An introduction to the Center for Quality of Life
Burt Woolf
Founder and Chief Principal
Center for Quality of Life
I
started the Center for Quality of Life (C4QL) in 2003, following my
tenure as Executive Director of the Creative Education Foundation
(CEF). My intention over the years has been to attract and support a
collaborative community of professionals across many different service-oriented disciplines and helping
professions. In particular I have sought out those practitioners, managers and volunteers
who use
transformative education and learning technologies to advance a
quality-of-life context for their constituents and organizations.
C4QL has become a self-generating forum where people
can learn about, and apply quality-of-life strategies to their own
lives, to their teams, organizations, and communities, and to the world
around them. Our programs and services help people find greater meaning and purpose in their lives, and:
- gives focus to their vision of a better world;
- expands their leadership potential;
- helps them deal with stress, work-life balance, career re-invention;
- expands their creative and strategic capacities;
- rejuvenates their body, refreshes their mind, and renews their spirit; and
- motivates them to improve their performance and commitment to others.
The Center offers motivational presentations as
well as learning events (experiential workshops, seminars and retreats)
and travel programs. We also write articles for various professional
and trade publications. Please contact us to see how we can be of service to you, your organization or community.
Click here to visit the C4QL web site now.
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An introduction to Accelerated Consensus®
Burt Woolf
Creator
Accelerated Consensus Process
Accelerated Consensus is a facilitated process I designed to bring the many voices of "community" to bear on public sector improvement initiatives. I first developed the process in the late 1980's, after recognizing that citizens often want to be involved in the development of community projects (indeed, citizen participation is often mandated by public law), but rarely have the time or inclination to do so. Accelerated Consensus wraps state-of-the-art creative problem solving strategies and the psychology of group dynamics into an enjoyable, yet timely process that expedites public input and general agreement about priority issues and how they should be addressed.
Dozens of planning and
visioning projects, at the local, regional, state and national levels
have used Accelerated Consensus to engage their diverse constituencies in
identifying and addressing themes of concern associated with initiatives
relating to a host of quality-of-life topics:
- Education
- Health care
- Arts and humanities
- Environmental integrity and sustainability
- Economic opportunity
- Harmony among diverse peoples
- Transportation systems
- Recreation and sports
- Beauty of the natural and built environment.
The Accelerated Consensus web site includes a a complete explanation of the process, how it works, who uses it, and a list of projects and clients where the process has been proven to be effective.
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An introduction to World-for-World Travel
Burt Woolf
Tour Leader
World-for-World (W4W) Travel to Thailand
"Promoting global citizenship through compassionate service and cross-cultural immersion, in a context of sustainable travel and transformative learning"...
I conceived the idea for a service learning travel program to Thailand following my participation in 2007 and 2008 as a mentor in Power of One: Thailand,
a two-week cross-cultural educational travel program for teens. My daughter Lizzy was a student participant in Power of One both years,
and my son, Max was also a mentor in 2008.
Following the Power of
One 2008 program, and building on my many years as a tourism
development consultant, I was commissioned by the Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) to write an article on a new holistic approach to
sustainable tourism that I call Integrative Travel ("travel with a
higher purpose"). The article was published globally in May 2008 and
received significant attention among tourism development professionals,
especially in countries where rural tourism economies are just now
emerging into international markets.
I was encouraged by friends,
family and colleagues to organize a tour program for college-age
students and adult alumni that fulfills the vision of Integrative
Travel. And thus was born the idea to proceed with the World-for-World
Travel Program to Thailand.
In October 2008, I traveled to Thailand for a third time -- this time on my own -- to connect with the people and places that we will be visiting on the W4W tour to Thailand. During my visit, I addressed 54 members of the Thailand chapter of PATA on the topic of integrative travel. W4W is now planning for our inaugural tour in late 2009 or early 2010.
W4W fits perfectly with my personal mission and vision for a world where people are celebrating there passion to make a difference for a better world.
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