Social movements around the world are organizing with increased urgency for systems change that is both socially just and environmentally sustainable.
The impacts of climate change on everything from the economy to health to employment and housing has made this work even more complex, and requires a more practical and interconnected transition.
This is the foundation of the Synergia Transition and Resilience Climate Action Program (STARCAP), a partnership between CCEDNet, Synergia Institute and Athabasca University.
STARCAP’s objective is to support climate action at the local level. In 2023-2024, four Canadian organizations will participate in STARCAP as Community Partners.
Members of these Community Partner organizations enroll in a massive open online course (MOOC) developed by the Synergia Institute, called Toward Co-operative Commonwealth: Transition in a Perilous Century, that explores effective systems change and the ways communities take action to meet basic needs close to home in the face of the threats posed by climate change.
Who are STARCAP’s Community Partners?
Community partners are organizations who recognize the urgency of community-led climate action and are already active in that work.
With support from CCEDNet, partners recruit participants within their networks to enroll in the MOOC and apply course frameworks through study circles and action groups.
The program provides impactful community building and mobilization tools including:
- a shared language for community stakeholders to speak about climate change
- frameworks to guide climate action initiatives
- tools to network across various stakeholders (local governments, community/regionally anchored businesses, affiliate organizations and networks, youth initiatives, etc.) to advance movement building
- examples of community-led, climate activism from Canada and around the world to inspire and catalyze efforts
- networking and network building across the program’s Community Partner network
Partners receive a $20,000 contribution from STARCAP to support program requirements.
