Shapeshifting into the future: from the Mabinogion to Dartmoor

A speaker talk, a shared dinner, and a whole-group discussion—all offered as a gift

6.30pm: arrivals 
7–8pm: session with Alan Swindell
8pm: dinner
8.45–9.30pm: whole-group discussion

Event description

Shapeshifting. It’s the ability to change and adapt, especially in times of crisis—and often in unexpected ways. An ability that can take us to remarkable places, within and without. An ability that should be at the heart of all our interactions, and most especially at the heart of education. An ability, above all, that’s needed now as never before. 

Because the inability to change and respond can be catastrophic. Its absence is the root cause of polarisation and intolerance.

Shapeshifting is at the heart of all storytelling, and nowhere more so than in Celtic myths and legends. So in this evening’s exploration with educator and rewilder Alan Swindell, we’ll enter the mode of shapeshifting through a tale from the Mabinogion. In our shapeshifted state, we’ll consider conditions in our present day, from road rage to polarisation to the future of our local earth-in-microcosm: Dartmoor. Along the way, we’ll consider how imagination can be a stepping-stone to intuition and inspiration.

“Shapeshifting into the future” aims to help us reflect on our own relationship to change and our willingness to imagine the impossible, as we try to shape a better world.