ONLINE: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: Leadership to Deepen Democracy

media release: In the midst of surviving a pandemic, we are watching the world’s superpower on the brink of civil war and witnessing a growing polarization across western democracies struggling with increasing authoritarianism. Many experts have called this time a slow slide toward fascism. Yet, as always, when systems fall apart, the bridgebuilders always emerge.

This two-day conference is for JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) leaders/ warriors/ change-makers who are passionate about collectively harvesting and imagining what it will take to repair our broken democratic systems. We need to be able to develop the inner fluidity to prevent internal and external lockdown as well as the ability to discern right course of action to interrupt oppression in the contexts we find ourselves in. There is no one way or right way to interrupt systemic oppression- we need many ways rooted in plural personalities, organizations, cultures and ways of being. This conference is an invitation for ordinary people to bring all we have to these extraordinary times. Join our global community to look ahead and vision what 2050 will look like if we act together now.

Across all sessions we will be a weaving together of inner and outer, head and heart, organizations and civil society, strengthening leadership and building community, and using storytelling as a radical tool for change. The conference will be audio and graphically recorded.