Thriving Thursday is Back!

There was the usual anticipation and excitement with that first opening slide from the Team, showing that we were about to come together again, this time with our Thriving Thursdays Meeting welcoming everyone who holds a badge, a gift to all of us who have committed to being extra active in some way within this wonderful organization World Pulse. Just seeing that slide and knowing that we were about to begin took me back to our very first Thriving Thursday Zoom Meeting some time ago, how grateful I was to have the chance to be in the same room with other World Pulse members from all over the world, who are determined to find ways to create needed and essential change. I thought about that first time, because I knew that soon we would be together again and this time with many more sisters joining in for the first time, experiencing this tremendous gift of time together, of seeing each others faces, of being able to discuss together, and to absorb whatever learning was being offered, because Thriving Thursdays from the beginning have been a chance to learn from sisters who step forward to do some teaching. 

It was a particularly powerful start to the year because we hadn't been together for a while. It was felt deeply as well because during this interlude we lost a dear sister, Feka Parchibel. We were also collectively aware that there are many among us who have lost dear ones in this past short while. 

We opened as usual with a warm greeting from Dawn, and as she called us together she invited us to a minute of silence to hold Feka and all who are no longer here with us deeply in our hearts.

So it was with joy mixed with grief that we came together for this first Thriving Thursday of 2022. It was also an exciting mix of greeting each other as Ambassadors who have been in these meetings before, now in our expanded circle with those attending for the first time, celebrating the tremendous increase in numbers of members in World Pulse, experiencing the sense of togetherness that this new growth brings. 

From the first Thriving Thursday forward there has always been an aspect of collective training within the meetings, which has provided us with new information, shown us new skills and given us the opportunity to take turns leading workshops, bringing information to each other. World Pulse has this wonderful way of continually opening new pathways for us to share with each other, and to push ourselves to grow by diving into these opportunities to share what we know as presenters and participants in these discussions.

Dawn brought a full report on World Pulse updates.

We were strongly encouraged and welcomed to share stories as badge holders on the work we are doing, our events and outreach efforts, because by sharing this on the site we are able to show the impact we are having not only in our communities but also together. Photos, videos, links to training materials and any other reference links also showcase the changes we are creating.

We were reminded that everyone is welcome to be in touch about becoming an Ambassador, and that there are many different ways to increase our involvement.

https://www.worldpulse.com/raise-your-voice/world-pulse-digital-ambassadors

We got a review of the different badges. These badges developed by the World Pulse Team invite us to deepen the ways we can be effective, and celebrate us as we deepen our involvement. They also give us credibility in our communities, in a world in which we as women are too often taken for granted and rarely offered the titles we deserve for the work we do. If you haven’t had the chance, here is a link to explore: https://www.worldpulse.com/community-leadership. 

In that inclusive spirit that our World Pulse Team has, we were offered the chance to vote on new titles being considered for badges being developed!

Next we had a difficult choice to make between a breakout session with Kirthi, or with Basudha.

Kirthi gave an early peek into the new World Pulse Training Modules being built to increase our abilities to bring education to our communities, through Basic Digital Skills, Online Advocacy, Digital Storytelling, and Safety and Security. The modules being prepared can be customized to suit individual contexts. The training will be on in depth use of digital tools, the Internet, and accessing all that World Pulse has to offer. 

Basudha gave an outline of a Train the Trainer Workshop, designed for anyone already involved in these areas: technology skills, strong communication skills, organizational skills, to enhance ability in current training we are giving and to increase effectiveness in training other leaders. 

Big news is that in the background there has been a lot of work being done developing a whole new Site for World Pulse, soon to be launched. There will be more news from our Team about this as the changeover gets closer. A big exciting new beginning in the near future!

More important dates:

There will be a special World Pulse gathering on February 3 to honour Feka, details will be forthcoming by email.

28 January Encourager Party 

10 February Thriving Thursday 

25 February Encourager Party 

3 March World Pulse Awards and 

8 March IWD Celebration: Global Training by Digital Ambassadors