PW_4_2020

Professional Development

Ground Control to Major Tome A writers seminar in virtual space Ulrike Neuhoff (IBZ Gimborn) and David Lewis (Scarborough Branch & IPA Global Writers Forum) Names keep coming in, messages in the chatroom are popping up “Hi, Hi, Hi from cloudy Frankfurt!” “Welcome everybody.” “My reception is pretty bad, is it all my end?” “All fine here!” “Refresh, refresh your page!”

I t is 5:30 pm in Germany, 4.30 pm in the UK and 10:30 am for our American delegates. A bunch of people, passionate about writing, met online when IBZ Gimborn hosted the 2020 Writers Seminar Series. We found that delivering lectures via Webinar across the world was a complex initiative. David Lewis and Neil Hallam, the facilitators of last year’s week-long seminar at Schloss Gimborn, were in charge, navigating the growing group through the wonderful world of writing. We came from all walks of life and what bound us together was: a deep love for the written word, membership in a global organisation, and somehow or another, with a connection to policing. Neil Hallam started the series with a very much to the point lecture on writing for magazines. “Tell, tell and tell again” was his message in a nutshell. It encouraged a very disciplined approach. There was a student assignment at the end of each lecture, and everybody was invited to give it a go. Poetry, the novel, writer’s health, script & screen writing, publication and characterisation were among the many subjects covered. New members were brought into the IPA and fabulous new writers emerged. But how did this is all come about? With the pandemic, all of IBZ’s well laid plans, including our 2020 residential seminar for writers at Gimborn, had to be altered or abandoned. But each crisis holds the chance for something new. Lockdown did not bring IBZ to its knees, but inspired the team and their supporters to strike out in new directions. Among others it was David Lewis and Neil Hallam from the UK Writers SIG (Special Interest Group) who with great enthusiasm, supported Ulrike Neuhoff from IBZ in getting an online seminar for writers on its way. After plenty of test runs using the Eduquip webinar platform to get familiar with the new format, we kicked off. From 2nd of June to 30th of July the group came together on a weekly basis. David and Neil, supported by UK VP (Culture) Sean Hannigan, ran this productive seminar which attracted more and more potential writers.

David said of the series, “This was a bold adventure into the unknown for us all, and despite the technical challenges I really feel the seminar series was a great success. The feedback was tremendous, but the greatest thrill was to see the standard of submissions from the assignments: great poems being written by people who had never penned a verse in their lives, wonderful magazine articles on interesting, unique subjects, moving experiences from the world of policing and beyond. It was nothing like the experience of physically being at our spiritual home of Gimborn of course, but the ethos and philosophy of the schloss still shone brightly. A huge thank you to Ulrike, Rene and their team at IBZ for making it all happen.” All good things must come to an end, and at the end of July it was time to say goodbye. The virtual classroom closed but before the FINISH button was pressed messages from across Europe and the US flooded in: “Great Seminar, thanks all of you for your hard work. Hope to see you at Gimborn!” “I’ve only managed to participate in the last 3-4 online seminars and they’ve been excellent.” “ ...a HUGE thank you David, Neil and Sean.” “You’ve all given me loads of idea.” “‘Thanks all; learned so much from the webinars.” “‘Thank you everyone.” “Thanks René, Ulrike and team…I’ve been to Gimborn five times in the past…such an amazing place!” “Thank you all for your support. Hope to see you all in Gimborn.” “Thank you for your input.” “Thank you so much for allowing me to join in. I have learnt so much.” “A great deal of work from all of you moderators.” It is with great hope that we look into the uncertain future. Will we be able to see a Major Tome at Gimborn in April next year? Fingers crossed that PPE is no longer needed, and our virtual classroom becomes a great alternative to meeting together.

POLICE WORLD Vol 65 No.4, 2020

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