About The Festival of Listening 2025

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It is a joy to offer The Festival of Listening to you!  The idea of this first gathering was born from the belief that to heal and succeed, we need to truly listen, to be present, and to be able to show others that we are engaged.  This has long been the basis of the mediation and negotiation courses that the Society of Mediators presents and came into focus in 2024 during our work in Corfu, South Africa, the Caribbean and Europe.  We decided we would try to bring together some of the great leaders in listening, in mediation, restorative justice, and conflict resolution - internally and externally - to help guide those interested in finding greater awareness to new knowledge.  That started with us: we have invited the amazing facilitators listed on this page because we want to listen, love, and learn from them.  And we figured if we found them inspiring others would too!  So here we are - with a week of discourses, music, sessions, learning and skills workshops this week to help in building Deep Listening.  Thank you to everyone who has accepted and made this happen.  We look forward to welcoming you to Corfu.  

Tristana is the co-founder of the Festival of Listening.  At the heart of this Festival’s creation there is a vulnerable and deep desire to explore the complexity of human relating. I feel that listening is the thread that connects us all and can truly deepen our individual and collective relationships. Sadly we often fail at it. As Rachel Naomi Remen says, “A loving silence often has more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words”. Many of us didn’t have anyone showing us this precious feature of being human, we were perhaps invited to listen to what was said on the television but not to what we were saying to each other.. Slowly finding refuge and developing coping mechanisms that make it even more difficult to listen to one another, we are becoming a society that is not able to individually take responsibility for what we are creating. This festival is a manifestation of this desire, to connect, to understand, to evolve.

I worked as a Coach for the last 13 years expanding on Mindfulness and Tantra. Most recently I moved into Community and Employment Mediation ; helping people to move from a place of struggle to a place of freedom, I recently had the blessing of supporting The Society Of Mediators in an extraordinary Restorative Justice project involving members of Alexandra’s township in Johannesburg, South Africa, a project that brought the universal tools of mediation to Social Workers, Lawyers and members of the community who want to be catalysts for change.  

 Jonathan has for more than 25 years played a leading role in conflict resolution through what became known as non-violent communication, and is an award-winning mediator accepted as an international thought-leader.  Co-founder of the Festival, and once a criminal Judge Advocate, he relinquished the Navy's bench to work from India to Ireland, and Cape Town to Corfu: his special teaching of mediation and Restorative Justice is iconic - as is his commitment to directing the flow of the Society's Faculty.  Founder of the UK's Civil Mediation Council and later of the Society of Mediators charity, he continues to develop ideas that inspire, motivate and change dispute resolution.   Jonathan is a member of the Council for Non-Violent Communication and presents workshops around the world.  Still crazy after all these years, he relishes learning and so the chance to join the Festival was irresistible.  He will lead five Festival sessions, including a live Masterclass, three CPD workshops, and an RJ workshop featuring Listening to Crime with a remarkable  international input. 

Ruby May is an edge-dwelling, truth-seeking creative visionary, community leader and facilitator, whose work weaves together relational intelligence, feminine stewardship and embodied activism. With a background of working with intimacy, sexuality and shadow work and facilitating workshops internationally, her interest in feminine leadership and collective shadows around power was catalysed by a period working as a professional dominatrix. In 2018, she founded Know Your Flow, an online education and membership program bringing together an international network of women exploring body literacy, cycle awareness, leadership and cultural reimagination,  as well as co-founded Sensing the Change, an initiative bringing together somatic practitioners and political activists. 
She currently works as a certified body-oriented coach, is the community leader for Red School, the largest school of embodied feminine spirituality in the world, and is co-founder of SABIA, an initiative that supports women to navigate menopause as a rite of passage.  
Known for her gentle, authentic and embodied approach to speaking and facilitating, Ruby believes that no amount of political strategy will be as powerful as re-learning collectively to befriend our bodies. The more we experience ourselves as ‘being’ a body, rather than ‘having’ a body, the more we come out of a power-over relationship to life and into a sense of kinship and interconnection with the world and each other. Ruby will lead two sessions including a keynote workshop on Artificial Intimacy.

 John Thompson co-founded Circling Europe, the organisation most behind Circling spreading the world this last decade. John is also an Integral Master Coach and a Master NARM Facilitator. He originated the 5 principles of Circling and Surrendered Leadership and has trained and certified hundreds of Circling facilitators. He's worked with world class leaders in AI, Collective Intelligence, Sport and business and developed Circling Coaching training.  John ran an elite tennis academy based on Integral Philosophy, authored award winning papers personal development, and started an internationally famous project for street children in Delhi. John’s kindness and empathy are equal to his fierce heart and his passion to uncover what's most important.  John will lead five session on Transformational Connections. 

Unique and inspiring, Ruby Sandhu is Chair of the Society of Mediators and has been a mediator for more than 15 years.  A recovering international lawyer, Ruby is a decades-long ethical vegan whose passion is as an accredited mediator and facilitator.  Her legal expertise is in developing and emerging countries with long  expertise in sustainability and animal law. Ruby specialises in mediating international community disputes, for example in Eritrea, and her approach to  listening in mediation is marked by sensitivity, empathy and empowerment. An authentic communicator, she leverages this to facilitate dialogue and build trust.  Ruby is committed to advancing access to justice and has dedicated years to pro-bono work in the UK being Vice-Chair of the  Solicitors International Human Rights Group, UNICEF Committees and  will Chair sessions this week.

With a voice for  broadcasting and a regular BBC Radio slot  offering thoughts for the day, Jeremy Lawrence has over 30 years’ experience in dispute resolution and is now a member of the Faculty of the Society of Mediators having completed formal accreditation as a Mediator in Civil disputes.  His passion for children's education led him to qualify  for the SEND Register as a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Mediator.  Jeremy fully embraces mediation is a completely confidential process where the participants agree to have a series of conversations looking to resolve their problem. Sometimes, these conversations will take place with all the participants together and 

for this Jeremy brings his unique experience and expertise to provide Faith Sensitive Mediations.   Jeremy will provide two sessions: on Listening to Peace and thoughts on Restorative Justice. 

Roula is an author, therapist, and charismatic speaker driven by a profound desire to support individuals in enhancing their lives. She delves into intersections of spiritual practice, creativity and everyday mindfulness, to see how these elements can foster personal awakening. This journey has been transformational not only for her clients but also for herself. Her approach incorporates a variety of modalities designed to help people reconnect with their authentic selves and uncover their personal truths. By integrating techniques from different healing traditions, she creates a holistic experience that addresses both physical and emotional aspects of well-being. This multifaceted process empowers individuals to explore their inner landscapes, fostering self-awareness and personal growth and creates a safe space for them to gain perspective on their challenges.  Her international presence allows her to connect with diverse groups, enriching her practice.   Roula will present a session on Listening to the Inner Child.

Based in Spain, Stuart is an inspirational mediator and trainer for family matters who is accredited by the Family Mediation Council (FMC) for family mediation and for general mediation by the CMC. He is a member of Resolution and the Society of Mediators. He is also a Professional Practice Consultant (PPC) and Legal Aid supervisor and a qualified trainer with a Diploma in Education & Training who delivers accredited training world-wide. A former Family Justice, Stuart works full time as a mediator in the UK and internationally. Recognised with a National Mediation Award in 2018 and 2024, Stuart has held leadership roles at The College of Mediators and now Resolution’s national committee for Legal Aid and Family Mediation. Stuart will lead five two-hour sessions Listening to Families in Conflict offering an introduction to the FMC foundation course in family mediation.

Arianna Benedetta was born in Italy in 1971, Libra rising Sagittarius. She grew up in the foggy north of Italy and managed it thanks to music and friends, moving to Switzerland for university, where she spent about 20 years and became half Swiss. Arianna studied European languages and literature, receiving my Bachelor of Arts Degree from Franklin College Switzerland and worked for 10 years in marketing, first fashion and then wellness industries. Arianna collaborated for three  years in the organization and sales of Tisana, the Swiss Natural Wellness Exhibition in Lugano, Ticin and  cooperated for one year with the Swiss magazine Mutamenti, where she published my interviews with Raimon Panikkar, Krishnananda and Amana Trobe.  Arianna will lead a major  evening discourse exploring how to listen to trauma. It wil be emotive and energising.  

Arianna is a certified counsellor, meditation teacher and family constellation facilitator with a solid experience as organizer of mindful and personal growth workshops and events.
Her passion and curiosity for human development have brought her to have an adventurous life travelling, living and working in different Countries in Europe, Hawaii and India.

She is Italian, currently living in Corfu, Greece, where she is the Director of a Meditation and Personal Growth Centre.  Arianna will lead a workshop on Wednesday taking us on a journey to listen to our intuition - our inner guide. 

Arillas is an amazing place - low rise, low stress, and high in the delights of a completely unspoilt corner of the island of Corfu, it is the perfect place for a family retreat.  We have planned the week so there are at least three free afternoons for fun on the beach or in the neighbourhood.  

Arillas (and little settlements like Agios Georgios and Sidari) is and are blessed with plenty of accommodation through booking.com or other sites, or get information through arillas.com - you are welcome to purchase daily tickets if a particular subject interests your family or guest, or you can bring them to dinner and the evening events including the musical events, subject to space.  Ask when you arrive or book in advance by emailing us at info@festivaloflistening.org