A unique style of cafe is coming to Inverell next week but it’s not exactly the type of café you’d think it is.
The Conflict Café is a unique social project that fosters healthy relationships and is coming to Australia, with Inverell as its pilot location for this initiative.
Set up as a café, the event allows people to come along and ‘taste’ practices to develop interpersonal skills, in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. People are invited to book in for an hour on their own, or with friends, work colleagues or family members.
An assortment of custom-made and accessible exercises to develop greater awareness of self and others in situations of conflict and collaboration is on offer, with participants leaving with practical activities they can use and share in community, work or family circles.
‘La Chicanerie’ as it is known in Canada and France, was created by social innovation cooperative Percolab and launched at FabCities Montreal, Canada in 2021. Regular events have been hosted in Montreal, and it is currently a public program at the Musée de la civilisation, Quebec.
“Normalising conflict is an essential key to building a more equitable and sustainable society,” said Percolab member and Inverell local Jane O’Brien.
“Through practices that support us to better understand relational conflict and collaboration, we can begin to see conflict as a gift – rather than something to be feared,” she said.
The activities are based on Percolab’s applied research, and have been used and refined in the organisation for the past 7 years in Australia, and 15 years internationally.
“We want to share the practices of our cooperative that have helped us establish healthy relationships and collaboration,” Ms O’Brien said.
The Percolab Coop team in Australia is now launching the initiative starting in Inverell then heading to the NSW South Coast town of Narooma, before arriving in Melbourne. The team of experienced facilitators will host the first Conflict Café on 17 April between 11am and 2.30pm at The Bower Collective, 56 Otho St in Inverell.
Bookings and further information is available at www.campfire.coop/conflict or by calling Jane O’Brien on 0458 255 232.
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