course for professionals
INTRO to
dEcoloniAl susTainabiLity
pilot course
TESTIMONIALS
"The journey was one of rediscovery, unlearning, and moments in the mirror. Facilitated discussions, curated libraries of video and articles, and invigorating moments with our crew navigating the seas of uncertainty were the highlights of the experience. I've been awakened, my eyes opened, and my spirit has emerged fierce, grounded, and ready."
- Anonymous pilot course participant
"Intro to Decolonial Sustainability was an unsettling but rewarding course that highlights the need to centre Global South voices and nature and to do the continuous work for actual sustainability, instead of the watered down version that we have become accustomed to. A must for all those who are in corporate sustainability, philanthropy, international development and social impact."
- Anonymous pilot course participant
"This course has changed me forever. Not only in a professional sense but also as a human.
The Possible Futures Crew took us on a unique, well-organised and often extremely uncomfortable journey that made us deeply question our beliefs and work on them. With very creative storytelling elements, the team of facilitators guided us into a new journey of learning and un-learning – long before we knew it. And once started, there is no return.
As a result of joining this course, we decided to not work with corporates anymore, as well as making significant changes in the narrative and language used on our website and all other materials.
Thanks to Possible Futures, I fell out of love with my privileges and learnt to see them for what they really are: tools of ongoing oppression that still harm so many others."
- Christina Forster, Germany
"This course is one of the most powerful experiences I've had and potentially one of the most transformative. The instructors are deeply informed and uncompromising in their commitment to decolonizing sustainability efforts, as well as deconstructing Global North mindsets. It is not for the faint or quaint of heart, but for those willing to look critically at themselves and the world through a new lens as part of a growing community dedicated to rebalancing and rebuilding human society. The Possible Futures Crew introduces key concepts like "Right Relationship", "Centering the Oppressed", and "Tunnel Visioning", among many others, to guide students toward a more enlightened understanding. In addition, their compass frameworks of "Harmful Behaviors" and "Fantasies and Denials" will challenge you to contemplate your role within Sustainability Inc. It is a brilliantly and beautifully constructed course… rigorously demanding and regeneratively caring at the same time."
- Eli Ingraham, United States
"I would like to Thank You guys for offering the course. It was an experience I wasn't quite prepared for. I might have mistaken it for any other course but week for week the content and engagement sessions became quite intensive, challenging my approach not just to sustainability inc and any role I might play (in and around it) but it also impacted my personal life. As a visual storyteller I can say that I have found myself scrutinizing collaborative opportunities a lot more since the course. The breakout room sessions and crew sessions have added new layers of understanding for me. I no longer take for granted what it means to relay other peoples stories; who is "paying" for the story, why do they get to have access to these voices, where are the owners in the negotiations around their story, what does the story being told do for the individual/business paying for the story ... The extensive and in-depth nature of some of the materials lost me along the way. With the size of each weeks crew session 'homework' growing in demand as the weeks went, it became harder to meet and fulfil the expectation. Because I don't deal with sustainability inc in as direct of a way as what I felt the course might have been speaking too, I did find myself drifting between some of the resource and in-contact material which I am not too proud off. I would like to keep revisiting the material."
- Siviwe James, United Kingdom / South Africa
"This course challenged me in multiple ways and across multiple layers as it dragged me (in a positive and nourishing way) out of my comfort zone and confronted me with the many blind spots and ignorances I have shown but not acknowledged while navigating the field of sustainability. The journey went far beyond any of my expectations and the dialogues, exercises and powerful narratives truly changed how I view the "world of sustainability". The Possible Futures crew has not only provided rich, detailed and multi-faceted perspectives, but fundamentally questioned my assumptions about sustainability for which I am deeply grateful and sent me on a journey I will never forget."
- Marina Schmitz, Germany / Slovenia
"The Introduction to Decolonial Sustainability Pilot course has opened doors to a level of conversation, learning, and interrogation that is not often seen in the sustainability world. The team shared uncomcomfortable realities and helped the cohort navigate these through careful and well-held sessions that challenged us in our use of language, levels of accountability , and types of action. Though I have been aware and working in elements of decolonial sustainability, the course helped me define and deepen purpose and "sift through the detritus" of what persists in the worlds of "sustainability" and "regenerative thinking". I'm looking forward to the Possible Futures Crew's next steps in unwinding Sustainability Inc.!"
- Kara de los Reyes, United Kingdom
"Taking this course was humbling, eye-opening, empathy building, and deeply uncomfortable. I went into it hoping to learn more about all
the obvious and subliminal ways in which the sustainability industry perpetuates colonial narratives and how to address and challenge that.
But throughout the journey I was forced to look inwards instead and confront my own beliefs, perceptions and actions. By turning worlds upside down, giving a voice to people and stories in the global south and challenging everything, this unconventional learning experience is desperately needed to help navigate the world and ensure we don't fall into the same harmful patterns that have gotten us into this mess in the first place. It's not for the faint of heart and requires both openness and commitment, but the more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it."
- Maria Correa, Netherlands