reagan Years (City Lights, 2020).
