IN THE SPACE OF STUDY – notes on The Legacy Project and the 2017 IDOCDE Symposium

What is the best length for any individual contribution? How long before the viewer stops paying attention? How long before the viewer loses interest? In other words: How long before we loose the viewer to the speed, disappointment, distraction, lack of interest or motivation; i.e. the struggle of the every-day? How long before we loose the viewer to themselves?

With the new contribution to The Legacy Project old questions reappear and once again demand to be reexamined. This is not unexpected given that The Legacy Project is still in its formative phase. Every step taken to bring The Legacy Project together is a step taken as an opportunity for learning about the kind of parameters that will bring the best out of this project.

When The Legacy Project was first conceived, the contributors to the project were thoughtfully named ‘students.’ This was done for two reasons. Firstly, I, as the host of the project, wanted the person getting involved with The Legacy Project to be continually reminded of the fact that by getting themselves involved with the project, they were getting themselves involved with studying. This meant that they were accepting to leave the busy, eager, constantly moving world of the every-day and enter the slow-paced world of reflection, observation, contemplation. A world in which thoughts often move around in circles, fold onto themselves repeatedly, are the same before they are different… A world in which one thing makes a difference – the way of paying attention.

The other thing I wanted the contributors to be reminded of was that they were doing this primarily for themselves. For once they were students, not teachers – given that most IDOCDE users are professional pedagogues, teachers, communicators and responsible ‘passers on’ of knowledge.

When watching a contribution to The Legacy Project, I see in their content and their form an invitation to leave the pace of the every-day and enter the realm of study; I am inspired to become a student myself, watching, considering another student’s experience as a source of knowledge. I am inspired to pay attention. If and when I do so, I can learn from focus and the lack thereof. I can learn from sense and the lack thereof. I can learn from what I am being told and from what I am not being told. I can learn what I am hoping to learn and perhaps what I didn’t expect to learn any time soon.

My aim with The Legacy Project is to keep on affirming the space of study; the space combining high, sophisticated awareness and childlike, playful un-awareness in which every person gets to have the time to pay attention and in paying attention exercise the power of staying in charge of their own experience. Saying this I am aware that the space of study is not a tame space, not an easy space to be in. It asks for patience, personal motivation, and focus. Which are exactly the kind of qualities I see the need to nourish, maintain and celebrate in this day and age.

If you’d like to know more about The Legacy Project or perhaps want to contribute to The Legacy Project with the document of your own experience of learning a valuable lesson – please check information on the IDOCDE website (link) and/or contact pavle.heidler@idocde.net

And finally, ladies and gentlemen,

Team IDOCDE is proud to announce that the program for the 5th IDOCDE Symposium is now online. You can see it here! (link)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank every person who responded to our Call for Proposals. We’ve received the greatest number of responses to date, rich in both content and form. This should be regarded an achievement in it’s own right; an achievement which testifies of your interest to maintain the highest quality of the IDOCDE Symposium possible. Thank you!

Are you’re thinking of coming to the Symposium? There are a number of options regarding payment grades and registration for you to consider. Please check all the specifications here. (link) One option in particular that might be of interest is – The Lottery. The Lottery could win you a free entrance to the Symposium! In order to enter The Lottery, please go to the IDOCDE forum topic LOTTERY TO WIN FREE ACCESS TO 2017 IDOCDE SYMPOSIUM (link) and answer the following question: What do you expect from this year’s Symposium? (recommended length of answer: short, between 3 and 99 words) Entrance must be done before July 15th. Three winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Good luck!

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In closing, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.

I hope to move with you this summer, in the hot summer breeze, celebrating the days we’ve spent in the space of study, the IDOCDE Symposium – the space combining high, sophisticated awareness and childlike, playful un-awareness in which every person gets to have the time to pay attention and in paying attention exercise the power of staying in charge of their own experience.