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Atlin Community begins the building of future vision!

Atlin is one of British Columbia's best kept secrets. It is literally at the end of the road - a two hour detour off of the Alaska Highway. Very few people just stumble on this picturesque community that resides by the side of Atlin Lake. Most folks come to this region for the peace and tranquility it offers. However, the region has had a tumultuous history ranging back to the days when the gold rush was on. Since that time, those who have stayed have had to find ways to feed and house themselves and their families. Over the years this has not been easy given the boom and bust nature of the region's economy. Today, this challenge has resulted in a divided community and the dividing line is still related to how the environment should or should not be used. Lifestyle is an issue that cuts close to the bone for most folks who reside in this community.

While the community had spent a good deal of time focusing on their differences, some folks wanted the community to spend some time finding common ground. To this end, we were called in to run a two-day workshop that might help the community define its vision for the future. We decided to propose a Future Search Conference wherein representatives of the community's interest groups would spend two days considering future scenarios that would be put into both an historical and a global perspective. We wanted the diverse interest groups to be heard and to learn other ways of looking at the different perspectives within the community. The overall goal of the conference was to find common ground which could be used to define a future vision for the community.

Using self managed work groups, we spent the first day focusing on the past, present and future trends both globally and locally. We wanted to develop a shared understanding of the forces presently having an impact on the community and the things they were collectively 'glad' and 'sad' about their current reality in relationship to their future and to other stakeholders.

Building on this, we then asked the self-managed groups to identify their values and to imagine a future they would want to work towards. These ideal future scenarios were presented through skits, interviews, poems and letters to friends. The creativity brought laughter, tears - emotions that expressed the caring each community member had for Atlin. We were very moved by what each group offered and the response they received from the participants.

When the two-days were over, participants could not believe how good they felt about the community. They were amazed how easily they had listened to the differences without getting bogged down in the usual way. The following comments written comments we received at the end of the workshop describe the positive feeling almost all of the participants described during the closing session.

“Everyone in this room wants to see cooperation – Everyone wants economic and employment opportunities – I was pleasantly surprised".

"Great forum – very fair way of getting info known – no arguments, name calling – Everyone feeling positive – Facilitators did a fantastic job keeping people in line, on time, etc."

"Fast paced – Mentally challenging – Inclusive – Non-violent – Hands-on – Interactive – Enlightening – Exposure and understanding of where others are coming from – Change of positioning and approaches"

"This type of workshop demonstrates how a group with many issues and differences can work collectively and come to a meaningful consensus and peace of mind."

"Great process. I had heard a lot of ‘negative stuff’ around this and was worried in the beginning. – I will share this info on how positive it really is with the concerned people who were not in attendance today!"

When we left this beautiful rural community, I realized the community's strength lay in its diversity and I was pleased that many participants understood how this diversity could be used to bring the community together around a shared vision for the future. While no process can guarantee community harmony, the folks who attended the workshop experienced the strength of working together and they got a glimpse of what they could accomplish by taking this road.