Testimonials

Below is a sampling of those comments from young and old MOOC participants: high school graduates and PHDs, architects and engineers, health workers and nutritionists, farmers and trades people, students and activists, policy wonks and politicians, organizers and community developers, educators and movement leaders, and so on.

2023 MOOC Participants Over 1100 collaborators from 40 countries

• 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. Despite the heavy topics covered, I concluded the MOOC feeling incredibly hopeful that positive change making is not just necessary but still possible. 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.
• 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.
• The MOOC provided a way to engage with a broad range of content. The local study circles organized really helped to deepen knowledge and bring it into the local context.
• 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.
• The MOOC … put me in a frame of mind that finally had me put down on paper a draft plan for how I want to live my values…I have 3 definitive projects I want to work at for the rest of the year and beyond and the time set aside to work on them.
• George Monbiot’s lecture on land and that module have had the strongest impact on my thinking and intentions for activism. It was new thinking and very relevant to what we must think about and change in culture going forward, given climate change, given inequality, given mass migration, food insecurity, homelessness in countries with plenty of land but limited access due to economics and predominant culture.
• The finance module had the most impact for me. People cite finances (public and personal) as barriers to change and it is important to know that there are alternatives to our economic model.
• 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.
• The lens was on grassroots community level initiatives, paired with company / organization structuring tools. I’m glad this is where the lens was focused, as this is where I feel real systemic change begins. And it empowers us to engage in that way.
• I didn’t understand the climate change conversation before and now I understand the significance and importance of our community to pay attention and be aware of the existing and potential challenges. .. So relevant it’s scary to think about what will happen here … People are not ready for the kinds of disruptions coming our way.
• Being able to take the learning and share it within my community is the biggest impact.
• I now have a much better understanding of the economics driving climate change, land grabbing and inequality and some of the solutions.
• The MOOC…introduced me to like-minded people living in my area. I really enjoyed participating in the on-line aspect and then getting together both on-line and in person. I found the in person gathering to be fun and uplifting.
• I really appreciated the agricultural perspective on food justice, especially with my background in food security. It provided a new perspective on an issue I have typically looked at from a more social/emergency food perspective.
• The really good thing with the modules was looking at groups who were trying to make change. We could then follow up …….to critically engage with what some of these groups were seeking to do, and if the directions being taken might offer part of a real change. … improving things for people in the now, … .. the examples were really quite inspiring. Maybe there was still a bit more room for some Socialism in there too.
• 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.
• It provided a sense of possibility given all the efforts globally to enact change. It gave me a sense that it’s not just a bunch of chaos, but rather there are intentional, organized responses that are continually being refined and shared. The MOOC also helped me round out my awareness in areas that I was much less familiar with.
• I see hope in the future.
• I now realize that I am not alone in this journey, and there are numerous generous individuals invested in promoting significant changes at a personal cost. This realization serves as a motivation to continue my work with determination.
• 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.
• As a first-timer, I found the local community meetings very helpful and made the scope of the MOOC less intimidating
• I think being involved in a local small group online was very valuable and motivating especially since the aim was to come up with an action plan by the end.
• I think finding a solid discussion group is a much better use of time than just reviewing the Module each week if one has time restraints. Conversing with people from different personal and professional backgrounds supports further reflection and brings diverse perspectives to the content.
• MOOC Co-learning environments involve participants from diverse backgrounds and experiences. This diversity can enrich the learning experience by exposing learners to different viewpoints and cultural perspectives.
• The small group discussion helped me keep a lot of momentum throughout the course. It was an efficient use of energy to share course insights or other experiences. I did not have a study partner throughout the course, though I imagine that would have been a potent element of momentum that I’d seek out if I were to engage in another MOOC.
• I would suggest taking advantage of co-learning opportunities, our study circle was incredibly helpful and the webinars I was able to attend were really interesting and it was great to see and be a part of live discussions.
• I think co-learning opportunities are vital for securing the knowledge, deepening the understanding, and hearing others perspectives

2022 MOOC Participants

• I believe the power of the whole program comes from the staging of the content, so the logic and understanding grow as the participant progresses. I have indulged myself with every bit of content presented. The picture feels very ‘complete’.
• This kind of multi-dimensional, integrated, historical perspective is not the day-to-day conversation in my practical community development work so I really valued seeing this story told in this clear, compelling, and sophisticated way linking analysis and action.
• Since we are trying to use the course to help build our local climate change efforts, the opportunity to discuss the course materials with other local participants has been particularly important. The discussion groups are enabling us to build relationships among interested local people, link the course materials to our local context, and at least surface ideas for specific actions that may be appropriate in our community.
• I especially appreciated the linking up of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions in the historical perspective offered, the way of analyzing specific issues, and formulating strategies to bring about substantial change.
• I’ve been a commercial grower, and a horticulture tutor for 19 years, and have basically spent a lot of my life in the food security/resilience/permaculture/organics space. However, even with this background, and just with reference to the food transition module, I genuinely felt my understanding was expanded.
• I really appreciate the extraordinary quality of the course: wide-reaching, critical and creative material carefully curated and presented. Given the value I see in the course, I’d love to find the best possible ways of making use of it.
• I think the course is doing a beautiful job of outlining higher-order motivators at the collective level. How to do this at the individual level has some urgency to it, as mounting malaise, grief, and feelings of being overwhelmed seem to be increasingly dampening flames that are burning within.
• Being able to link the ‘far-away stories’ of other countries to the political structures around me and my experiences with them is deeply appreciated.
  
  
  2019 MOOC Participants
  
• I know this sounds grandiose, but considering, as Greta T has said, “our house IS on fire!”… This course has helped keep alive my last embers of hope (for a “good” fire) that enough Intelligent and compassionate people may still come together to Unite their knowledge, skills, efforts and resources to reach enough of the rest of that 99% of humanity to actually unite sufficiently to collectively make Cooperative Commonwealth a reality within the very little time we have left in which to do so.

• I had the belief that I understood systemic change before, but now I know I understood it only to a certain degree. I was very much shaken by your approach. It is not seen in social innovation as such.

• I believe this course was extremely important and made the possibility of systems change feel achievable. It is easy to become overwhelmed. I am truly in awe of the effort and achievement of the course organizers, and I thank them for creating a remarkable integration of the many layers that make up our existence as humans in community on this earth. Thank you.

• This course exposed me to many different ideas that I had not met before. It has changed the way that I look at and evaluate issues. I have gone even further away from conventional thinking and ideas.

• I shared articles and case examples/websites with colleagues…. I think from at least two of the modules, maybe three. The material was solid! It added new information and helped me make sense of it all. It was clear and compelling. I agree with folks who talked about the huge value it has!!!

• Value: Knowing that there are a few hundred people around the world who are actively interested and are now very much connected and on the same page is very heartening.

• The learning resources provided have removed many hours of sifting through lesser quality materials. The framing will be useful in communicating my work to more folks.

• Practical: Having access to a pool of ideas is essential for all of us to exercise our imaginations, through taking a dip whenever we wish. I will definitely recommend the resource to others, very useful for getting a group of people on the same wavelength to create further works.

• I am considering using the course as a teaching tool in my local area, to get already active people with varying levels of understanding regarding what the group is actually up to to the same level of thinking. I predict this will increase the effectiveness of our creations into the future. I will organize a group next time it is run.

• After the course, my activism took a new dimension. I had things moving with less effort.

• The course was really good. Please keep developing and expanding it. If Synergia were to offer a degree program on the subject, I would not have a second thought embracing the idea.