I have been fascinated by change processes for a long time now. Changes on small and big scales. The way in which people deal with changes, the skepticism of some and the enjoyment of others. Unfortunately, a lot of times changes put in process don’t seem to endure. But there are processes and projects that do and have a self regulating way of working.
Fortunately I have participated in different projects in the past that have reached a positive result. Projects that are continuing to evolve throughout several years. The most interesting part in these processes I find the way in which…. Do not realize what kind of shifts are taking place. It happens, people act, people enjoy, people get frustrated, there are shifts taking place. My strategy of sending the message that I am only present seems to work. They are the ones who have to act, and I am there only to help, to point out the things that are being overlooked. And uhmm, well, it does happen that this helping sometimes overloads my schedule.
My fascination has brought me to the developments that are taking place in Libya. I recognize the things that are happening there, from projects that I have supervised. Change processes and projects are namely not controllable. They are manageable, yes, but only partly and to keep in line with the chosen direction. Managing to facilitate, not to control. But now back to Libya. I have been involved with Libya since 2011. First with Libyan wounded persons that were being treated in The Netherlands, and after that through more in depth information obtained by different people within and out of Libya. By deepening myself in the Libyan situation I have found that it is Libya’s goal to be as transparent as possible. To reach this goal it communicates abundantly through different channels and in different languages. This made it possible for the world to easily follow every development, but, maybe more importantly, it provided a way for more confidence in the new (transition)government. I will come back to the topic of communication, but first I would like to show you two video fragments that show the things that – to my opinion – are the most important in change processes.
Change is linked to different elements. One important element is letting go. Letting go often means having courage to step out of your comfort one, concurring your own fears en taking a step towards a new possibility. It means taking risks, because there is no safety security, only an advance towards something new. This film is made during the uprising at the beginning of the Libyan Revolution. In the fragments you see thousands, millions of people demonstrate, claiming democratic freedom. Gadaffi responded by shooting at the protesters. In those moments the citizens didn’t have any access to any other weapons then their own confidence and with their commitment to change they were able to ignore the bullets and rackets (with hundreds of deaths as a consequence) and they fought for what they believed in with full will power, drive and enthusiasm. There were even men who went their way with toy guns in a reaction to the ammunition used by the enemy; toy guns and their confidence in a better future. The unity and solidarity, the forces of letting go everything that has lasted for years before. Concurring fear to fight for change is what keeps me intrigued when seeing this film.
But different other elements are important when dealing with change; for example reflection and the guts to learn. Not because of guidance by others, but motivated by your own believes. That is what can be seen in the following film that was made on February the 17th of 2012, one year after the uprising, slightly three months after the war. Three months after we were daily confronted with images with celebrating Libyans. Three months after a period of eight months of intensive fights, suffering and the lost of around 50.000 family members, friends and acquaintances towards change. The film was made in a period in which every house holding still possessed at least one weapon, in absence of police and army forces, with only a temporary government and confronted with daily incidents of violence, but still….17 februari(2011) will continue to be an important day for Libya. While we celebrate our freedom obtained because the occupiers were expelled, they celebrate their inner freedom. De freedom of having chosen for change personally and in unity. In the film you can also see the acknowledgment of aggression not being the answer (arms have been left at home), the celebration of success, the ability of letting go (lampions with different messages), the solidarity. The celebration has been even more abundant this year than in 2012. Even though the awareness of lot of work that still has to be done brings some tensions in certain moments, the people are able to find the power to recognize the bigger picture. The result is a returning celebration. A celebration, not because of support and funding of the government, but organized by the citizens themselves.
I hope you take the time for the 2 videos
Power of Diversity 