Transforming Social Movements Redreaming Collective Change
Why this, Why now?
Our world slides ever deeper into environmental, political, and economic crises, and the call grows louder every day for powerful and compelling social movements that spark hope, bring people together, and create lasting change for a sustainable future. Yet despite our greatest efforts, much of the social change and social justice landscape is in turmoil: We are battered by escalating austerity and authoritarianism. We are disoriented by the collapse of funding across many sectors. And we are fragmented by cultures of burnout and toxic conflict.
Amidst these growing shadows, the sparks of resilience, wisdom, and collective power still shine bright. More and more social change practitioners, culture workers, leaders, facilitators, activists, and healers are asking:
- How do we meet the times by creating the movements that our people most need?
- What kind of social movement cultures do we need to seed and grow in order to have the greatest impact at scale?
- How do we bring in the wisdom of marginalized and divergent voices?
- How do we build solidarity across different perspectives and worldviews while holding strong to the values of decolonization, equity, and justice?
- What becomes possible when we walk the talk? That is, when we embody the values we want to see in the world?
This is for you if:
- You want simple and accessible tools to host real conversations – that you can implement right away
- You want to help create social movements that can create a better world
- You are longing to find ways of transforming social movement and/or social justice culture into one where collective, participatory leadership and embodied conversations are brought into the norm
- You want to bring fun, play, and dynamic ways of working together into your social change practice
- You work with groups for social change in any capacity, including but not limited to community organizing, education, professional facilitation or consulting, leading teams in a socially engaged sector, activism, social enterprise, spiritual care/ministry, non-profit work, or another related field
You will leave with:
- Tools and strategies that can be used to facilitate powerful conversations in a wide range of contexts
- Practices to bring pleasure, joy, and fun into social change work even while focusing on serious topics
- An understanding of how to access the wisdom of the body as well as the mind when facilitating group conversations
- A framework for working power dynamics in group facilitation
- Greater comfort with divergence of perspective and conflict within social change contexts, as well as a framework for generative conflict
Additional Details
Region - Americas
Calling Question
How do we create life-giving, impactful & deeply transformative social change movements for all human and non-human beings in a time of environmental and political collapse?
Event Hosts
Sera Thompson (she/they) is a settler of European descent in Mi’kma’ki and a social innovator, facilitator and lifelong student of how people create meaningful change together. Her work supports deep shifts around social and environmental challenges, helping diverse groups find shared clarity, build their capacity for collaborative leadership, get unstuck and move big work forward. She brings curiosity, creativity and a deep belief in what’s possible when people come together in a good way. She has been teaching and practicing the Art of Hosting and Deep Democracy for over 20 years. She draws on her lifetime of Buddhist practice and decades of experience leading change in Academia, Nonprofit and Public and Private sectors, with organizations and communities on four continents. Emily Yee Clare (she/they) is a mixed-race (Hong Konger/White) consultant and facilitator with over 10 years of experience working with team dynamics, anti-oppressive change management, conflict engagement & curriculum design. They are passionate about co-creating interactive processes with my clients that enable more authentic and courageous workplaces & organizing spaces. In their free time, they love painting and have illustrated two children's books. Cédric Jamet (he/him) joyfully teaches Human System Intervention at Concordia University, supporting practitioners as they build their capacities to help organizations navigate change. His work leverages a variety of approaches and practices to think, create and embody new ways of being together in complexity, weaving 15+ years of experience designing and facilitating inclusive and strategic conversations with a wide diversity of organizations and communities. A seasoned Art of Hosting practitioner, Cédric strongly believes in a vision of communities as spaces where one can learn and practice the magical and somewhat tricky art of becoming better humans. Kai Cheng Thom (she/her) Qualified Mediator, Certified Professional Jungian Life Coach, and Certified Somatic Sex Educator, is a coach, process facilitator, and mediator whose work focuses on the intersections of trauma healing, Transformative Justice, and social change. A noted theorist and practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, Kai Cheng has made significant contributions towards the integration and application of conflict transformation, crisis intervention, and body-based trauma healing methods in an activist context through her writing and teaching. Kai Cheng maintains a private practice as a one-on-one somatic coach, consultant, and group facilitator, drawing from extensive professional trainings in a wide variety of healing and wellness disciplines. She has also trained hundred of embodiment and wellness professionals as Adjunct Faculty with the Institute for the Study of Somatic Sex Education and a Senior Teacher at The Embody Lab.
Registration Details
Cost: Registration includes the course fee as well as coffee/tea and light snacks. Lunch is not included. Standard - $900 CAD Sponsor - $1,200 CAD to support solidarity and scholarship seats Solidarity - $450 CAD (see below) Full scholarship - up to two available (see below) Registration Standard and Sponsor rate seats can be booked now via Eventbrite. Solidarity and Scholarship seats are considered through a separate application process. We aim to reserve 20% of available course spots for reduced-cost access. This includes solidarity seats at 50% off and a few full scholarships. We prioritize participants who hold marginalized identities and are experiencing financial precarity. If you would like to be considered for a Solidarity or Scholarship seat, please contact us and tell us a bit about you: What is calling you to take this course at this time? Is there anything you’d like us to know about your context or circumstances? Requests for solidarity and scholarship seats are reviewed on a rolling basis.
More information email - cedric.jamet@concordia.ca
Contribution to the center - Yes