Over the first three days of Recrear Magnify 2015, participants were treated to a personal development retreat at Centre Tara. Located in the country side an hour away from Montreal, participants had to tap in to their consciousness to bring forth their gifts, vulnerability and stories to connect. This was a three day experience filled with great vegan food, yoga practice, meditation, team building exercises, singing, jumping into a lake and spending time truly reflecting on life and the future.
Upon our return to the city, we attended a Playback Theatre event, which left some of us somewhat confused on what exactly was going on! Playback Theatre is an original form of improvisational theatre in which audience or group members tell stories from their lives and watch them enacted on the spot.
Overall it was an interesting experience of Creativity, Skill and Interpretation of ordinary people’s lives.
Participants shared their stories verbally in some of the most defining moments of the first week. In addition to this and through the use of ‘selfie’ moments, stories were shared on the impact of journaling for one’s growth and reflection, as well as how to find one’s voice – even through vlogging (video blogging).
Participants were exposed to various media engagement platforms for research and youth engagement. They explored how to tell stories through video, how to capture concepts and share with audiences digitally, and how graphics can go beyond 1000 words in sharing stories of diversity.
Overall, the week saw the exploration of Development as we know it, from the buzzwords to the concept of profit making and principles of social good. The information shared from various partners provided opportunities for thought provoking discussions and a redefined sense of how to ‘do good’ in the world.
Dumi