Listening in order to flourish together
On October 1st, we held the second of the Generative Conversations of the fourth edition of Incluir para Crecer – Festival of Inclusive Economy.
After exploring biodiversity as an essential condition for life, we came together to deepen another equally important question:
What conditions make it possible for people, communities, and ecosystems to flourish together?
The conversation was facilitated by Tania Ramírez (Uruguay) and featured Sonia Laura Mora (Argentina), Hugues Sygney (United States/Brazil), and Andrea Carolina Pérez (Venezuela/Uruguay) as panelists. More than 70 people from different countries participated, creating a diverse and vibrant ecosystem of conversation.
We arrived to listen
At the beginning of the gathering, participants were invited to reflect on a simple question:
What intention am I bringing to this space?
The answers reflected a community arriving with the desire to listen, learn, grow, and build together.
Words such as these emerged:
- connection
- healing
- inclusion
- community
- learning
- curiosity
- coherence
- growth
- love
- respect
- deep listening
Coexistence begins in relationships
During the opening, Mercedes Viola revisited the journey the Festival has been building, from the Community Imagination activation to the Companies Co-Creating Futures gathering and the previous conversation on Biodiversity.
One idea that had strongly resonated weeks before reappeared:
Life flourishes through differences and through the relationships that exist among them.
And so did a thought-provoking question:
What if, in addition to a climate crisis, we are also experiencing a crisis of relationships?
From there, the conversation unfolded.
Stories that build bridges
The journeys shared by the panelists were very different, yet connected by a common thread: the search for dignity, community, and transformation.
From Argentina, Sonia Laura Mora spoke about her work facilitating dialogue circles with incarcerated people. There she discovered something that profoundly transformed her understanding of justice: Deep listening heals and transforms.
From Uruguay, Andrea Carolina Pérez shared her experience as a person with autism and as a migrant, describing how she often inhabited spaces that were not designed with people like her in mind. Her reflection highlighted a powerful idea: When we create accessible spaces for some people, we end up improving life for everyone.
From Haiti, Brazil, and the United States, Hugues Sygney shared a journey deeply connected to community, racial justice, and regenerative leadership. He spoke about the importance of acting with purpose, listening to those who are often invisible, and continually asking: What impact did I have today?
Relationships take time
One idea appeared repeatedly throughout the conversation.
We live in a world shaped by speed, productivity, and urgency. In response, several speakers emphasized the need to recover practices that may seem simple, but today are deeply transformative:
- pausing
- listening
- paying attention
- sustaining difficult conversations
- building trust
Sonia Laura Mora offered a concrete invitation:
Listen to another person for five minutes without interrupting, advising, or trying to change them. Simply listen.
A simple proposal that generated a strong collective resonance.
What remained resonating
During the reflection moments, several themes echoed across countries and experiences.
People spoke of:
- the feeling of being accompanied
- the importance of listening from the heart
- the power of connection
- the need to work collectively
- the search for others with whom to build
- the importance of creating spaces where we can truly be ourselves
Many participants expressed something that appeared again and again: We do not want to keep walking alone. We need other people.
The conversation continues
The conversation closed with a shared feeling:
- Deep transformations do not necessarily begin in large institutions or major decisions.
- They begin in the way we listen to one another.
- In how we build trust.
- In how we recognize one another.
- In how we create spaces where everyone can show up fully.
- Wellbeing is not only an individual matter; it is a collective practice.
TO COEXIST IS TO LEARN HOW TO FLOURISH TOGETHER.
A poem to close
As in other Festival gatherings, the closing was accompanied by an emergent poetic harvest created by Maite Moreno Ugartemendia, who wove together the invisible threads that emerged throughout the conversation.
Among the verses appeared images that captured much of what was experienced.
Emergent poetic harvest created during the gathering – Maite Moreno Ugartemendia.
