“How can we change the world, as a collective, using our talents?” This is one of the questions that teacher Virgílio Varela asks the Gulbenkian grantees during the programme “Grow Impact Together”. It is more than a training programme, “it is a journey through inspiring and innovative sessions that combine the best of collaborative methodologies for the creation of projects and autonomous communities with an impact.”

In these sessions, that gather 50 grantees from different fields, the participants will be able to experiment new approaches like Design Thinking, Open Space Technology, Non-violent communication, Dragon Dreaming and Storytelling that will contribute towards their personal development, the strengthening of their relationships with others and to accomplishing challenges with a positive impact on society.

The programme includes a total of seven bi-monthly sessions between February and May. During the first sessions, multidisciplinary teams will be created online to accomplish several missions and challenges based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which can be implemented locally or globally. Some of the sessions will include special guests who will share their inspiring stories.

This is another opportunity promoted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to increase the collective talent of its grantees’ network and increase their confidence as potential agents for change, but also to help them develop new skills for the creation of a community that can have an impact on society.

Virgílio Varela is a consultant and a certified trainer who has worked in countries like Portugal, Spain, Poland, Cape Verde, Latvia, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom. In his work, he integrates intuition, creativity, games, but also sustainability and critical thinking using transforming tools like Dragon Dreaming, ABCD, System Thinking, Design Thinking, Open Space Technology and Theory U. He has a master’s in Education from King’s College – University of London – and teaches intensive social entrepreneurship courses. He has also been developing solutions for the United Nations and the European Commission. He is the creator of the programme “Descobertas”, co-creator of the programme “Confiança Creativa”, author of “Inovadores Sociais” (for RTP África) and one of the founders of HumanFleet.