Peer-support amplifying networks

In a nutshell

Wasan Network is a global network of social impact and philanthropy practitioners who believe that relationships sit at the center of social change. Between 2024-2025 Wasan Network partnered with Huddlecraft to bring eight Huddles to their community, spanning across six themes. 

An experiment in Huddles as a complementary organising structure, we tested how network members might deepen their learning on some of the core inquiries within the network, whilst growing even more of a relationship-centred, collaborative culture in how the group learns together.

Purpose

The spark for seeding the Huddles was to create deeper connections across the network, and to nurture spaces for progress to be made on themes and questions that felt most alive for the network. Value was also identified in intentionally building hosting, facilitation and P2P learning capacity within the community.

There were six themes that the eight Huddles convened around, all speaking to different aspects of the Network’s core enquiries. The questions that were held included ‘what’s possible when we value relational work at the heart of our systems?’ and ‘how might communities hold space for conflict, tension, division and grief?’

Peers 

Members of the network applied to become Huddle Hosts. We were recruited and they engaged in two training sessions. Hosts met periodically in their own small peer support groups. 

A call went out to the wider Wasan network to seek participation in the Huddles. 117 applications to join the Huddles were received in response to the call out.

Network members are people who study, practice or lead collaborative approaches to social change. Members are predominantly based across Europe, Canada and the Americas.