At this year’s Culture Converge conference in Lisbon, organised by European Network of Cultural Centres, of which we are a member, we facilitated a workshop titled ‘Where We Stand In-Between: Exploring Grey Zones in Cultural Democracy’.
The workshop explored dialogue as a form of civic and cultural resistance by using the Creative Tensions method. Participants positioned themselves along a spectrum between opposing yet valid viewpoints that reflect everyday dilemmas faced in cultural work. The session created a space to explore the ‘grey zones’ where trust, participation, and democratic resilience are negotiated, by engaging with different standpoints. Rather than seeking consensus, the workshop focused on what becomes possible through tension. Participants left the room with a transferable tool for fostering inclusive participation, ethical engagement, and long-term democratic renewal in complex social contexts.