Your facilitator
Zahra Davidson is co-founder and Director of Enrol Yourself and this is her third Learning Marathon as both facilitator and participant.
Zahra is a learner experience designer with a background spanning service design, system innovation, social enterprise and visual communication. She is interested in participatory group experiences and the role of learning in reaching for sustainability. She is an affiliate at Forum for the Future where she has been working on the development of their School of System Change. Before that she was designing, communicating and delivering learning programmes at Year Here and Snook. She is a trained coach, member of the Coaching Association and co-organiser of the #LXDmeetup.
Zahra's first Learning Marathon explored the question 'in a future that requires us to be lifelong learners how can peer and self-led approaches play a role?'. She refined the Marathon programme and recruited a second peer group.
With the second peer group she asked 'can we learn to change ourselves before we seek to change the world?'. In response she developed a new habit of running, motivating herself by running in the shape of letters which gradually spelled out a message.
With her third group she would like to pose the question 'what can facilitation and performance learn from one another?', with a focus on developing her capability as a facilitator and supporting new peer groups to form in new regions.
"Zahra's unwavering commitment, dedication, curiosity and whole-hearted acceptance of everyone is inspiring."
- Belinda Boakye, 2017 participant
Applications are OPEN
Key dates for your diary:
What's the application process like?
The application process is simple. You tell us a bit about yourself and make a short proposal for the project you'll take on. You do this via the application form. If you're shortlisted you will have an interview with your facilitator over the phone.
Should you wait until the deadline to apply?
Ideally no. Your facilitator will be reviewing and interviewing throughout the application period, so don't sit on it. Remember we're looking for passion and commitment - not proposal writing skills.
What's the time commitment?
The guideline we give is that you will need to be able to commit 5+ hours per week. Some weeks it will be more, other weeks it may be less. Some of this time will be spent in Meetups and workshops, some of it will be self-initiated.
When do we Meetup?
Evening Meetups will be every other Tuesday 6 - 9.30pm at a variety of London locations.
What are we looking for?
Essential:
-
Commitment to a Learning Question that you will pursue as a self-led project.
-
Real interest in learning with and from a group of peers. You'll have deep listening skills and be able to work in collaboration, articulate your ideas and make them visible.
-
A proactive spirit. You come with lots of ideas and creative energy to make them a reality.
Desired:
-
We welcome applications from people of all ages, but we recommend a minimum of 3 years professional experience.
-
A strong network of contacts and colleagues that you're open to sharing with the group.
We also welcome applications from pairs or collaborators working on the same goal or project.
We'll be thinking about the range of skills and attributes that applicants will bring, looking for synergy between questions and aiming to connect you to peers who will multiply your learning.
What does it cost?
Peer-to-peer and self-led approaches lower the cost of learning, but the structures and facilitation which support your journey require time, energy and design. We have several options when it comes to fees and payments - to keep the Marathon as accessible as possible.
Fees: The graphic shows a rough cost breakdown.
-
Low - medium wage: £750 per participant
-
Medium - high wage or employer sponsored: £1050 per participant
Payment plans: Payments can be made in instalments or on a monthly scheme over 6 or 12 months if preferred.
Bursaries and trades: We know that for some people the cost of learning is completely prohibitive. We offer some bursaries in exchange for a donation of your skills and time. You can apply for a bursary within the regular application form.
Feel free to get in touch with questions or a request to chat about which option would be most suitable for you.
Finding a Learning Question
Whilst some applicants come with an existing question or project that they want to develop, others do not - and that is totally fine. You can download our learning goals tool to help you map what you'd like to achieve, and then refine this into a question that really motivates you. You can also sign up for a 30 minute phone call with your facilitator to discuss your learning goals directly.
What matters is finding a question that can act as a starting point. Questions tend to evolve along the way, this is all part of the learning process, so there is no need to get too hung up on finding the perfect question. When the Marathon kicks off there will be lots of opportunity to refine it.