course
description

As the world around us becomes more confusing by the hour, we want to keep close those we hold dear. The world is asking us to choose: Do we let isolation, uncertainty and politics fracture us, or do we build the kinds of spaces where people can think, feel, and act freely together? This is about more than event planning, it’s about creating conditions for collective courage.

How do we create opportunities to nurture our communities in times of crisis? How do we build the kinds of connections we long for, and spaces where people feel seen, challenged, and inspired? It begins with an idea, a hope for something new, and a deeper understanding of what we, and in turn our community, truly stands for.

Through a mix of collaborative exercises, deep discussion, and hands-on prototyping, in this one-week intensive, Communal Futures: Designing New Programs as a Radical Act of Community Care, you will craft a blueprint for a meaningful program, event, or initiative tailored to your community’s needs, whether you’re currently nurturing an existing community group or boldly starting from scratch.

in this program you’ll explore

• Your unique role: Who are you? How does your community reflect who you are and what you care about?

• The DNA of your community: Who is it for? What values define it?

• Diagnosing the gaps: What does your community lack? What’s missing from existing offerings?

• Designing with care: How to create structures that nourish, not just organize.

• From idea to action: Practical frameworks and things to consider for sustainability, accessibility, and impact.

• Role of artistry and imagination: Using creativity as a tool for connection, not just content.

• Prototyping interventions: From intimate rituals to bold public actions, we’ll test ideas that prioritize care over scalability.

• Planning for friction: Because no meaningful community survives on good intentions alone.

course outline

Day 1:
Introductions and getting to know each other deeply, understanding what drives each other and our motivations for joining the program. Sharing past experiences with community, playful collaboration and experiments on key themes around what creates meaning and bringing humans together for purposeful connection.

Day 2:
Defining our communities and the people we wish to reach. What are their wants, needs, hopes and dreams? What has defined the level of connection within your previous interactions? How would you characterize your met and unmet goals as it pertains to your community and how they engage with and perceive the work that you do?

Day 3:
What are the possibilities for design? What is out there? What models are we inspired by? What is possible within the scope of the organization we work for? This is the day we begin to dream up new programs, event series, etc. based on bigger visions of connection and creating opportunities for a shared sense of belonging.

Day 4: Logistics (space, money, how to fund this, what is sustainable for your community and practice, etc.). On this day we explore all the practical things to consider when designing your community and the programs that will help to drive it.

Day 5:

This final day we share final presentations, receive constructive feedback and discuss where to go from here.

who is this program for?

This program is for organizers, educators, artists, and restless community-builders who crave more than transactional gatherings. It’s for those who want to design spaces where people leave changed; where whispers are amplified, not drowned out. If you’re ready to stop asking permission and start building the community that will create the world you all want to see, come join us! We’re excited for your application. <3

Rachel Uwa
Artist, Educator

Rachel Uwa is an artist and educator with a background in audio engineering and visual effects. She founded the School of Machines, Making & Make-Believe in Berlin, Germany in 2014, an independent school hovering at the intersection of art, technology, design, and human connection. Rachel specializes in working with communities and through her work aims to make the technical sector more diverse and inclusive. She uses technology as a catalyst to encourage others to become more critically-minded, and more deeply engaged with their surroundings and with themselves.