Consultation

The art of consultation

Sharing the art of consultation

Since 1991, the Design et culture matérielle (DCM) project has been pursuing an active and successful collaboration with all Indigenous Nations of Quebec. Its entire team is committed to designing and testing innovative individual and collective development strategies that respect the diversity of First Peoples. Since 1999, La Boite Rouge VIF (La BRV) has joined DCM's mission to pursue this collaboration.

In 2016, following the leadership of Élisabeth Kaine with Denis Bellemare, Olivier Bergeron-Martel and Pierre De Coninck, La Boite Rouge VIF published Le petit guide de la grande concertation : création et transmission culturelle par et avec les communautés (The Little Guidebook on the Extensive Consultation. Cultural Creation and Transmission by and with Communities). As a comprehensive toolkit, this work is designed to facilitate the coherence of community’s driving forces within a common approach. It demonstrates that consultation is a think tank of shared knowledge. The Indigenous participants are, in a way, the active co-authors of this book because many methodologies have been developed and validated through extensive fieldwork. [... ]

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Promoting autonomy through culture

Promoting autonomy through the transmission of culture

The emancipation of a people, renewing its desire for autonomy, rests on many factors of which culture occupies a preponderant place. Through its affective and expressive aspects, it is the foundation on which any identity process is based. Encouraged and transmitted, it steps out from the shadows and leads the way to a new life. [... ]

 

Small actions of an extensive consultation

Meeting others

Consultation goes far beyond mere discussion; the latter does not guarantee that the proposed recommendations will be reflected in practice. Consultation is a commitment between two or more parties to achieve a mutually beneficial goal. But such a commitment does not come naturally. Each participant must act with sincerity and openness. They must recognize the necessary contribution of each person regarding the development of others whilst accepting that everyone plays an essential role in the development of others. They must also accept, just like his or her partners, the transformations that will come from this exercise. Consultation is a human experience, a collective learning process that has its doubts; it is developed with growing confidence as projects progress. It is a path mapped collectively with well-being and autonomy as the destination.