"Imagining a Better Normal"Applied Improvisation in the Humanitarian ContextConference Dates: November 20th and 21st, 2020 The Applied Improvisation Network, in partnership with the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre and the Stockholm Environment Institute, hosted a landmark symposium focused on the intersection of improvisational practice and global humanitarian efforts. The event explored how Applied Improvisation—the use of improvisational principles, methods, and mindsets—can be utilized in real-world circumstances. We focused specifically on the Humanitarian Context, addressing critical global issues such as:
Participants explored how improvisational skills like co-creating, adapting, and working with uncertainty are essential dimensions for those working in these high-stakes arenas.
Symposium ScheduleSchedule for Day One - Friday, November 20th, 20205 hours of sessions Session Start Time: Amsterdam 16:00 / Bangkok 22:00 / Chicago 9:00 AM / Nairobi 18:00
Opening PlenaryTrack A - 15:00 to 15:50 UTC Come hear from renowned humanitarians and improvisers on the intersection of these two arenas and how improvisational tools have impacted their world and work. Barbara Tint will interview Colin Mochrie, Eddie Jjemba, Sukaina Bharwani, Koray Bülent Tarhan and possibly more on their experiences and wisdom. We will also have an Improv performance with Colin Mochrie and members of the AIN community drawing themes from YOU around the Humanitarian World. Perhaps some other surprises too!
Built to Imagine: Humans, Imagination, and ImprovisationSession 1 - Track A - 16:00 to 16:50 UTC What are the conditions of being human that make it possible for us to imagine? To empathize? To improvise? To hope? In this engaging and interactive session, we will explore those questions and the important role that improvisation plays in helping us express our basic humanity.
Applied Improvisation Approaches for Disaster Readiness and ResponseSession 2 - Track B - 16:00 to 16:50 UTC Barbara Tint and Gabe Mercado lead this workshop on how the mindset, tools, and skills of applied improvisation (AI) can infuse the global humanitarian sector, particularly in the area of disaster readiness and response. We share here the journey of how improvisational techniques have made new approaches possible both in face-to-face and online engagements in this field. Theory and practice combined, we will bring activities into the room.
How Cartoon Artists and Humanitarians Co-create Spark: Can AIN Help?Session 3 - Track A - 17:30 to 18:20 UTC Let's co-create something new. The Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre has been bringing applied improvisation to humanitarian work since 2013, infusing serious fun in disaster risk management. Now we're working with professional humorists, harnessing the power of cartoons to understand what's wrong. In this session, we'll explore how AIN and cartoon artists can join forces with humanitarians to inspire courage and action in a changing climate.
Can We Talk About Race? Let's Play With ItSession 4 - Track B - 17:30 to 18:20 UTC Can conversations of race bring people closer to one another? Is it possible to transform our experiences of race with words? What if the answer depends on our ability to play and to let emotions guide our responses? In this conversational workshop, participants explore new social performances - ways of speaking, listening, and responding to one another - that bring us closer to each others experience of race, fear, and hope.
Healing and peacebuilding through Arts: The "Arts for Reconciliation Project"Session 5 - Track A - 18:30 to 19:20 UTC This conversation and workshop will focus on the "Arts for Reconciliation" project in Cali, Colombia, South America. The project aims at developing and systemizing creative methods to accompany dialogue and reconciliation among people affected by armed conflicts all over the world.
Giggling with EarthSession 6 - Track B - 18:30 to 19:20 UTC In this highly interactive workshop, we explore how improvisation, compassion, and comedy work together to help us to imagine and manifest a more beautiful world. We will focus on finding one tiny aspect of delight in what is, connecting in with what we truly want, and inviting others to share/shape/co-create that vision for a better normal.
Closing PlenaryTrack A - 19:30 to 20:00 UTC We will reflect on our day, hear thoughts from YOU on what is most alive and hear from Margot Curl, Bettina Koelle and Jeanne Lambin on the launch of an exciting collaboration between AIN and the Red Cross Climate Centre. We might play a game. Or have some music. Or you never know what will emerge! And we will get you set for Day 2!
Schedule for Day Two - Saturday, November 21st, 2020Two 3-hour Open Space Sessions Session 1 Start Time: Amsterdam 16:00 / Bangkok 22:00 / Chicago 9:00 AM / Nairobi 18:00Session 2 Start Time: Amsterdam 20:00 / Bangkok +2:00 / Chicago 1:00 PM / Nairobi 22:00
Open SpaceFirst Session - 15:00 to 18:00 UTC Open Space offers already include: Applied Improvisation for Work With: with Refugee Communities, Reaching Across Political Divides, Crisis Intervention, More Cartooning Fun with Pablo Suarez, Zoom Tricks for Innovative Online Learning and MORE! Come with offers AND QUESTIONS related to the Humanitarian Context. We will explore together. Click here to view our list of past conferences. This page was retrieved from an older website for our archives. (Last Updated: Wednesday, February 25th, 2026) |
