The Relational Cadre is a diverse group of humans who are invited to explore aspects of a central theme through the lens of Relational Cultural Theory (RCT). Using an unconference format, participants will be provided a prompt encompassing this year's theme—Caring—that will be discussed in small breakout groups, sharing those insights when returning to the larger group. Cadre members are encouraged to apply the theme to their own interests, expertise, and projects between sessions.
As we spend this year deeply considering the nature of caring and exposing ourselves to how caring and sometimes uncaring shows up in our professions, interests, and elsewhere, our hope is that Cadre members are able to bring their own skills, knowledge and abilities to share with others and connect RCT to the diversity of passions thriving in our community.
There is no requirement to have a pre-existing understanding of RCT. We are asking you to serve only with the knowledge, skills, and abilities you already have. That includes helping us translate RCT terminology into the language of your profession or passion, intentionally connecting RCT concepts to any relevant research and practices used in your field. We are hopeful you will be able to use RCT to gain new perspectives on challenges you or your organization are facing.
What We Ask Of You
- Attend five Cadre sessions in September-February. Each session is expected to run virtually one Friday a month from 4-6p Eastern.
- Help hold space for one of the Bloomington Center for Connection Progress Groups, which we hope will meet once per month as a working group. The purpose of a Progress Group is to further RCT understanding, or apply RCT in ongoing projects, centered around a particular area of focus: Cherishing, Gaming, Imagining, Learning, Communicating, Serving, or Believing.
What You Will Get From Us- Gain free admission to our annual Relational Summit on March 31 and April 1, 2023
- Enjoy your own set of RCT Toybox cards, capturing many of the concepts of RCT
- Learn and expand your understanding of Relational Cultural Theory
Please complete this application to reserve a spot in this 5-month collaborative program. Your experiences in this group will help guide how the Relational Cadre program evolves in the future.
