Valentine was born in Brazil to a mixed ethnic family and grew up in a community focused on spirituality, social activism, and living sustainably. She developed a passion for social justice and human development from an early age through conversations with her family and exposure to other cultures through travel. Valentine pursued degrees in International Relations and sustainable development to work with organizations addressing lack of infrastructure and poverty in developing nations. After graduating, she gained experience in India and Brazil with NGOs focused on microfinance, rural development, and connecting social leaders. Valentine has since worked as an independent consultant hosting conversations to enhance creativity and participation around the world.

1. My journey begins in Brazil, where I was born and raised in a family of manifold
ethnic roots: African, European and Native Brazilians. I grew up in an environment
that certainly influenced a lot in the paths I have chosen to take. My family has
offered me a world of deep connection, reflection and activism since very early in my
life. I was brought up in nature, where we would grow our own food, live in
community with other families, follow different spiritual practices, and learn about
social and environmental activism by following my parents and grandparents’
examples.
While growing up, I took part in conversations at the dinner table of my grandparents
about the state of the world, the shift in the paradigm of our times, and about our
own responsibility in making a difference. I also had the opportunity, since an early
age, to travel to different places of Brazil and abroad, which allowed me to have great
contact and understanding of other peoples and cultures.
Having lived in a country where the great majority of people do not complete their
primary studies, and are faced with the problems of lack of infrastructure, such as
water, sanitation and health, I have always felt the moral responsibility to make
choices that would benefit my people and others. Motivated by the idea of changing
the world, I decided to take a bachelor degree in International Relations. My aim was
to work with human development organizations that were participated in the
international agenda of the decision-making process. I wanted to work within
systems that held the power to change the macro structures of our society.
My years of university were then dedicated to studying sustainable development,
social work, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy, and to being an active leader in
student organizations, in which period I have helped creating film festivals, cultural
newsletters and UN models for my fellow students.
My professional career started in my last year of studies, when I joined the ABN
Amro Banco Real Bank, in the team of education and sustainable development. At
that juncture, it was the most important example of a private company working in the

2. field of sustainability in Brazil. There I helped design, host and facilitate workshops
about integrating sustainable development into the banking business. It was the first
time I had contact with approaches such as the Open Space Technology and the
circle, as practices of the Art of Hosting Conversations That Matter.
After graduating, I went to live and work in India for one year as an AIESEC trainee
at a grassroots NGO located in the Rajasthan, dedicated to rural development. Also in
India, I joined Planet Finance, an international NGO focused on building bridges
among microfinance institutions locally, regionally and internationally. More than an
amazing and very enriching professional experience, it was a life-changing experience
– as my grandfather would say: “a trip to India can change your life”. In India, I
learned more about our humanity, expressed in the oppressing misery in which many
people live, but which is also expressed in compassionate eyes and attitude these very
people have towards life. I also learned about chaos and order, and the infinite dance
that there is between them in the universe, so it can all actually work. It was a journey
into myself and into the world I had lived in. A journey that invited me to see beauty
in shit and in chaos, to love the unplanned, and to learn how to improvise and to
adapt, moreover, it invited me to reconnect with the ancient wisdom of the Eastern
world, and with the wisdom I carried within.
Back to Brazil, I joined the international NGO Ashoka – Innovators for the Public for
two years, as part of the team responsible for connecting and coordinating the social
leaders members of the Brazilian and Paraguayan fellowship. With this experience I
had the chance to interact and learn from incredible people who have pioneered in
the social scene proposing innovative solutions for problems that affected many
people’s lives. These were stories that inspired me to keep pursuing the changes I
wanted to make in the world with perseverance and passion. At Ashoka, I was able to
further develop my skills of designing and hosting strategic meetings and
conversations for groups.
At this point, I was already involved in the community of the Art of Hosting, having
participated in the first training and workshops in Brazil, and practicing it under
different circumstances. One of the best opportunities for practice was the Butterfly
Connection, a four-day program, which two friends and I designed to offer young
people a space for deep reflection and forserving the world with their talents and
strength. The Butterfly Connection was a special place in which I was able to put in
practice and explore my creativity and skills of hosting groups, and it was also a place
to learn about partnership and co-creation.
Since 2008 I have embraced my love and vocation for being in group hosting settings,
and responding to different calls around the world as a hostess for meaningful
conversations. I have been an independent consultant ever since, working in my own
company comConversa- in association with different partners, and in different places
- mostly focused on enhancing creativity, participatory leadership, and learning
within social organizations and communities. I have also been investing time in
participating in workshops, seminars, immersion programmes and trips. Some of the
highlights are: (1) a 15day stay in Zimbabwe in the Kufunda Learning Village, as part
of the hosting team for a 5-day Art of Participatory Leadership program for 30
leaders of local villages; (2) two long stays in the Axladitsa-Avatakia - Center for

3. Living Wholeness, participating in the Berkana Women Leadership retreat (in 2008)
and in the immersion program that encompassed workshops on The Art of Presence,
The Art of Protection and The Art of Meaning in Place.
In 2009 I embarked on an incredible journey that started as a 2-month-planned trip
to Denmark, France and Greece, and ended up as a 6-month-spirit-awakening
journey through the Middle East. Attracted by the power of the land, and by the
wisdom the region and its people have carried for centuries, I wandered through
Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon and Cyprus in a pilgrimage on my
own, connecting with and learning about different spiritual traditions and more .
There I sang and danced with Israeli soldiers as they kept me in the border check
point for 8 hours; sat in a storytelling circle with Kurdish men, and danced folk
dances with them. There I learned how music, dance, conversations, storytelling and
creativity are powerful ways of overcoming any mistrust or misunderstanding, to
truly meet in our “humanness” See video
In 2010, after being in Copenhagen for the Climate Change Summit, I came to
Holland to participate in the Authentic Leadership in Action (ALIA) Conference, and
to visit The Hub Amsterdam. Stars aligned in such a way that I soon met my now
husband, and was inspired to create a summer learning festival at the Hub. I moved
to Holland and ran the Hub Summer School for two months, setting up a model of
abundant exchange of knowledge and wisdom across the network of the Hub and
beyond, that is now being implemented for the third year in the Hubs in Brazil. The
Summer School NL was a self-organizing festival that featured workshops, talks and
cultural events about sustainability, social investment, social innovation and
community engagement.
With my home based in Amsterdam, and a committed heart to marriage and to my
calling to being in the world, my story of journeys, discoveries and hosting
participatory processes continued in South America, Mexico, Sweden and most
recently in the West of the US.
At the moment I am also working on a book, which tells the story of my life as the
story of my generation. Its purpose is to inspire and provoke other young and adult
people to live following their spirit and inner knowledge. It scares the hell out of me,
and yet, it feels like the one thing I need to be doing right now, so these and some
more stories can travel where they need to.
May the journey continue.
With much love,
Valentine Giraud-Robben