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— By Gina Thomas, EANT Secretary and Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
Last year, 2011, saw an unprecedented number of applicants, and 2012 has held steady, with eight grants awarded in June. In this issue of TALK, we feature several past scholarship recipients to find out where they are now, after completing certification and embarking on their teaching and consulting projects in their home countries. SUZETTE FISCHER: SOUTH AFRICA Gina Thomas (GT): Do you have any current or future Enneagram projects you can tell us about?
GT: Can you share one of your favorite stories or most important moments about teaching or sharing the Enneagram? SF: One that really touched me was a pastor and his son. The pastor always thought something was wrong with his son. His son is quite emotional and the father could never understand all this emotions. His favorite line would be: “Cowboys don’t cry!” After realizing that he’s a Type 8and his son shows “Four-ish” behavior, the father shared that for the first time he could see his son’s gift, something that he does not have! His son is truly special, different and unique and he could look him in the eye, without wanting to change him and tell him that he loves him just the way he is!
IMOLA BURKHARDT: TRANSYLVANIA Gina Thomas: How are you using the Enneagram right now? Imola Burkhardt: I had my Enneagram certification in Bristol nearly three years ago, in October 2009. Since then I’ve been busy with getting started and exploring the possibilities of teaching the Enneagram in my region. I’ve conducted several introductory classes, followed on with typing interviews and study-group classes, and presented the system at different forums. I consider the past three years as time for experimenting and gaining practice. I learned a lot about things that worked, and learned about lots of challenges as well. For example, I’m still looking for my way out of the labyrinth of the bureaucracy I entered with my project of introducing the system to teachers. I was accepted at conferences and in formal meetings of school representatives, but I wasn’t given access to schools because the Enneagram is not officially acknowledged as a psychological system. GT: Tell us about the status of the Enneagram community in your country. IB: The Enneagram is poorly known in Transylvania within the Hungarian community I belong to. Occasionally (rarely) I hear about training offers to companies. I know that the Enneagram is better known in the local Jesuit community, but I have never heard them popularize it or talk about it in any ways. Also, it is not typical that psychologists know about the system – actually I have never met any of them who had more than a vague knowledge of its existence. There’s no sign that teachers in formal education know about it. As for the books, The Enneagram in Love and Work and The Essential Enneagram are still not translated to Hungarian. When I started off I had this huge energy to go and do it, to take the system to the people. I now understand that I can’t do everything alone, within a culture where attending personal development classes is still considered odd, where the income level is still too low for a regular class attendance and where I need to translate fragments myself from my favorite Enneagram books if I want to share relevant information about types. I now understand more about the challenges of this work and also about my inner challenges. Now that I’m about to restart teaching I want to do my best within the boundaries that I now accept. BISRATE MARKOS: ETHIOPIA Gina Thomas: How are you using the Enneagram right now?
GT: Do you have any current or future Enneagram projects you can tell us about? BM: Since completing the certification process my colleagues and I were focused on officially launching the Enneagram in Ethiopia, to be the first in Africa. We even finalize the initial processes of developing logo and proposals to establish the Enneagram Institute of Ethiopia (EIE), and applied for license, in the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Affairs. We have been following the issuance of our license regularly, but as we see it the process has taken more than a year due to some bureaucratic issues in the Ministries. But still we are focused and see it to the end. After we get the Enneagram license we will officially launch it, by inviting guests – our Master trainers from the Narrative Tradition and create an Enneagram community and a branch training institute in Ethiopia. This institute that will be one its kind for Ethiopia will provide not only trainings, but guidance and counseling sessions for youth, couples, most-at risk individuals, substance users. We will train and employ health officers in the Enneagram approaches and assist us in the institutes. Funds have been promised to us by some organization at the initial stages. My mid-term and future plan is to have a talk show in the national TV using Enneagram and counseling guiding people and relationships in informal and formal settings – like Oprah and Dr Phil. I think this is one of its kind and it’s planned to create better understanding and stronger ties among the multi-ethnic and ideological society of Ethiopia and eventually extending to Africa – using TV Africa -- a channel to be viewed by many Africans. We are very proud of all of our Scholarship recipients for bringing the Enneagram to communities that previously have had little to no exposure to the Enneagram, and for utilizing the Enneagram in innovative ways with new populations. Upcoming deadlines for scholarships are August 15 and November 15. If you are an Enneagram teacher and have a student who may meet the criteria for a Scholarship (criteria include financial need and a dedication to teaching/serving in non-profit communities or new populations), please direct them to the application for more information: In addition, if you are interested in serving on the Scholarship Committee, we are actively seeking new members to our team. Please contact the co-chairs, Gina Thomas and George Gordon at scholarships@enneagramassociation.org.
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Matt Ahren's Interview with Tara Brach Where Are They Now? Scholarship Recipient Updates by Gina Thomas Dallying Toward Destiny by Russell Burck
EANT/AET ONLINE SURVEY Find an Enneagram Learn about Enneagram See schedule of Enneagram workshops at Enneagram Worldwide Learn about our scholarship program for the Enneagram Intensive Available for purchase
Enneagram Association A Non-profit Association
BOARD OF DIRECTORS HONORARY CIRCLE TALK EDITOR WEBMASTER 2012 CONFERENCE CHAIR MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIP CO-CHAIRS TEACHER SUPPORT
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Thanks to the enthusiastic support from EANT members for the past dozen years, the Scholarship Program has been able to support over 60 individuals worldwide in pursuing training and certification as teachers in the Narrative Tradition. 
Suzette Fischer (SF): The Enneagram is still fairly unknown in South Africa, e.g. you will not be able to find an Enneagram book if you walk into a bookstore. The last two years I have seen a huge shift in awareness and more and more people are starting to talk about the Enneagram. I was approached earlier this year by the Auditor General of South Africa’s offices and have facilitated two workshops with them. I have 6 upcoming workshops and have been asked to do follow-up sessions as well as one-on-one consultations. It’s wonderful to see how the Enneagram is filtering through to our government, to help us understand each other, our differences and where we’re coming from!
The Centrum of Spirituality, part of the Dutch Reform Church in Cape Town, has asked me to teach the Enneagram in March 2013 to their pastors in Upington (Northern Cape Province). This Enneagram teaching will form part of a three-year-training program and they are planning to do this training for all 11 provinces in South Africa. I am also planning our first EPTP training next year in Pretoria, South Africa: March 1 - 6, 2013. This will not only be the first training in South Africa, but also the first EPTP in Africa! David Daniels and Peter O’Hanrahan are coming to facilitate.
Bisrate Markos: Since I am a consultant, I have introduced and integrated the Enneagram (gave it a one day session) in a number of training modules tailored to youth in high school and universities. in general the Enneagram has been introduced to the youth of Ethiopia in print materials (which is translated in Amharic, local official language), Training to various experts have been provided. A grant research is on the way to see the applicability of Enneagram in solving health and social problems in developing countries such as Ethiopia. To add to this currently I am doing my PHD in Psychology in the University of South Africa, and the title of my research is "Enneagram Personality Theory in Predicting Consistent Condom use among Female Sex Workers." The academicians have acknowledged my topic and I am preparing a proposal to gather funds for my study. The purpose of using Enneagram to assess such issues it to show the applicability of Enneagram in developing arenas such as Ethiopia. I believe it will be the first empirical finding carried out in a different culture and I am very enthusiastic to see the findings. (I will share the finding report official to the International Enneagram Community ones it is finalized – it will take two years.)
Gina Thomas MA, is a small-group facilitator, consultant and writer who has specialized in transformative education since 1999. Gina holds certification as an Enneagram teacher through ESNT, and is also qualified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) through the Association for Psychological Type. Her training in depth psychology and holistic health care infuses her work with the ability to bring to the surface underlying motivation and patterns within her students and clients. Gina is currently working toward her doctorate in psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also serves as Secretary of the EANT Board of Directors.
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