Bridge Leadership Engagement

Having built a reputation for using its Bridge Leadership programme to great success in building bridges between key leaders in workplaces, church settings, and geographical areas, Heartlines received funding from the Solidarity Fund to undertake a series of workshops in KZN and Gauteng to try to overcome divides between people in difficult and troubled communities in the wake of the July 2021 unrest. These workshops will be taking place between May and September 2022. 

People in leadership positions in 15 specified areas will attend a one-day Bridge peace-building event, where we will use tried-and-tested tools of story-sharing and facilitation to help the attendees form a common vision of a peaceful future. The aim is to bridge divides - particularly of race, ethnicity and gender, by focusing on relationship building through personal story telling. This has been shown to promote deeper understanding, empathy and trust. 

In our experience of this kind of work, we have come to understand the importance of follow-up after interventions. The primary follow-up will be in the form of a half-day session approximately two months after the first session. This will provide an opportunity for participants to re-engage as a group, to assess progress, to review commitments and accountabilities, and to deal with any blockages that may have emerged. 

Heartlines will be imparting skills and tools, as well as providing digital copies of our resources on What’s Your Story?, Fathers Matter and Values & Money that leaders can use in their communities going forward.