Oasis Game

A number of people of the Perspectivity network are also involved in the Oasis Game.

The Oasis Game is a methodology to engage with communities in a participatory and fun way to help them realize their dreams. It’s about creating livable cities and communities, integration of many cultures, social cohesion, empowerment and participation. The methodology is developed by the Brazilian Elos Institute. Dutch partners are Fairground and FunUp.

The idea behind the name Oasis comes from history books: an oasis offers hope, refugee and stability for the tired traveler in the desert.  Our world is full of vast “deserts”: regions and communities where the vitality was destroyed both socially and/or environmentally. However, in these places, there are still inevitable points of light full of hope, beauty and joy. The Oasis Game has the intention of developing more of these points of light, be it by creating new ones or expanding what is already there. A community can work together in a cooperative, creative and quick way in order to build a modern Oasis: a physical space that promotes life, joy and restoration.

The methodology consists of seven steps:

1. Appreciative seeing

It begins with the pursuit and cultivation of an appreciative view of the community (group) and its environment in order to create a scenario of abundant resources and opportunities. In this step you indentify and value the presence and potential contribution of each person.

2. Affection

In this step you will experience the stimulus for emotional relationship between people - trust and the desire for mutual care - experiences that nourish and strengthen collectively work. The exercise of listening is an essential skill of this step.

3. The dream

In the dream stage it is necessary to create the space and relationship to allow for the expression of the best and deepest collective aspiration we all have. This step is about building a better image of what we would like to achieve, going beyond the common practice and identifying problems. The more genuine, deep and precious the dream, the more likely the entire community will support it.

4. Care

Joint construction requires careful planning of strategies and projects that widely achieve the expectations of a collective dream, answering the question of how to walk together while taking care of ourselves, others and a common dream.

5. The miracle

This is the moment of collective action strengthened by the group’s best qualities and abilities, revealing the abundance of resources within the community, confident in the emotional bonds that unite us and motivated by our wildest dreams.

6. Celebration

With the feeling of the miracle still fresh, after the day’s action, a gathering happens to share the joys of the joint effort and to recognize and celebrate the contribution of each in the collective achievement.

7. Re-evolution

The last step is consolidating the momentum for a new round of accomplishments by connecting networks of partners and the collective dream in a movement of expansion and transformation. It’s the time to think about the future. A time for harvesting the lessons learned and for planning future actions based on the initiative and autonomy of each community. All the energy mobilized and partners gained toward the achievement of new challenges. Using action network to transform.

An Oasis Game:

  • Stimulates and habilitates entrepreneurship and cooperation in groups and communities;
  • Promotes an appreciative gaze and broaden the capacity of each person to propose creative solutions for critical questions pertaining to the community of our neighborhood;
  • It brings a daily change of perception to our participants that it is possible to change the world without suffering; without compromising its liberty and autonomy and still make it in a pleasant way;   
  • Promotes the practice of human values such as: respect, compassion, cooperation, acceptance of differences and etc.;
  • Broadens the level of information about environmental sustainability strategies and construction;
  • Restores or builds a community dream, making it possible to be replicated.

The Oasis movement in Holland will be focusing on the spreading of the methodology in different communities and organizations. The hosting of training sessions and facilitation of Games will be the means of how to spread the ‘different way of thinking and acting’.

More information and activities can be found on the following websites:

http://oasisholland.ning.com or http://www.institutoelos.org.