Fleur Ravensbergen

“Fleur is een authentieke spreker die open staat voor haar publiek en haar publiek open laat staan voor situaties die voor hen grotendeels onbekend zijn én die tegelijkertijd enorm tot de verbeelding spreken. Als Fleur spreekt en in dialoog gaat is de tijd altijd te kort.”

"Castrum Peregrini organises its activities programme in thematic strands, shedding light on its history as a hiding place during WWII with regards to pressing issues of society today. In 2013 the programme with the title My Friend. My Enemy. My Society. addressed the role of friendship for freedom and culture. The activities embraced an exhibition, publications, theatre, lectures, debates and much more. Castrum Peregrini co-operates in these programme with many national and international partner. For a symposium about friendship in areas of conflict in the well-known Amsterdam centre for public debate Castrum Peregrini co-operated with The Prince Claus Funds and the Dialogue Advisory Group.

Castrum Peregrini was very privileged to have Fleur Ravenbergen as a speaker and panellist in this symposium. She gave a fascinating account of her work at the Dialogue Advisory Group that was both analytical and personally motivated, which made an abstract theme accessible for a broad audience. Fleur is a well-informed, thoroughly prepared and illusive speaker, sovereign in her appearance and careful in her formulations. The lecture was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Andrew Makkinga in which Fleur entered in a conversation with Aburedwan (Palestine) en George Ngwane (Cameroon). This conversation proved her experience in tuning into divers subjects, cultures and reference systems while maintaining a clear and distinct own voice.

We would like to recommend Fleur as a speaker beneficial for various audiences and I would also like to stress that we would invite Fleur at any suitable occasion in our own programme again."

“We asked Fleur to host an online leadership session about empathy, an important skill easily lost in times of online work and high pressure to deliver for leadership. Fleur's work context already had impact. How does empathy work in a surrounding of war and casualties. But her personal stories really helped to feel the value, even if people feel like your opposite, of empathy to move forward to find a solution. Thank you for an impactful session."

“Gisterenavond was ik bij een avond van &Connect waar Fleur Ravensbergen vertelde over haar ervaringen. Ik hing aan haar lippen. Kijken door de bril van de ander. Je vooroordelen parkeren. De ander als mens blijven zien ondanks dat je weet dat deze verschrikkelijke dingen gedaan heeft… echt verbinden en kunnen incasseren, om kunnen gaan met nuances, kleine successen boeken, veerkracht tonen, je grenzen kennen en voluit open een onderhandeling ingaan… begrijpen. En empathie. Oprechte empathie. Ik was stil van haar verhaal. Een verhaal dat tegelijkertijd ook zo actueel is.”

"Fleur Ravensbergen has been a guest lecturer over the past several years in the Masters Program in Conflict Resolution and Governance at the University of Amsterdam. We have come to depend on Fleur for an annual lecture on the topic of mediation in international settings. This occurs in a seminar on conflict resolution and governance practices at the domestic and international levels. Fleur has not disappointed us with regard to her generosity in taking the time to talk with students or in her ability to deliver an engaging and insightful talk.

One facet of Fleur’s succsss in these lectures is that she clearly knows her field. She has a solid command of the workings of mediation. This command means that Fleur is not tied to one approach to presenting the material. She is able to respond flexibly to the students’ interests as they vary from year to year and still ensure that the essential features of mediation practice come out and are discussed. The students walk away with a grasp of core features and a clear understanding of some additional ‘landmarks’ that they can use to make sense of other cases of mediation practice.

What sets Fleur’s sessions apart, however, is that she is able to convey to students the ‘view from the driver’s seat.’ She is confident enough to talk directly and candidly about her experience with mediation. Her willingness to share the moments of uncertainty when she did not know exactly what would happen or what to do gives students a feel for the way in which doubt and creativity are joined in these critical moments in practice. This insight helps students not only to advance their understanding of mediation, but also their grasp what it means to act effectively in setting of conflict that are marked by fear and doubt. I don’t know what could be more valuable for Masters students at this point in their development."

“I had the opportunity to listen to Fleur Ravensbergen speak at the Friendship and Conflict discussion hosted by De Balie in June of last year. The discussion topic was an original one and the three panel members approached the subject from varying angles. Coming from very different cultural backgrounds, the Filipino and Cameroonian speaker that preceded Fleur gave fascinating accounts of how friendship was perceived in the particular cultural (and conflict) contexts to which they each belonged. As someone from a peaceful European country addressing a sizable Dutch audience, it was a difficult act to follow.

But Fleur quickly got the audience's attention. In the confident yet unassuming tone and style that characterizes her, she skillfully drew in the audience by basing her presentation on her personal experiences with friendship and conflict. Her unique experiences in having to engage with violent individuals in places like the Congo proved both fascinating as well as highly entertaining for all of the audience. Her funny anecdotes on dealing with tough yet charming dissident Republican prisoners in Northern Ireland, in particular, were one specific highlight which everyone obviously enjoyed. Most importantly, Fleur proved skilled at drawing out the various challenges, tensions and dilemmas that a job such as ours entails. Presented in a clear, yet entertaining way, I thought she did an exceptional job at adjusting her speech to her specific audience. The talk was the perfect balance of intellectually challenging, personally-based and simply entertaining.

While I had worked closely with Fleur for over a year by that time, I had never seen her speak in public to a large audience. I was truly impressed. In our specific (and very small) field of work, most people involved don't have the ability to explain what we do to a wider audience. When they do it either sounds too informal or exaggeratedly grandoise. Fleur has managed to find the right tone and she presents it brilliantly. I hope that she has many further opportunities to share the unique experiences she has. I believe there is much to learn from the kind of work we do that is applicable to anyone irrespective of their work or background.”

“Fleur is de gastspreker die wij standaard uitnodigen, we weten namelijk dat het altijd een succes zal zijn. Fleur spreekt vanuit haar brede ervaring in verschillende complexe casussen in de wereld van conflict. Dit doet ze op een genuanceerde en vooral menselijke manier en ze verliest de complexiteit van de casussen nooit uit het oog. Fleur is empathisch, eerlijk en open waar mogelijk en verbloemt niets. Dit maakt haar zo'n overtuigende spreker, wiens verhalen je altijd bijblijven.“

“Fleur heeft een heel bijzonder verhaal maar is ook vooral een bijzondere vrouw. Om het goede in de mens te blijven zien ook al kan die persoon iets verschrikkelijks hebben gedaan is een ongelofelijk krachtig iets. Ze neemt je mee op haar reis en op een veilige plek beleef je de missies mee. Op het puntje van je stoel aandachtig luisteren gegarandeerd!”