Salisbury Centre Connections

A gently-held space for facilitators and event organisers to connect and collaborate at The Salisbury Centre

The social life of an event organiser or facilitator can be confusing.

On the one hand, you're surrounded by people. That's what your work is about - bringing people together, helping them learn, and guiding them through a group experience. It may seem that, because you create a sense of belonging for others, you also experience it.

And yet... many organisers, facilitators, and 1-to-1 practitioners we spoke with expressed a strong yearning for a like-minded community. It's not always easy to establish meaningful connections when you stand on the side, holding space for others.

Additionally, we heard that many are looking for collaborators to create events with.

As these needs to connect and co-create became known to us, we wanted to offer a space where they can be met. Let us introduce you to Salisbury Centre Connections - a gathering for those who host events and workshops at The Salisbury Centre and want to meet others who do the same!

Who is this for?

This gathering is meant for event organisers, facilitators, practitioners, and therapists, including:

• Long-time friends of The Salisbury Centre who have been hosting here for years
• Facilitators and practitioners who have more recently discovered this place
• Those who are thinking of running their events/practice in the Centre, but would like to meet the community first.

We hope that, no matter your history with The Salisbury Centre, we can help you meet our community of practitioners and organisers.

If you're unsure whether this is for you, email Marta at office@salisburycentre.org

What to expect?

In many ways, Salisbury Centre Connections will be what you make it to be. We intend to stay open to what's emerging in the room and respond to it.

That said, we will do our best to hold the space so that you come out of the event with:

• A deepened sense of connection to The Salisbury Centre and its community
• Feelings of inspiration and expansion about your work/events you organise
• At least one new idea for making your practice more meaningful, sustainable, and/or joyful
• A handful of connections with other event organisers that you genuinely want to develop
• Your need for meaningful conversations met.

What does that mean in practical terms?

We plan to dedicate the first half of our time together to getting to know each other by playing some connection games with you. There will be a short refreshment break in the middle. The section after will be dedicated to dreaming up new event ideas and finding potential collaborators.

A better chunk of our time together will be structured and facilitated. However, we also factored in some time for organic conversations towards the end.

If you have any questions about what to expect, please email Marta at office@salisburycentre.org

A note on financial contributions

Charging for community events like this can be tricky. On the one hand, we want to make them as accessible as possible. But as we're a charity with limited funds, we also want to make sure that they support the Centre and our facilitators financially.

We're starting this gathering as a donation-based event. This is an act of trust that you can assess your ability to contribute more accurately than we ever could. We hope that this also improves equitable access for all and provides a more fully representative group.

We also invite you to consider that by putting money towards it, you are self-signalling that this event is valuable to you. Maybe this will make it more likely that you get more out of it!

Currently, there are three tiers of a suggested donation for this event:

£20 - subsidised/low-income spot

£30 - sustainable spot covering the costs and facilitator remuneration

£40 - pay-it-forward spot to contribute towards someone else's subsidised spot.

We want to see how this model and pricing work for you and for us, and may make adjustments if needed for future events.

Automatic refunds will be issued up to 7 days before the event - please request via Eventbrite. After that, refunds may only be made at the organisers' discretion.

If you have any questions about this or can't afford a donation, please email Marta at office@salisburycentre.org. We want to make sure that finances are not a barrier to attending.

Time, venue, and accessibility

Salisbury Centre Connections will happen on various dates - the first one on Saturday, 25th April, 10:00 - 13:00.

Please arrive from 9:45 to ensure you have enough time to settle, and that we can start promptly.

The Studio (where the event will take place) is upstairs and not fully wheelchair accessible. However, we now have a chairlift that allows wheelchair users to come up without their wheelchairs.

If you will need to use the chairlift (or have other access requirements), please let us know in advance by emailing Marta at office@salisburycentre.org

The Salisbury Centre’s kitchen door and toilet are now wheelchair accessible. The Garden can also be accessed by wheelchairs via a movable ramp via the Art Room Annex.

If relevant, please fill in this PEEP template and share it with the organisers.

For more access and transport information, please check The Salisbury Centre website.

Who will be holding the space?

Richard and Marta met in the Authentic Connection Group at The Salisbury Centre and have been collaborating, learning, and growing together ever since. Here's a brief bio from both of them - including who they are to each other.

Richard Payne

I have worked in the NHS for 30+ years in a range of roles, including outpatient reception, finance, and (since 2001) as a Clinical Psychologist and (since 2006) also as a Clinical Tutor. I am married and have two adult children.

I have always believed in the overlap between personal and professional development, benefiting from my own personal therapy and, more recently, engagement with men’s groups through The Male Journey and The Mankind Project.

Meeting, getting to know, and working with Marta has enabled an opening and a flourishing for me in various ways. It has enabled me to be more creative and playful, to experiment more, and to be more open to self and others. I believe our differences (including age, gender, first languages, countries of birth, and work contexts) are key strengths to our relationship - differences that are able to be welcomed in the context of shared values of creating a brave, safe space within which we grow separately and together.

Salisbury Centre Connections is concrete fruit (if fruit can be concrete) of our relationship - and my hope is that we are able to bring our presence to your presence, and in the process magic and growth will happen for all.

Marta Brzosko

I've been facilitating connection events and courses in Edinburgh and online since 2020. I work as an Office Administrator at The Salisbury Centre, and I am currently training as a Transformative Conflict Facilitator.

My approach is informed by Buddhist philosophy, mindfulness & compassion, and looking for balance between the individual and collective motivations. You can read my musings on these (and other!) topics in my newsletter Connection Hub.

Knowing Richard has shown me a different way of connecting and collaborating. Most of my life, I attempted to draw a firm line between my "personal" and "professional" life. These days, it feels much more possible to see them as two sides of the same coin: a well-integrated life founded in meaningful relationships.

I'm hoping that the way Richard and I have come to relate to each other will radiate into Salisbury Centre Connections. I would like to make it possible for you to experience what has become possible for us.