INTRODUCTION

A very special event was held in Berlin on 13th December at the Berlin Tempelhof Campus, to celebrate the end of the 2018 u.lab and Transforming Capitalism program cycles, and the beginning of our Societal Transformation initiative: from Ego- to Eco-System Economies.

For this event, the Presencing Institute brought together not only many u.lab learners, Hub Hosts and Transforming Capitalism participants, but also leaders from organizations and networks from across the world, who are working to activate generative eco-systems in various sectors and regions.

The morning opened with a special Hub Host meeting where 24 u.lab Hub Hosts gathered to discuss, in an Open Space format, the challenges of hub hosting, outcomes and insights from u.lab 2018.

 

 

DISCUSSION GROUPS

Katrin Kauefer opened the main event with a warm welcome speech and setting the context for around 150 in-person participants who had convened for the afternoon to explore ideas, examples and practices around how to activate societal renewal.

To help participants fully tune into their listening and sensing capacities, Ellie Gramatikovska took them through a voice tuning exercise:

Then followed five break-out discussion groups around the topics of finance, food & farming, social & racial justice, government & civic engagement, and business as a movement.

 

THE LIVE SESSION

The session was later joined by online participants from all around the world from their respective time zones, for the live-streamed session that concluded and celebrated the closing of the 2018 u.lab course, while at the same time seeding the next phase: the Societal Transformation Lab.

The opening question Otto posed to the participants was: “What is it that we are called to do now, at the individual and collective levels? And how do we make the shift from a  “me” to a “we” work orientation?”

Otto touched upon many examples of bigger-picture societal transformation that we can see happening across the fields of government, business, agriculture, education.

Becky Buell shared news about the SDG Leadership Labs that were recently held in Uganda and Cambodia. You can read more in this article.

Otto Scharmer spoke about how Ali Baba, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, is using u-tools in their various innovation areas.

Martin Kalungu-Banda illustrated the story behind Ubuntu.Lab, the disappointments, frustrations and challenges encountered whilst building a program for the future of Africa and how these were turned into positive energies. Ubuntu, explained Martin, is an ancient African word meaning "humanity to others". It also means "I am what I am, because of who we all are."

Simoon Fransen shared about the Dutch Agricultural Lab experience: "it's not about creating technological solutions, but about bringing people together to see, listen and slow down together," sharing the story of bringing people together to get to the next level.

Antoinette Klatzsky took the audience through the story of clothing design company EILEEN FISHER: a business that went from an initial $350 investment, to reaching yearly half-billion revenue. Their quadruple bottom line is “people, planet and purpose” -- not just profit.

 

STORIES FROM THE COMMUNITY

Adam Yukelson shared a short teaser of u.lab community prototype videos:

You can view a longer version here, and the complete version here.

 

There was a moment of collective stillness to remember and celebrate our interconnectedness as human beings living on the same planet, with destinies inextricably intertwined. After that, Florencia Estrade, Global Co-Director at The League of Intrapreneurs, spoke with Adam about their participation in the Societal Transformation Lab (STL), and how to harness the power of teams towards creating ecosystem activation. "We need to bring our work to a new level of collaboration. Now is the time!" said Florencia.

To wrap up the live broadcast, Kelvy Bird shared her thoughts about the day’s scribing: " In moments of disarray, things start shifting". Kelvy then asked a closing question: "How do we hold together as light, in the darkness?"

You can view the Live Session again at this link and find Klevy's images in high resolution here. 

 

ONLINE & OFFLINE BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Following the u.lab/TCL live event, there was an online-offline Zoom breakout session, similar to those that have been designed for participant interaction after the previous monthly Transforming Capitalism sessions -- but this time blending in-person and online participants.

 

WHAT'S NEXT?

Here are a few next steps you can take, to keep the energy going during the months of December and January:

• Crowdfunding: please show your appreciation and support for our work by making a donation to the Presencing Institute, via this page;
• Newsletter: if you haven’t already, subscribe to our monthly newsletter so that you don’t miss any important updates from us. You can view our December newsletter here;
• Societal Transformation Lab: teams are being confirmed for the program; stay tuned for more news soon. If you have not applied or did not get accepted, please continue your journey by connecting with the Hub Host community that is self-organizing around many online/offline projects (latest newsletter here) and be on the lookout for our continuing Community Cafés -- more information about these will be communicated in January.

On behalf of the whole Presencing Institute team: we wish you a happy transition into year 2019!

Rachel