Do you sometimes wonder if the scale of your actions is too small to make a meaningful difference?

The impact of human activity on the planet's ecosystem is apparent, and many ways are being sought to find solutions to remedy the climate crisis. Yet, attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 seems more and more unrealistic, and no overarching solutions seem to be taking form.

What if we could identify leverage points – small actions with the power to transform entire systems?

With the Catalyst Lab, we do exactly that: We empower dedicated changemakers (Catalysts) and their teams to have a deeper systemic impact with their work by addressing the root causes of today’s challenges.

– Starting September 2024 –

The 5th Edition of the Catalyst Lab

General application deadline: 30.06.2024

Early bird advantage of CHF 500.–* for applications before 30.05.2024

* The early bird advantages apply for applications that are submitted before the communicated deadlines. The advantage consists of a discount of the above-stated amount in CHF from the standard application fee of CHF 8500.–. No cash-out.

Future-proofing society through intergenerational combining

One of the most profound and startling senses of disconnection within society comes from the way the status quo of our entangled systems (of food, education, healthcare, the economy, etc) continue to consume, burn, and destroy the foundations of life for new generations. At this point, this is not an obscure fear anymore – young people know that they are heading into adulthood in a world with poor ecological resources, a rapidly changing climate, and increasing social tensions due to inequality. 

While we work on ensuring that life as we know it continues to go on, we are unable to integrate the demands for change which will ensure that life can keep going on beyond the immediate future. No wonder that intergenerational tensions are high. We are in the process of creating an enormous intergenerational, time-based inequality.

This is why the fifth edition of the Catalyst Lab will explore ways to create the conditions for intergenerational interactions within the complexity of the living systems of our society, allowing these systems to shift.

About the Catalyst Lab:

The Catalyst Lab is a 9-month-long learning journey for individuals and teams seeking to learn about systems thinking, systems change, awareness-based systems change methodologies and participatory processes.

We explore different aspects of the question: How do living systems change? The concept of living systems includes the complex social and cultural systems that hold our way of life and work in place. What makes it so difficult to catalyse societal-level change even in the face of the enfolding ecological crisis? How do organisations, institutions, and societies change?

The Catalyst Lab supports the participants (Catalysts) in gaining a deeper understanding of the system and topic they are working on. During the process, participants acquire methodological competencies to drive awareness-based systems change, and up-to-date knowledge about the requirements for transformation.

During the learning journey, the hosting team, experts and mentors accompany the Catalysts. At the same time, they form working groups to develop a collective systems intervention project, and as a practical learning space to implement the more theoretical methods and tools.