Amplifying Youth-Led Change.

This is one of (7) overarching societal impact coalition themes that Unstitution is proactively targeting.

Each coalition theme is multi-layered and multi-faceted, catalyzing and building upon — in supportive synergistic ways — many initiatives that are already doing important work.

With overlapping synergies between and among us all, we can spawn wide and deep, connecting additional coalitions and initiatives — a pattern already underway and observed.

Unstitution’s own driving theme is a linchpin for the others. A reciprocal and symbiotic interdependence is at play. Multiple coalitions and initiatives, over time — and beyond our own work and lifetimes — will collectively contribute to rebooting society’s operating system. Activating an abundance mindset toward flourishing on a finite planet needs us all with gifts differing reconstituting the commons in a variety of ways.

The regenerative and resilient health of Unstitution, in turn, contributes to the integrity and resilience of all coalitions and initiatives within and across our nested and interconnected ecosystems.

Theme descriptions are not carved in stone. Since coalitions and initiatives spawn organically and by design, we’re always balancing strategy thinking with co-creative emergent learning. As people co-catalyze and engage, they will help to shape and adapt the trajectory in more granular and tangible context-based and place-sourced ways that bring it to life.

Overview…yeah it’s complex and complicated…but we gotta cut through…

There are many overlapping and layered issues, challenges and opportunities.

Young people will inherit the future.

They are the ones who will be around farther down the road.

They’ll be living with the consequences of all that came before, and all the possibilities that are realized — or not.

It’s only right and reasonable that they play a pivotal role crafting the new story, equipping themselves for the journey forward — engaging front and centre — sharing their voices, their experiences, their fears and their dreams.

We have much to learn from those who are young, who grew up in the digital age and see the world through fresh eyes.

The young have much to learn too, but current formal educational and learning systems are generally not designed for (trans)contextual experiences, awareness and skill-building that will prepare and support people for the tectonic changes underway in our world.

A cool opportunity actually…to experiment and amplify impact with:

🔮 Multimodal ways of learning

🔮 Building resilience

🔮 Building true community

We observe that many young people are already well aware of the encroaching crises affecting our planet.

Many already get Game Be…without needing to know the lingo and some of the conceptual underpinnings.

They are living it…or trying to…

Many are already making different choices about their life priorities, lifestyles and work focus.

Like many younger generations before, they are not buying into the old established societal conventions.

They are awake to the reality that the old paradigm is not working. They are looking for and pushing for alternatives.

The big difference now, as contrasted with earlier generations who rebelled or resisted, and adopted counter culture norms — the stakes are much higher.

This offers a living lab testing ground to help shape alternative learning ecosystems, engaging youth in real world problems in creative and fun ways.

Our Amplifying Youth-Led Change coalition theme brings a wide range of cross sector organizations, institutions and initiatives together, including:

🔮 Universities and colleges undertaking new curriculum building

🔮 Community projects anywhere in the world that support youth leadership, agency, learning and creative activation

🔮 Engaging youth in climate and regenerative/restoration development projects that incorporate creative arts and culture

🔮 Addressing the layered mental health challenges affecting youth such as loneliness, depression, apathy and eco-anxiety

🔮 Storymaking and storytelling

🔮 Building cross-generational collaboration

This coalition theme has synergistic links to our other overarching themes:

Linking to our Elementally Sustaining People & Planet: Earth, Fire, Water, Air coalition through -

Initiatives that fund and support a range of regenerative and sustainability initiatives towards positive impact on natural and built environments, community resilience and climate issues.

Linking to our Justice-Led Social Wellbeing coalition through -

Initiatives that fund and address poverty, marginalization, alternate ways of valuing differentiated contribution in society (e.g. the caring economy)

Linking to our Shifting Economics for Societal Value coalition through -

Developing, assessing, experimenting with alternative models for funding, value exchange and flows and rewarding positive regenerative sustainable impact and multi capitals/capacities

The afterthought that’s NOT an afterthought

Having recognized that Education and Learning and Arts and Culture are fundamental multimodal building blocks that can extend the reach, inspire, develop capabilities and foster social change — they are woven into all coalition themes and the functions that make up our Living Operating System.

We welcome people who are especially poised to enrich coalition work and help to embed and embody learning, culture and creativity — to participate.

Yeah…we know…sounds rather grand as described.

The good news…it’s underway. With 8 billion people on the planet, we gotta step it up in a variety of interconnected, tangible ways.

Together, working collaboratively — you and we can all be unstitutional.

Unstitution was birthed as a collective creative commons and nested ecosystem. We (co-)catalyze collaborative communities, initiatives and coalitions where people from across sectors, disciplines, cultures, generations and walks-of-life work together on mission critical issues. From readiness through to regenerative progress — moving beyond polarization — is how we roll. The links embedded throughout this article are a warm invitation to go a bit deeper, at any time. For more insights reflecting our ongoing journey, our suite of Unstitution articles are published on Medium. They portray a small sample of the ways we are adapting and contributing among ever-expanding commons-based communities and initiatives inspired and fuelled by citizens — perhaps better described as denizens — anywhere in the world — living into the principles and spirit that govern our collaborative work.

You can follow Unstitution and engage with us on LinkedIn.