Community Resolve

If ever there was a time to work on how to manage difference and divide, now must be it. 

Conflict is at the heart of our lives – at home, at work, across borders, located in our internal contradictions as much as in our day-to-day interactions with others. It is normal and cannot be avoided. Conflict itself is not the problem – it is how we engage with it that counts.

Hen and colleagues draw on 30 years experience to shape training and facilitation sessions that weave together the wisdom and insights of groups – no matter how diverse – to:

• ensure that all voices are heard and valued
• build skills to manage conflicting and contradictory viewpoints
• deepen connection and resilience across teams and organisations
• find a shared vision and approach that works for all.

‘That really was a fantastic session –
huge thanks on behalf of all the team.’   

Community Development team, Southwest, 2021

Who we are

Hen Wilkinson, MSc PhD
Before training as an accredited mediator in the 1990s, Hen had a full and varied work life in the public and private sectors, with extended stints as a Christmas postman; a chef in London and Paris; and as a journalist, writer and senior book editor. Since 2000, Hen has worked on ideas of how to creatively engage with conflict, difference and divide within teams, organisations and local communities. In 2001, this led to formation of Community Resolve, an innovative Bristol-based organisation that explored new ways of engaging with conflict across the city. Its impact went way beyond its size and continued to be an influence regionally, nationally and internationally before closing in 2021.

In 2020, Hen joined the Jean Golding Institute at the University of Bristol as a senior research associate (part time). Among Hen’s particular interests are bringing together different types of knowledge and insight, including practitioner and academic ideas and experience. As a bottom-up kind of a thinker, she has a deep respect for everyday wisdom as well as embracing the idea of a complex world and all that implies for how we respond to challenging times.  Her focus when working with individuals and groups lies in getting people to reflect on how they approach others, what they bring to each of their encounters, and what can be achieved when experiences and insights across difference are combined.

What people say about Hen

Our workshops and facilitated sessions, in the room and online, are interactive, highly engaging and draw on the experiences of the participants themselves. New ideas are presented and explored as a group through numerous exercises and reflection spaces, with all workshops shaped to meet the need of specific groups and clients.

‘Enjoyed the whole thing! Really interactive and although normally nervous in these sort of things, it felt really inclusive. Excited about the future.’ (2018)

If you have a team that is going through change, or facing difficult decisions, it can be extremely useful to have an outsider facilitator in the process, allowing everyone in the team to get fully involved in the discussion.

We have decades of experience in taking teams through these challenging conversations, resulting in clarity about a new direction with everyone on board.

‘Started the session feeling defensive, left feeling open and hopeful – interactive, fun, memorable, inspiring, colourful, clear’ (2019)

If you are interested in working with us in some way, please get in touch using this form. If you prefer to leave a phone number, we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.