The Common Futures Workshop is a program for change-makers and change-seekers working on public and community issues who are hungry for a new way to solve problems.

Where this is coming from

When we started Springtide, our passion was to reform democratic institutions. Elections, town hall meetings, political gatherings, and province house were (to us) the spots where democracy needed fixing.

In the three years since then, we’ve been reminded that changing our democratic institutions would never be enough. Our systems need change, AND so does the social and political culture that props them up. We’ve seen a curious pattern emerge. Nearly everyone we engage with agrees that politics isn’t working, and we all name someone other than ourselves, or some group that we’re not a part of and expect them to fix it.

We all recognize the problems, and none of us alone can fix them. This is where you fit in:

We’ve realized that this is a common experience amongst people working for social change. People working in healthcare, education, environmental activism and in social service systems are seeing similar patterns at work.

The traditional way that we, as citizens, public servants, elected officials and community leaders have approached public and political problems isn’t working.  

What this program is about

This program explores fundamental questions about how to make social change:

• How do we create conditions where the wisdom of the crowd can emerge, and limit the influence of mob-mentality in our public discourse?

• How can the groups and organizations we are a part of better model the type of change we wish to make in the world?

• How does our own inner development as change-makers relate to the problems we want to solve in our communities and the change we want to see there?

• What are some practical democratic tools we can bring to our personal and group practice of political engagement?

What to expect

We’ll explore social power dynamics, systems thinking and values exploration and how they show up in our political engagement . You’ll learn new concepts through theory-based teachings, experiential learning activities, and conversation with other participants and program hosts.

The program is available for delivery (for large groups) or you can sign up for it (when offered in the events calendars).