Traustur Kjarni Board Retreat for Social Change

We always take on projects that deeply resonate with us, where we can bring together arts, experiential learning and human connections. We care deeply about working on initiatives we believe in, where our energy feels purposeful and where we can hopefully create a real impact along the way. 

Most recently, Geoffrey and I had the joy of organizing and facilitating a weekend city-retreat for the board of Traustur Kjarni. 

The retreat was designed to help them connect as a team, strengthen alignment with Traustur Kjarni’s social change mission, and better understand how each person’s strengths, passions, and wonderfully unique quirks contribute to the bigger picture.

Throughout the retreat, we moved between playful activities and surprisingly deep reflection. Our participants painted memories from different stages of their lives, explored blind spots and strengths through the Johari Window, and repeatedly asked each other the simple question: Why are you on the board of Traustur Kjarni? By the fifth “why,” most answers had moved into core values, lived experiences, and personal hopes for change.

There was also plenty of dreaming involved. Using a method inspired by Dragon Dreaming, participants imagined projects they would love to bring to life within the organization and transformed them into a shared dream they could all join in. They explored their mission in the wider ecosystem of social change. They explored Traustur Kjarni’s place within the wider ecosystem of social change, reflected on the different change-maker roles they naturally embody, and discussed what each person already contributes, and also the roles they might grow into in the future. 

In the imaginary land of Luminaris, participants navigated quests together in assigned roles. Somewhere between strategy, storytelling, and playful chaos, a lot of learning happened, about communication, cooperation, and team dynamics. And dreams started to turn into reality. Through a guided process, the board members' individual visions converged into a shared dream, resulting in a unified project.

By the end of the retreat, a clearer sense of direction emerged in the team. There was stronger trust, deeper understanding, and connectedness. A small but powerful reminder of what can happen when people are willing to show up wholeheartedly for something bigger than themselves.