Leading Societal Transformation in Climate and Nature
Four u.lab-S teams take on big questions in Australia, Canada, Italy, and the USA
In June, the Presencing Institute concluded its first annual delivery of u.lab-S: Societal Transformation, a global initiative in which 300 teams from 35 countries are simultaneously tackling social challenges using collective systems mapping and design processes. In July, we shared headlines from five teams leading transformative work.
This month, we feature four teams working under the acupuncture point of Climate and Nature, building economies and initiatives that work for people and nature. Check back for more stories about teams working across the globe on the acupuncture points of Capital, Education and Learning, Governance and Democracy, Land, and Technology.
Student Energy
Vancouver, Canada
Student Energy is a global non-profit empowering the next generation of energy leaders. During the course of u.lab-S the team of seven worked to develop the Student Energy Leaders Fellowship, a unique 10-month program designed to provide young people aged 18–30 with future work skills training, mentorship, core energy systems knowledge, and hands-on experience to accelerate the energy transition.
Building on Student Energy’s principles of supporting youth leadership and facilitating intergenerational collaboration, the Leaders Fellowship was created through consultations with Student Energy’s community of global student-led Chapters, Indigenous youth, and current leaders in the energy and climate change sector. The first cohort of 150 Leaders will begin their fellowship in January 2020 and will complete the 10-month online course while designing and launching a practicum project with a team of other participants.
I Live in Vaccarizzo
Vaccarizzo, Italy
A community of 500 people from Vaccarizzo di Montalto, a small borough in the south of Italy, have been engaged by the BRIT core team (two architects and one entrepreneur), powered by an extended team of 10 activists and other professionals, with a common target: the repopulation and regeneration of the borough. Under the motto “I live in Vaccarizzo” the local community created five prototypes focusing on the valorization of gastronomy, reuse of abandoned buildings, blooming of public spaces, smart farming, mountain cleaning, and rediscovery. The project lasted four months and exceeded the team’s expectations. Outcomes included:
- Creation of a store that sells typical agri-products in an abandoned school
- Crowdfunding for the creation of a community cooperative company
- Collective cleaning of a forest and designing new trekking itinerary for tourists
- Poste Italiane deciding to re-open the local post office
- Vaccarizzo has been chosen as a movie set for the film “Per un pugno di terra.”
Zen Heart Lab
Oregon, USA
The Zen Heart Lab helps to transform the paradigm of medicine by redesigning food production and health care systems and building local-global networks. The team from the San Francisco Bay Area (the south end of “ Salmon Nation”) combined with members of the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla and the Institute for Evolutionary Leadership to prototype a nature-based health system and community center using Native foods and plant medicine in rural Oregon. At the centers, people will be able to conduct research, use plant medicine, learn new skills like fermenting, cooking, composting, wildcrafting and preserving, build community, and learn indigenous knowledge at “climate camps.”
Through the u.lab-S experience, they learned that with a strong community, it is possible to nurture everyone, including isolated seniors, addicted youth, and returning veterans of wars. In addition, Zen Heart Lab learned that the youth are calling for a world where their families don’t have to suffer from chronic disease. The team also identified a piece of property that can hold their vision of a new self -sufficient community. They are on a quest to find allies who will support their community values of sustainability, energy independence, food sovereignty, food security and biodiversity, and self-empowerment.
Health Futures
Victoria, Australia
Health Futures Australia is a small, fast-growing, non-profit startup with a big vision to lead transformative change in preventive health by reimagining investment in prevention and mobilizing an army of prevention changemakers to shift minds and systems. Health Futures is stewarding the ‘Central Highlands Prevention Lab’, which brings together diverse stakeholders from across sectors to collaborate and co-design a place-based, community-led solution that inspires, engages and elevates the community towards a healthier future for all. Early sessions included a ‘Champions for Change Lab’, a ‘Community Lab’ and a ‘Leadership Lab.’
We invite you to join us in this capacity-building programming through the Societal Transformation Lab. Together, we’re designing and building a global eco-system for profound societal and civilizational transformation. Consider joining u.lab 1x, a massive open online course (MOOC) that runs from September to December 2019 and takes participants on a journey from sensing and connecting to deeper sources of knowing to generate powerful prototype ideas.
Read more about the innovation lab here and consider joining us for u.lab-S, which will run from February to May of 2020.
This article was written by Zoë Ackerman with editing help from Rachel Hentsch.
