Announcing a Unique Learning Opportunity for Changemakers Everywhere
Sense of Community
“Thanks to the real sense of community the MOOC provided me, I no longer feel as though I am just a voice in the wilderness when it comes to speaking out in support of those whose voice has been muffled, ignored and or marginalized. This course has given me the confidence to converse with others regarding finding solutions for complex issues. … I feel as though I can see new avenues towards making real and sustainable change in my neck of the woods thanks to looking at things from a systems theory lens.”
An Amazing Resource
“I felt the authors and speakers were often the most highly respected and sought-after voices. …I teach college students so I am going to integrate some of what i learned in my own teaching. It was excellent – such an amazing resource.”
Peer to Peer Learning
“The richness of this MOOC lies in the diverse knowledge and experiences of the community, comprised of practitioners, academics, activists, and students, who come together to share and exchange knowledge in the forums. Reading and engaging with these experiences and contributions … will allow you to gain perspective on your own experiences before presenting them.”
Tangible Alternatives
“I’ve been exposed to tangible alternative models & tools that have the power to enact systemic changes towards a regenerative economy. From agriculture, energy, healthcare, to finance; the threads of how these sectors can be interwoven has become much clearer. I can better see the whole picture, which gives me the ability to tangibly act on a select area and find my role.”
Study Circles
“The local study circles organized really helped to deepen knowledge and bring it into the local context… I especially loved the small group sharing, as it allowed us to be in the questions together. The interaction was really key for me. And I loved that we all brought our stories. It was deepening, for sure. I had done this course a few years back, and hadn’t been part of a small group. It made a big difference for me in terms of impact.”
Reflection
“The MOOC provided the time and space to have reflective conversations about systems that I encounter constantly and examples of how people have tried to change or move away from these systems.”
–Testimonials from the 2023 MOOC participants, with 1160 collaborators from 40 countries
Toward Co-operative Commonwealth:
Transition in a Perilous Century
6th Edition
Registration is open
Start Date: January 14, 2024
Synergia collaborates with practitioners, policymakers, and academics to create and advance change that makes a difference in communities, regions, and broader systems, especially alternatives responding to local and global crises.
Cooperative economic democracy is a central theme throughout our work- a framework of concepts, values, and practices that give priority to
- resilience over economic growth
- co-operation over competition
- sufficiency over efficiency
- well-being over the right to possess
- fairness and equity over the primacy of markets, trade, and capital
- decentralized and democratic ownership over centralized power and private ownership
- climate justice and just transition
- the commons over the rights of private property, and
- our dependence upon nature over our right to dominate it.
These are not merely theoretical propositions. They are choices about what is paramount for transition in a perilous century. They are the basis for a comprehensive alternative to the status quo – a compendium of ideas, models, and movements that are essential to our collective capacity for transition and survival. These alternatives, and the means to apply them, are the focus of our work.
Several questions frame our thinking and guide our work:
- How can we meet our basic needs in ways that advance fairness and resilience where we live and contribute to the restoration of ecosystems and GHG reduction?
- How do we shift the narrative from the mantra of endless growth to one of well-being, sufficiency, solidarity, and living within the natural limits of the planet?
- How can citizens, communities, organizations, institutions, movements, and progressive businesses co-operate to craft and execute strategies that build solutions that counter the status quo?
- How do we diffuse and amplify the impacts of existing models and solutions to advance system change, and best navigate energy descent and climate disruptions?
Our contribution to this global call for a transition to sustainability is threefold:
- Designing accessible, high-quality educational resources and training programs that can be leveraged by change agents everywhere to navigate systems change and adaptation where they live and in collaboration with others working in different spaces.
- Providing training and education programming through intensive, face-to-face courses.
- Seeking collaborative relationships with all like-minded networks and organizations to advance our collective goals.
Synergia’s mission to inspire, educate and animate people to act is relevant to both those beginning the transition journey and those who have been in the trenches for years.
Our invitation to the 2024 MOOC embodies these principles and aims.