G9 China Field Study: Doorway to the Future? Oct 10-Oct 30, 2009

Transcription

1 G9 China Field Study: Doorway to the Future? Oct 10-Oct 30,

2 Contents INTRODUCTION...3 NAVIGATING CHANGE AND CHINA... 3 INTEGRATION OF THE FIELD STUDY WITHIN THE APLP... 3 FIELD STUDY OBJECTIVES... 4 Participant Outcomes... 4 Assignments... 4 OVERALL FLOW... 5 Draft Schedule... 5 MEETINGS... 5 CHINA GIST...6 WHAT IS GIST?... 6 G9 GIST LOCATIONS... 6 GIST CELEBRATES ENGAGEMENT... 7 COOPERATIVE INQUIRY... 7 APLP THEMES TO LOOK FOR DURING FIELD STUDY...8 CONTENT ELEMENTS... 8 Competencies... 8 Core Issues: What s Going On?... 8 The G9 Issues... 8 FUTURES... 9 Futures as They Emerge (Immediate)... 9 Futures We Might Plan For (Near Futures)... 9 Futures We Can Imagine (Preferred Futures)... 9 ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP Adaptive Challenges Looking for Adaptive Leadership Resilience DIVERSITY The Many Chinas Traveling Through Diversity Cultural Diversity NETWORKS Social Networks (People) Ideas Events/Trends CAPTURING THE WHOLE: SHARING G9 CHINA FIELD STUDY EXPECTATIONS...13 CODES OF TRAVEL VALUES TO TRAVEL BY GIST RULES TO TRAVEL BY GIST COMMUNICATION Daily Check Ins Chinese Language Assistance Team Support HEALTH MATTERS SAFETY MATTERS

3 G9 China Field Study Oct 10-Oct 30, 2009 Hlek (G8) Ascending the Great Wall at Mutianyu Introduction Navigating Change and China G9 will travel to China for three weeks from Oct 10-Oct 30, Visiting China provides our group with an excellent opportunity to engage dynamic processes of change. China is, and will continue to be, greatly affected by the types of trends we have discussed in class. China will also continue to shape those trends. China s future matters to us all: what might that future look like? The G9 Field Study is about engaging possible futures through the lenses of contemporary China. The G9 China Field Study is an integral element of the APLP quest to develop capacities for navigating change. Integration of the Field Study within the APLP The China Field Study is integrated into the overall flow, content and themes of the APLP. The Field Study marks the ¼ distance pole in the overall APLP process. It is a chance to leave the cocoon of the East-West Center and to activate the individual and group strengths built in the first phase of the program and it acts as a catalyst for the deepening of our discussions in the second half of the first term. The China Field Study provides a venue for seeing program content in action. Topics as diverse as demographic shifts, enneagram biases, energy dependency, forms of leadership, or great power rivalry will be observed and tested in situ. The Field Study is also an excellent opportunity to deepen understanding of the overarching program themes of competencies, futures, adaptive leadership, diversity and networks. 3

4 During the Field Study we will examine the APLP s content and themes through meetings with high-level leaders, workshops with top graduate students, visits to communities and multiple interactions with average Chinese on GIST and elsewhere. Field Study Objectives The Field study is a major investment on the part of the East West Center. The Center s objectives in funding this activity may be categorized into two groupings: relationships: deepen G9 group relations through experiences off campus and extend and refresh the Center s and participants networks knowledge: activate and deepen participants learnings from campus and further develop competencies These objectives are mirrored in the outcomes for participants. Participant Outcomes G9 members will: examine and test core issues in the real world engage APLP themes in context experience personal, leadership and intercultural challenges through travel widen contact bases through meeting new people deepen relations within G9 understand complexities and variability of change in China The above outcomes provide the basis for the Field Study assignments. Assignments 1) Individual: China Action Plan -- prepare, activate and reflect on a China Plan (goals due pre-departure < words>, final report, one page maximum) 2) Individual: Travel Journal including: a) China Action Plan b) reflections on APLP competencies, content and themes as outlined below c) experiences in team travel d) one interview e) other learnings or questions you develop on the road Within these headings please select the specific topics which resonate most strongly for you (due Nov 3, pages, can be hand written, drawings). 3) GIST Team: Slide Show (due at rendezvous in Kunming, evening of Oct 24, maximum 10 images and 15 minutes per show). 4) GIST Team: Core Learnings Document and 5 minute Presentation (due at Oct 27 debrief in Hong Kong, document maximum 2 pages, can be hand written). 5) LG: In Hong Kong and Honolulu we will reconvene in Learning Groups to synthesize and compare key learnings. (Oct 27, 29 and Nov 3, No submission, discussion based). 4

5 Overall Flow The Field Study begins in Beijing with a series of meetings, some group adventures and time for preparation for the team explorations to follow. On Oct 18 th teams of 3-4 will depart from Beijing and move to a series of locations in China s western countryside. Teams will travel on their own for 6 days and rendezvous in Kunming on Oct 24. After a night of reunion and slideshows, the group will take an overnight train to Guangzhou and Hong Kong. The Field Study concludes with four days in Hong Kong for meetings, field study debriefings and workshops. The return date is Oct 30 (in time for Halloween for which almost everything is Made in China!). Draft Schedule 1 10 Oct Sat Depart 2 11 Oct Sun Arrive in evening 3 12 Oct Mon Discover Beijing activity and dinner 4 13 Oct Tues AM/PM Meetings at CCPIT / Evening CCPIT Dinner (TBC) 5 14 Oct Wed Early AM to Great Wall (all day) 6 15 Oct Thu Meetings at Embassy/Brookings 7 16 Oct Fri Breakfast Meetings; AM Free, PM Futures 8 17 Oct Sat Free day for sight seeing 9 18 Oct Sun AM GIST Launch Oct Mon GIST Oct Tue GIST Oct Wed GIST Oct Thu GIST Oct Fri GIST Oct Sat Kunming rendezvous (arrive by 2 PM), Evening slide shows Oct Sun K 366 Train to Guangzhou/HK Dep 11:50 am Oct Mon Arrive 5:00 pm, evening free Oct Tue AM GIST Debrief, Submit China Reports, PM Free/Individual Interviews Oct Wed AM/PM HKG Roundtables, Evening 'Final Dinner' (TBC) Oct Thu AM Free, PM debriefing (3:30 5:00) Oct Fri to HNL (arrive same day) 2 Nov Mon At EWC: AM Free, PM Roundtable debrief with EWC/UH Faculty Meetings You may note that there are fewer group meetings in this plan than one might expect from a Field Study of this length. You will also see that we have focused the organized meetings into concentrated days. In total, there are only four days of formal meetings. This means it is incumbent on all of us to maximize group meeting opportunities by being as prepared and ready to go as possible (for example having done preparatory readings which have been posted to the HUB) and be fully engaged in sessions. 1 It also 1 / Given the challenges of getting confirmations of those attending our sessions (especially in China) we will be publishing the names and bios of guests the day before sessions. 5

6 means it is important to take advantage of the time this structure frees up to get out of the visitor bubble and explore and/or meet people (e.g., set up interviews). A main element of the Field Study s design intended to facilitate exploration is GIST. China GIST What is GIST? GIST is an acronym which stands for Group Independent Study Travel. In the GIST approach to field studies, small groups go to pre-selected field locations to test and enhance leadership and observational skills as well as to consider how themes we have been discussing at the EWC are manifest (or not) in specific locales. The GIST motto is It's Not Where But Why. GIST travel is not so much about a collection of locations visited but why we went there and what can be learned from the process of travel. G9 GIST Locations 6

7 GIST Celebrates Engagement The success of the Field Study generally, and of GIST specifically, is in the hands of G9 and its individual teams. G9 members are expected to engage the opportunities provided in the field as fully as possible. This means actively engaging both the processes of travel and the communities which are visited. It takes an effort to move out of the often passive norms of tourism, but GIST provides an opportunity for a step that way. What you draw from GIST will be a reflection of the fullness with which you engage the process and how you manage and reflect on this engagement. There is an element of competition to the GIST. GIST Genuine G9 champions will be crowned (with names duly inscribed on GIST Compass). The purpose of the evaluation is not to define winners and losers but to celebrate the achievements of all. Logs, presentations and discussions will be evaluated and awards given out in various categories. Evaluation will be based on the level of engagement of each team. GIST is not easy. Do not expect too much. You are only travelling for a short time, with assigned travel-mates, with (very!) limited language skills to rather remote areas in China (see map above). The more we can share information and support one another the greater both the collective and individual learning will be. The competitive side can be fun but the core idea behind the GIST model is cooperation. Cooperative Inquiry GIST is a shared learning activity which involves a high level of cooperation. Cooperative inquiry involves a participatory worldview which focuses on team members identifying how their experiences and learnings are interconnected with each other. This method cycles through reflection and action in the following manner: o o o o agree on focused questions for guiding individual and team observations; plan for data gathering and recording (see themes below) become fully immersed in the experience, deepen understanding of original premises, or moving into new fields, unpredicted action and creative insights during travel (be open to discovery) engage in action as co-subjects, while observing and recording processes and outcomes (experience and document, be on dance floor and balcony) reassemble to consider original propositions and questions in light of the experience (you will do this daily on the road, we will collectively do so in Hong Kong) Identifying core questions to start with can be a daunting task. We suggest you begin with some of the materials we have developed so far in the APLP and see where these lead you. Please find below a broad outline of some of the many themes from our first weeks together which you might interrogate in the field. 7

8 APLP Themes to Look For During Field Study Content Elements Competencies During the GIST experience participants will utilize and enhance a number of competencies. Competencies are abilities which can be taught but really only developed through actual experience and reflection. In China competencies will be tested and developed in reality not a classroom. GIST competencies include the following: conceive main investigation goals and desired outcomes strategize research and travel plans to achieve these goals lead in the face of the challenges of travel and research build teams in shifting environments and potential sources of stress problem-solve challenges which arise while on the road create new opportunities and understandings from travel bridge cultural differences within the team and in diverse locations observe and research in localities where information may not be abundant converse with people who are navigating national and personal change in China document and distill the experience of new locales and people engage and compare the nature of change across localities reflect and analyze through journaling and debriefing sessions navigate change Take the time to reflect see how you utilize these competencies, how they develop and where your strengths and challenges are to be found. Core Issues: What s Going On? Some specific issues we have discussed in class and which can be re-examined in the field are: 1. cultural change (e.g., convergence/divergence, consumerism, nationalism) 2. spatial change (e.g., urbanization, communications, transport) 3. demographics (e.g., one child policy/aging/generational theory) 4. human environment intersections (e.g., global issues like climate change to local pollution to the form of parks to energy and food issues) 5. economics (e.g., income equality, changing consumption patterns, economic cycles, evidence of the financial crisis) 6. politics (e.g., evidence of the role of the party, legitimacy, China s global role) 7. social form (e.g., family size, minority groups, types of organization, civil society) The G9 Issues As you travel through China you will have a chance to reflect on the three focal issues for the future raised by the G9 cohort in the first weeks of the term. These are: a) resource scarcities (especially water) b) trends towards equity and inequity c) social forms (at all scales) fragmenting or becoming more cooperative 8

9 Please pay special attention to these G9 issues. We will further develop your ideas in the weeks after China. It will be very useful to look for concrete examples of the patterns your thinking led us to. Futures The main over-arching theme for the China Field Study is what we can learn about possible futures from China. In the APLP we believe leadership and navigating change is about understanding and engaging multiple possible futures. As discussed in class, these futures unfold in differing time frames. Futures as They Emerge (Immediate) The first time frame is the immediate. It is the frame of the futures which unfold around us and how we react to and affect the flow of events (i.e., the future as it emerges). Traveling is very much about this level of immediacy. Travel is full of unexpected challenges and opportunities. Navigating this level of change is an important leadership attribute and feature of GIST. We suggest you aim to find flow. Flow in this sense means you are not struggling to get through a list of sites or photo-opportunities but seeing where your investigations lead you. The second law of GIST is that slow makes flow. GIST is premised on the idea that there are benefits to taking the opportunity to spend more time then you might otherwise in a given location in order to perhaps get new insights. See the town, village or fields at different times of the day; learn about the stories of a small corner of China. If you spend all your time on the move, much of your day will be spent organizing travel and other issues. In the adaptive leadership sense sometimes the business of travel (keeping moving) can be a form of avoidance (i.e. focusing on technical issues). Futures We Might Plan For (Near Futures) A second time frame is the near future (up to say 10 years). This is the time frame of patterns of change we can partially gauge and provides the context for individual and organizational strategies. The near future is a major arena for navigating change. Visiting China presents a special opportunity to understand this time frame of change. China is a cauldron of change. Few societies have ever had to adapt to change as rapidly as China has over the past decades. What changes do the next ten years hold? No matter how optimistic or pessimistic one is about China s rise, China will for sure greatly affect and reflect future global trends. The China GIST affords you a unique opportunity to gauge how the medium term future might unfold. Futures We Can Imagine (Preferred Futures) The third frame is past the realm of forecast. This frame is the longer future (say out to 35 years). It is also the realm of imagined and/or preferred futures. What type of world can we imagine? What type of world can we build? This last futures realm brings one to the idea of hope. The China Field Study affords you an opportunity to engage the hopes of the diverse people you will meet. Where possible ask the people you meet about 9

10 what their preferred future looks like and whether they see it as likely to unfold. How much leadership do the people you meet feel they have in navigating and shaping their preferred future? What sort of leadership might this take? As you travel through China also take time to reflect on your own preferred futures (personally, for your community, and the wider world). What do you hope for? Travel can free your mind for such an exploration. The theme of hope will connect with work we will do when we get back to Honolulu. Adaptive Leadership Adaptive Challenges Adaptive leadership involves mobilizing people to make progress on their most difficult challenges. Adaptive challenges are often highly complex. Solutions are not known, implementation requires learning and change, and no single entity has the authority to impose a solution on other stakeholders. The most common error is to apply technical solutions to adaptive challenges. This treats symptoms but not causes. Adaptive change involves discomfort and disequilibrium, even to those not directly involved. It requires people to move from a familiar but inadequate equilibrium (the present) through disequilibrium to a better equilibrium (the future). Looking for Adaptive Leadership Adaptive leadership depends on the capacity of individuals (in a wide variety of formal and informal positions) to skillfully intervene in complex systems. Authority is an important resource, but it is not the same as leadership. Persons in positions of formal authority may or may not be leaders. Where does leadership reside in China? What do you observe? As you travel through China look for examples of adaptive leadership (or the lack of same) in the places you visit and within your team. Questions As you travel through China, ask yourself: 1. What are the adaptive challenges that China is currently facing? Are these problems being treated with technical solutions or adaptive leadership? 2. Where is leadership located in China? Specifically, to what extent is adaptive leadership being practiced outside hierarchical systems of formal authority? 3. On a more personal level, that are the adaptive challenges your GIST team faces? Are you engaging these issues with technical solutions or adaptive leadership? Resilience Consider also the work we have done in class on the approaches to developing social resilience. Do you see these traits in the individual people or groups you meet? The approaches discussed include accepting small system failures, building communication channels and social capital through healthy networks, spurring ingenuity and innovation, 10

11 reflection and activating diversity. How resilient do the communities you visit seem to be? How resilient is your team? Why? Diversity A third theme of the APLP and of GIST is that of diversity (as opposed to variety) Diversity is the coalescence of difference into an interdependent whole, mutual contributions to shared welfare. Or put another way, how a society is different for each other rather than different from each other. GIST engages diversity in at least three ways. The Many Chinas A core reason for the GIST approach is to allow the group as a whole to experience the diversity of China but also to get some small level of depth in specific locales. What makes your place unique (but also how it fits in the wider context of China as a whole)? A successful GIST investigation will make the site you visit come alive and celebrate its uniqueness but also allow you to integrate wider visions of China. Traveling Through Diversity Also consider the diverse processes, challenges and joys of travel. You are traveling in a difficult country with diverse partners what can you take from each event good or bad? Travel does not need to be a series of highlights in order to yield valuable learning experiences. How can you integrate a variety of experiences into a wider understanding? Travelling, especially in teams, brings difference to the surface. Mostly this is positive; sometimes it is a challenge. The more you understand your GIST colleagues from their point of view (rather than your own), the easier it will be to travel together and support each other as a team. GIST is an excellent real-world opportunity to develop your ability to work within diverse teams and activate strengths. During the APLP coursework we have examined several dimensions of difference and the different filters we all bring to situations. These diverse lenses will come to the fore in the ways individuals see China as well as the challenges and opportunities of travel. In this light, we would like you to pay special attention to group diversity. The Enneagram is a framework that can be a powerful tool to help you understand different personality types, and perhaps more importantly, as a way to better understand yourself. It will assist in the objective of cooperative inquiry as outlined above. Building on class discussions, before departure we suggest you: Identify the Enneagram personalities of each GIST team member. Read about these individuals (see Enneagram Handout in "Filters week"). Pay particular attention to the difference between a normal, healthy self (on a good day) for a particular personality type and how this individual reacts when tired and under stress (on a bad day). Learn to recognize pertinent behaviors in yourself and your GIST team members. Internalize and activate this knowledge during GIST and throughout the Field Study. 11

12 Discuss this information with your team-mates for accuracy and relevance. Add new insights about your unique personality. Please also be sure to critically engage the Enneagram model. It is a useful guide to thinking about the ways people may react to given situations, but remember your colleagues are also more complex than a single profile might suggest. The Enneagram is a useful interpretive tool but not a prescription. As with all filters and frameworks of understanding, the Enneagram is a stepping-stone to engaged conversations about difference. Cultural Diversity Like personality, culture is another important filter through which we perceive and interpret the world. Social reality is culturally constructed and cross-culturally variable. This means travelers encounter cultural difference all the time. Culture is not just a gateway into different ways of living in the world, but a mirror to examine your own cultural beliefs. When on GIST in China, pay attention to how you react, positively or negatively, to cultural difference, especially alternatives meanings and ways of living, and ask yourself why you are responding this way. If meaning is ultimately arbitrary (as we discussed in class), on what basis can you make legitimate value judgments about other cultures? Sometimes encounters with cultural difference are uncomfortable. If you find yourself outside your comfort zone, take the time to reflect. Set out to understand the moment of difference from a local or indigenous point of you, not your own values and beliefs. Then hold up a mirror and ask why you are reacting the way you are in this particular situation. If culture consists of ways of thinking and behaving that are constantly emergent and in a state of being produced, then cultural differences are not fixed, insurmountable obstacles. Culture can be negotiated. Individuals and groups can find common ground. This requires deep interrogation of a particular culture in a specific time and place, so that cultural difference is fully acknowledged, realized, honored, and respected by all parties, and then subject to negotiation. Engage and enjoy this process. You will not have long enough for deep interrogation but you can encounter, negotiate and think about cultural difference. Networks As you experience China we would also like you to think about the fourth theme of the APLP: networks. You can think of these networks along the three dimensions we have discussed: people, ideas and causality. Social Networks (People) China is the home of guanxi and social networks are often identified as being especially important for understanding China. You will not be able to carry out a full network mapping exercise but you can consider the types of topics we have addressed. How important are social networks really? Can you actually find examples of guanxi? How are you accessing social networks (who are your entry points) and how does that affect your vision? How important is the CCP as a social, network? Can you identify distinctions in network types by the nature of participants (e.g., minorities, expats)? How 12

13 dense do the networks you engage appear? How important are strong or weak ties? Find the networks around you, how are they structured? Ideas As you travel you are creating an understanding of your new environments. How do you link each learning or idea together to form a whole? Take time each day to reflect on what you think you learned and/or observed and how this connects to other learnings of the trip and your existing world view (perhaps create a mind map, adding nodes as you go). If you can, consider the ways ideas are linked together by the people you meet. Do conversations follow a certain pattern? Are there certain truths (including hidden or unresolved truths) to which thinking frequently returns? What do you bring to the conversation? Events/Trends As you engage your locations consider the multiple causes of how they have come to be the way they are. Looking forward, what risks do these places face and what are the roots of exposure. How could one affect change? Consider also your own travels and travails (challenges) of the road. Had did they come to be? How could you manage your travelling more effectively (for example balancing risks and rewards)? Capturing the Whole: Sharing There are many themes listed above! There are too many for any one of us to capture. You will need to select which areas seem most pertinent to you personally and which seem for you to have the most acuity for interpreting the China you experience. You can start from the handy table below to help you frame your approach. Share your evolving foci with other G9 members, GIST team-mates and especially your Learning Group. Your focused consideration and documentation will provide rich content for debriefing discussions in Hong Kong and Honolulu. Snappy Table Selecto-theme Competencies Regional Core Issues **G9 Themes Futures -- Flow Futures --Change Futures --Hopes Adaptive Leadership -- China Adaptive Leadership Team Resilience Diversity -- China Diversity Your team Diversity -- Inter-cultures Networks -- People Networks -- Ideas Networks - Events ** Pay special attention to G9 themes: equity, fragmentation, and resource scarcity G9 China Field Study Expectations Codes of Travel While on the Field Study you are also part of the wider G9 and EWC community. All East-West Center, APLP and Field Study Codes of Conduct apply. Please take time to re-familiarize yourself with these. 13

14 Values to Travel By As a team we will rely on each other to ensure an effective and enjoyable trip for all. Past experiences have shown that the core APLP values are also important elements for effective travel. The APLP values are as follows. Consider how they affect travel. Inclusiveness: An openness to alternative views, extending support to others and appreciating diversity. Honesty: Maintaining personal integrity and earning the trust of others. Humility: Recognizing one's own weaknesses and the need to learn. Compassion: Valuing others and a concern for creating social good. Innovation: Creativity, risk taking and problem solving. Rigor: Attention to outcomes and pursuit of excellence. GIST Rules to Travel By The China Field Study, and especially GIST, is a unique opportunity. Engage your locale as fully as you can. Be sure to respect the peoples and environments where you will be traveling. Ask, before photographing individuals. Pay special attention to state security concerns in sensitive areas. If in doubt don t. On GIST each group should stay together and avoid spending more than the 35$ per person per day limit. Please note you are not doing actual field work or research: this would require official permission from national authorities. You are simply doing informed and engaged travel. If you have any questions about doing research please contact staff before the Field Study. This is crucial:we need partners, extensive preparation and official permissions to do any real research. Do not cross borders (e.g., into Burma) or go to unplanned or closed areas. GIST Communication All travel involves a certain amount of risk. During China GIST we will be in small teams in multiple locations, sometimes thousands of miles apart. Our goal is to maximize the educational opportunities that travel affords, while always placing health and safety first. To do this, we need to intentionally work together, support one another individually and as a group, and look out for everyone. Above all, we need to communicate. If anything is wrong, however minor, the APLP staff needs to know immediately. Item #3 of the Field Study Code of Conduct states: During GIST participants must check in with APLP staff daily, report any incidents or health issues, and maintain a personal journal of activities and reflections. It is expected that GIST teams will stay together as much as possible. Daily Check-Ins Text-messaging and/or calling designated APLP staff is mandatory at least once a day during GIST. This will be the primary mechanism to confirm that all is well for every GIST team in China. A check list will be maintained. Each GIST team will have a cellphone. It will not be acceptable to be offline or to run out of battery power/minutes we want and need to know you are okay. If you lose your charger, buying another one 14

15 must be a priority. If you lose your phone buy another one and contact us with the number. G9 is a talented traveling group (we promise not to talk too long). Chinese Language Assistance Should you need help communicating in Chinese in an emergency, call one of the APLP Feitian or Angels who are on stand-by to assist you. A list of telephone numbers will be distributed shortly after arrival in China. Please remember to use this service only when needed. In some locations (such as Honghe) we have access to excellent student translators at very reasonable prices this can really help with interaction! Costs Participants will need between 600$ and 750$ for the 21 days. During GIST you will be expected to keep your budget to 35$ per day (this is 140$ for a team of 4). There will also be an expensive final dinner in Hong Kong which will likely cost you over 75. Team Support This is critical. You are expected to remain together as much as possible. GIST is a team exercise and learning experience. Your team is also your best and most immediate support mechanism. Please look after each other. Health Matters Traveling can be tiring. Tired bodies get sick, especially in groups. We all have different energy thresholds. You know yourself best. The key is to exercise personal responsibility. Take care to look after and manage yourself, specifically to eat and sleep well, and refuel your mind and body as needed. Each GIST team has been provided with a medical kit to cover basic needs. Health insurance information will also been distributed, which includes major hospitals (although not necessarily in your area). Again, if anything is wrong, communicate with your GIST team and designated APLP staff immediately. A listing of health facilities and an outline of health procedures will be distributed shortly after arrival in China. You can also go to the following website Safety Matters Exercise common sense and good judgment at all times. Ask for and heed local advice in your area. Do not take unnecessary risks. In emergency, contact the local police. Health and safety are paramount throughout the China Field Study, including GIST. Please look out for and support each other, and communicate with APLP staff immediately. TRAVEL WELL 15