fellowship alumni yearbook 2015-2016 @unschools
www.unschools.co
contents Introductions 3 our community 5 New York city Fellowship 6 fellowship alumni Collaboration #1 16 mexico city Fellowship 17 fellowship alumni Collaboration #2 26 melbourne Fellowship 27 fellowship alumni Collaboration #3 35 SĂƒo paulo Fellowship 36 unschool by numbers 46 yearbook credits 49
@unschools
The UnSchool of Disruptive Design is an experimental knowledge lab for creative rebels and change agents that pops up around the world, facilitating unique educational experiences that help reorient the way we see, react, and participate in the world – all in the name of activating positive social change. Our Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program takes a diverse cohort of 16 people from all corners of the world on a city-wide adventure into a stimulating matrix of systems thinking, sustainability, social innovation, and creative change making. We spend a full seven days together (12 hours each day!) learning from each other and indulging in the mentors’ wealth of knowledge and experience. The program is a little bit like brain-endurance training; we immerse in a broad range of complex topics that help activate agency and social change making. We also laugh and play as we explore and discover the hidden ways in which the world works, while identifying the opportunity we all have to participate in creating positive social change. In short, we share a prodigious experience that fosters a collaborative and activated approach to getting shit done. The UnSchool is a thriving ecosystem of creative change makers; we convene the community, but they do all the incredible things. We are extremely proud and excited by the possibility of what change we can make through well-designed creative interventions that challenge the status quo! @unschools
a note from leyla When I first had the idea to start the UnSchool, I couldn’t have imagined what amazing experiences it’d bring about and all the incredible people I would get to meet. I am constantly blown away by the community of creative change agents who join us, from all different parts of this planet, to participate in our adventures in creative change making. It also amazes me how many people apply to join us– for every fellow we select for a program, we sadly have to reject five more.
"In the first 12 months of starting the Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program, we ran four programs in four countries with 64 alumni from 32 countries!" Leyla Acaroglu - Founder, CEO UnSchool @unschools
One of my motivations in founding the UnSchool was to help bust through the persistent negativity bias that claims individuals alone can’t make a difference. As such, the UnSchool is all about activating agency. We do that by providing the thinking and doing tools for agitating and challenging the status quo, to redesign the world so it works better for all of us. This first year of programs was extremely challenging at times (as with any start-up, perhaps), but it mainly was filled with joy, happy tears, and adventure. The mentors that shared their experiences and stimulated our minds, coupled with the producers who invited us into their cities and designed the intensive experiences, undoubtedly have etched memories into our minds that will never fade. Within
12 months of starting the Emerging Leaders Fellowship Program, we ran 4 programs in 4 countries, with 64 alumni from 32 countries! And now, as we progress into Year 2, we have alumni becoming producers and educators for our next set of programs! I’m incredibly excited to continue to see how many humans there are making positive change by design, how systems thinking is elevating the types of conversations happening, and how the Disruptive Design Method is activating creative interventions around the world. The UnSchool is a product of the people who come to it; I am just a seeder of an idea. It’s the courageous people who came to help build it that make crazy ideas like this possible, so I extend a big thank you to all who applied, who came, who produced, who mentored, who sponsored us, who made up our phenomenal teams, who share our stories, and lastly, who support crazy ideas. After all, “the ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” And we are doing it– day-by-day, idea-by-idea, all thanks to you. Leyla Acaroglu, September 2016
our community Heatmap of where our alumni are from
@unschools
14–20 June 2015
new york
#unschoolNYC
What happened in new york? In June 2015, we ran our first ever emerging leaders fellowship program. It was an intense and inspiring week with 16 fellows from 12 countries and a packed schedule. We dived deep into systems thinking, sustainability, social innovation, cultural change and creative practice. There were mentor sessions from a host of diverse leaders, change agents and provocateurs and we also premiered our own curriculum on systems based disruptive design for sustainable change. This first fellowship week was quite an adventure, both for the fellows and the UnSchool team… with 12 hour days, wrangling surprise schedules, and ensuring creative educational experiences. UnSchool NYC kicked off, as it now always does, with some pertinent story-telling specific to the location of the fellowship. New York is steeped in stories, and whether they are positive or negative, they all point the way to better options and ways to design the future. New York’s historical narrative set the tone for a week full of empowered storytelling and environmental questioning.
#unschoolNYC
Highlights of the week included: • The Impact Hub NYC • Fellow & team Pecha Kucha presentations • A mystery walk through downtown NYC. • Catching the free Ikea Ferry to Red Hook/ for an evening of art and music. • Artist, engineer and sustainability creative extraordinaire, Natalie Jeremijenko talking creative interventions for ecological change, mutualistic systems design and more. • Eli Malinsky, Executive Director of Centre for Social Innovation (our incredible homebase for the week), and Bryan D’Alessandro, Cofounder and CEO of United Purpose leading a session on collaboration, connection, and group dynamics. • Designer Megan Fath and her session focused on understanding experiences and journeys.
• Visiting The High Line for a bagel breakfast while mentor Dagny Tucker explored social lifecycle analyses, systems thinking, sustainability and observational research methods. • Carol Shapiro’s presentation on how to be a better leader and change agent, based on her experience working for over 40 years to change the justice system. She shared the importance of family units, strength-based genograms, ecomaps and many more insights into being an authentic and agenda driven leader. • Matt Stinchcomb, Executive Director of Etsy.org sharing the Etsy origin story, lessons learned along the way, and goals for the future. One theme that resonated with us was his motivation to “build more resilient economies on a human scale”.
• UnSchool mentor and FOOSSA co-founder, Lee-Sean Huang speaking about the power of stories, shared tactics for building narratives that evoke positive change. • A private tour of The Tenement Museum and learning about the history behind the building’s design and how it influenced the people who lived there. • Our first 24 Hour Design Challenge—an intensive experience to apply, engage and enhance the creativity and skills of our fellows. Starting with a briefing from the client — a large manufacturing company within the apparel industry—Fellows were placed in teams and had 24 hours to solve the client’s sustainable design challenge centred around sustainable manufacturing options for the apparel industry.
We asked some of our UnSchool Alumni what they believe the most effective tools for social change are…
nyc alumni
Diego Alatorre
Line Barkved
Zach Caceres
Jennifer Court
“Empathy and collaboration, since change has to happen from within but with a tight link to our context.”
“Collaboration and partnerships. Collaboration can be challenging but it is needed, as most complex challenges requires solutions that crosses boundaries.”
“Real entrepreneurship is positive-sum and requires growth and cooperation by those involved. That makes it an ethical choice and a choice aligned with the growth of human conscience and consciousness.”
“Capacity building is the most effective tool for social change, because you are empowering people to join you in working towards a common goal.”
Kiri Dicker
Paulina Duran Tampere, Finland
Dunedin, New Zealand
Bec McMaster
Nihan Ozturk
“Deep and continuous self reflection.”
“Passion, because it’s what keeps anyone going in spite of any obstacle popping up.”
“Passion, drive and a sense of urgency! Without those three things you’re not going to get very far.”
“Beliefs and intrinsic motivation. I believe that best and most useful change comes from your soul first, you have to believe it! And then you should motivate yourself and keep your beliefs alive without waiting other to appreciate you.”
Mexico City
Honiara, Solomon Islands
#unschoolNYC
Oslo, Norway
Guatemala City
Canada
Istanbul, Turkey
Sara Sanchez
Sally Hall
Adam Little
Jason Sandman
Guatemala City
Austin, USA
San Fransisco, USA
New York City, USA
“I think a very important tool/skill is the execution of ideas and making the projects actionable. Also the rapid prototyping and iteration process in which you gather a lot of information.”
Leyla Acaroglu’s passion is contagious. My UnSchool experience changed “sustainability” from a buzzword to an actionable imperative. I recommend this program to anyone seeking the tools to create meaningful and lasting social change.
The word “experience” gets thrown around a lot, but at Un-School you really learn what an experience is.
The school’s design process reinvigorated me, visualizing systems integration reinforced my belief in sustainability as a solution, and peerto-peer collaboration reinstalled a sense of trust, vulnerability, and cohesion that completely redefined the possible. Thanks UnSchool!
Lula Toussaint
Marcela Zetina
Sabine Fleischmann Germany
Meli Scioli
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Guadalajara, Mexico
Shout out to the team! Leyla Acaroglu: Host Luisa Viotti, Regina Cantu, Yvette King, Dylan Lunney, Heidi Sloane: Production team #unschoolNYC
Mexico City
nyc mentors We invite experienced practitioners to mentor at our fellowship programs, around the world, to share their knowledge and experiences in creating change.
Natalie Jeremijenko
Dagny Tucker
Eli Malinsky
Bryan D’Alessandro
Recognized as one of the Most Innovative People in 2013, one of the most influential women in technology in 2011, one of the inaugural top young innovators for MIT Technology Review and one of the 40 most influential designers, Natalie Jeremijenko directs the Environmental Health Clinic at NYU.
Dagny brings a breadth and depth of experience as an ideator and actionist. Her various professional capacities range from strategist and adviser, conflict specialist and mediator to academic and speaker. She is currently a Professor at Parsons The New School For Design.
Eli Malinsky has been a champion of collaboration and innovation in the social sector for the past eight years. A deep believer in the potential of “everyday people” to create social change, Eli’s work is centered on new models that unleash creativity and catalyze impact.
Drawing from extensive insider institutional work on big picture analysis and in-depth community based research, her work translates complex systems and processes. She creates and shares popularly understood narratives, actionable projects and everyday solutions that encourage a transformation to sustainable, equitable and peaceful societies.
Eli has spoken and published works on networks, collaboration, social enterprise, shared space and social innovation. He is currently the executive director of the new Centre for Social Innovation in New York City. The Centre for Social Innovation is part co-working space, part community center and part incubator for people and projects that are changing the world.
Bryan D’Alessandro is an avid life long learner and creative problem solver. He turns to natural systems for his greatest inspiration. He is the cofounder and CEO of United Purpose (UP) a member-based organization for high caliber individuals committed to improving the world around them.
She is also an Associate Professor for NYU’s Visual Art Department and is affiliated with the Computer Science Department and Environmental Studies program. She holds degrees in biochemistry, engineering, neuroscience and the History and Philosophy of Science.
#unschoolNYC
He helps thought leaders tell authentic stories and create deeper connections with their audience through a variety of brand development and creative marketing services. In his free time he enjoys studying Aikido and Vinyasa Yoga, and traveling to far corners of the planet.
Chris Chavez
Carol Shapiro
Lee-Sean Huang
Matt Stinchcomb
Megan Fath
Chris’s talents and skills are in the service of making our world a more vibrant, equitable, and interesting place. He and his partners are building a guild for slow entrepreneurship called Prime Produce.
Carol Shapiro, an innovator in the field of criminal and social justice for over 35 years, is known largely for her integration of asset and family network tools for community and correctional use.
Lee-Sean is a designer, community builder, and educator. He is cofounder and creative director of Foossa, a strategy and design consultancy with a focus on social innovation.
Carol is the Founder and served as President of Family Justice, a non-profit focused on tapping the strengths of families and their social networks to break cycles of victimization and justice system involvement.
Before Foossa, Lee-Sean started the design practice at Purpose, a consultancy and incubator for social movements, and served as creative director for Meu Rio (now Nossas Cidades), a Brazilian organization working to foster civic participation among young people.
Matt Stinchcomb is the Executive Director of Etsy.org, a 501(c)(3) dedicated to empowering under-represented entrepreneurial populations to build businesses and programs that regenerate the planet, the community, and the self.
Megan Fath is an empathetic designer who practices research to understand users’ needs and identify design opportunities. A passionate, avid matchmaker for research and design, she leads innovation projects and facilitates workshops to help transform the ways organizations see and act on change.
The 8,000 sq ft space in Hell’s Kitchen is unequal parts cafe, living room, workshop, coworking space, roof top garden, and they have an upstate retreat space as well. Chris also has the pleasure of serving on the board of directors that guides the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of NYC and is the Co City Director of the NYC Chapter of House of Genius.
Among her many awards and honors for social entrepreneurship, Carol is an Ashoka fellow and her start-up, La Bodega de la Familia received an Innovation in American Government award under the auspices of the Vera Institute of Justice.
Lee-Sean is also faculty member at the School of Visual Arts MFA Design for Social Innovation. He regular writes and presents workshops on storytelling, community building, and the power of design in social innovation.
Previously, he was the VP, Values and Impact at Etsy.com. In that role he oversaw the stewardship of the company’s mission, and worked to give all employees the means and the desire to maximize the benefit their work has on people and the planet. Matt is a graduate of Oberlin College, a reformed, professional musician, and was an employee of Etsy since its earliest days.
In addition to her consulting work, Megan is an adjunct faculty at SVA and IIT Institute of Design, teaching graduate courses on constructing disruptive insight, imagining alternatives to existing tools and methods, and advising thesis projects. Megan’s thoughts on intersections of research and design are the focus of her graduate courses as well as published topics in several industry publications.
mentors #unschoolNYC
where are they now? Adam Little
Diego alatorre
Kiri Dicker
paulina Durán
The UnSchool experience… Inspired me to learn more about the science behind the way humans think
The UnSchool experience… The Unschool enhanced my confidence, giving me creative confidence
Number one ‘take home’? I think to collaborate wildly with whoever possible. The more the merrier.
What does the future hold? Designing products and services with social impact.
Where to now? Create a laboratory to promote entrepreneurship among creative students
Adam was a Cohost in our UnSchool Berlin program July 2016
What does the future hold? Coming month I’ll be hosting a hackathon for a design contest called Tecnología con Onda.
Where to now? I am really passionate about the communityled violence prevention project I manage called Safe Families (as part of my work as Gender Justice Program Manager, Oxfam Solomon Islands). I think it’s a real game changer and I am currently planning a partnership with a world-renowned university to prove it. I also just started Solomon Islands first all-girl hip hop crew. It’s a collaboration between me and my partner, he loves hip hop, I love gender equality. I can’t wait to see how it evolves!
The UnSchool experience… The most influential thing after the fellowship might be the systems thinking vision and the usage of storytelling to connect more with people. I think the UnSchool has helped me develop my leadership skills by making me more aware of the bigger picture, which is what any leader should have in mind at all times. “Little things can be big issues” but they can also provide big rewards.
Check out: bff.fm/shows/radio-wav
Check out: unam.mx, tecnologiacononda.com
''I'm very much interested into how creativity brings meaning and direction into your life — Follow your passion in life and give it all to it'' Diego Alatorre
#unschoolNYC
Number one ‘take home’? To focus on really listening to and finding unusual opportunities in design. To think about an even bigger picture thanks to the systems thinking philosophy. Where to now? Designing a system as a proof of concept for an Internet of Things course where we regulate people’s mood through music by scanning social media updates and assessing their personality. What does the future hold? Become a design technologist to help create better experiences for those in need
where are they now? Zach Caceres The UnSchool experience… The biggest lesson I took away was the immense value of prototyping. My bias is to get cerebral and try to hold everything in my head at once. That doesn’t work as well as prototyping. I now love making shitty first implementations. It fuels me, by giving a sense of quick progress even if you’re far away from the final goal. And I see how a prototype helps shape your thinking by reordering the importance of the product/ experience as you build it. So the cerebral stuff can still exist, but it’s fueled and disciplined by building. There is a beautiful logic to grind prototyping. I appreciate Leyla yelling at me in NYC about this, as it has brought a lot of value to my life.
Number one ‘take home’? Prototyping—prototyping makes you a better leader. Where to now? Building an online video game about Startup Cities— You must buy, restore, lease, sell, and build as you struggle to grow a business empire that brings the city back to life. As the city thrives, color returns to decaying buildings, vehicles begin to circulate, sounds fill previously-empty streets, and pedestrians return to their neighborhoods. You can invest in properties, improve them, build them bigger and watch as the areas you’ve built become vibrant again. What does the future hold? 1.Taming my ADHD and cultivating true, deep, centered focus 2. Spending time with family + my partner Sara 3. CODING UNTIL MY BRAIN BLEEDS Check out: unleashyourinnercompany.com
Dylan Lunney
Christopher Chavez
The UnSchool experience… I generally took on a new way of looking at the world. I learned a lot about systems thinking and how everything we do or interact with can be or is all ready designed.
The UnSchool experience… It was great to see the inaugural fellowship class come together in NYC. I became keenly aware of the social and material infrastructure needed to pull off such a program. The fellows were recipients of organized infrastructure when they first started the program as well as contributors to it after they began to get their bearings. This spirit of co-design and co-creation was cultivated very well by the UnSchool Team.
Where to now? OHorizons is a non-profit coalition of technical, social, and commercial innovators. We develop and deploy low-tech, context-appropriate innovations to solve persistent global challenges, like access to safe drinking water, so that all people can live a healthy, productive, and dignified life. What does the future hold? I want to help constitutionally amend and repeal Citizens United. I’ll be running my organization’s Make Your Own Water Filter Station at World Maker Faire in NYC October1-2/2016. Check out: ohorizons.org
Number one ‘take home’? Ask for feedback early and incorporate feedback early. Where to now? Quitting my “stable” job and leaving the academic world to move to Taiwan for three years as I just earned a full Scholarship to study mandarin and my Master’s on User Experience Design there. What does the future hold? My team and I have a construction project to complete. This has been our big hairy goal for the last 4 years. For the next year, I’m adding a new one: to map the microbes and bacteria living in the Met museum Check out: primeproduce.org, houseofgenius.org, Met MediaLab, mrtumn.us
#unschoolNYC
where are they now? Line Barkved
of relevant approaches and methods as well as network of new friends and fellow change makers. It has made me more comfortable dealing with the complex and uncertain.
Lourdes Toussaint
The UnSchool experience… The UnSchool experience is something that I think about almost each day. We experienced so much that is was hard to grasp all at the time it was going on. It has given me a toolbox
Where to now? A blog where we showcase the valuable contribution of master students to science. Masterloggen publishes well-crafted blog post on master’s theses, linking to full text thesis in the universities digital archives. Fresh scientific knowledge is made accessible for sharing throughout social media. We want knowledge to be activated, not archived. I’m currently chair of the board, as well as an editor and head of development. Masterbloggen is from this summer a member of the Oslo EdTech Cluster.
Number one ‘take home’? Systems thinking and taking everything in consideration when planning a new strategy.
"I'm particularly interested in how we can create sustainable inclusive environments through collaboration, social innovation and multi-purpose design. This is particularly relevant in improving urban environments and ecosystems'' Line Barkved #unschoolNYC
What does the future hold? Since the fellowship, I’m (as a research scientist in NIVA) is part of a 3-year research project called iResponse where we explore social responsible crowdsourcing tools for environmental research and decision-making. The project is funded by a program on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in ICT. In the project, we focus on the areas of urban air quality and wood burning, urban stormwater management , and urban planning. I’m head of the Work Package on Social learning and Participation, as well as part of the urban stormwater case. Check out: masterbloggen.no, iresponse-rri.com
Where to now? Run a coworking space in Guadalajara. It is mainly for social projects, non for profits and individuals who want to have a positive impact with their work. The name of the coworking is Metta Coworking, and its philosophy is based on the systems thinking and the CSI we worked during our fellowship. I already had the idea of starting the coworking space but had a lot of influence from my fellowship week in how to shape it. With 3 non profit organizations we started in January this new space where we offer private offices, coworking spaces and open and close areas for workshops, meetings and different types of classes. It is targeted to positive activities and positive people who want to make an impact and work together with other people developing new approaches in our city. also Volunteer for a non for profit that works to prevent sexual abuse in children and the remodel and selling of a 12 apartment building in my city Check out: higherselflife.com
where are they now? Nihan ozturk
Sara Sánchez
jenn court
The UnSchool experience… The UnSchool helped me develop the way I was thinking. I was a bit more conventional and prejudiced compared to my previous experiences. Attending UnSchool with other 15 people from many different countries made me believe that we were all there to change something in the world to make it better. I turned to my country with this belief. I cannot say that I became a better leader but I can say that I do my best to lead people who have no idea what sustainability is and make them change agents as I am.
The UnSchool experience… I’m more aware of the systems involved in the different areas of my life and the project I’m involved. Also, the UnSchool experience provided me with tools and content from design that are helpful to the track I’m taking now. It changed the way I solve problems and generate solutions. Along my journey, I discovered that what I enjoyed the most is designing experiences. I became more secure of myself and I feel more confident of sharing my opinion and ideas with people that think different than me and that have different backgrounds.
The UnSchool experience… The UnSchool fellowship inspired me and re-ignited my creativity, helping me feel empowered to take more on and leap into a new role. It helped me re-discover my confidence to lead strategy and concept development.
Number one ‘take home’? Everything starts with me; changing myself and then helping others to be more sustainable! I was not living in a fully sustainable way. First, I accepted that and started to change my lifestyle. Where to now? Find the most eligible idea to make a bigger change for the world other than changing myself and people around me.
Number one ‘take home’? Systems Thinking and Fast Prototypin
Where to now? Right now I’m most passionate about capacity building in Indigenous Canadian communities. What does the future hold? Securing funding for a nation-wide initiative to address sustainable waste management in northern and remote indigenous communities in Canada.
What does the future hold? For the next three to four years it’s to start my own design firm focused on projects wanting support in user experience.
"Through my life experiences, I've acknowledged that I can't ever stop learning" Sara Sánchez
#unschoolNYC
unschool fellowship alumni collaborations meli + mariana Meli Scioli is an Argentinian sustainability practitioner, communicator, and activist; she attended the very first Fellowship in New York City in 2015. Mariana Alvarez Matijašević is a Colombian teacher, designer, and awardwinning sustainable lifestyle blogger; she was in cohort 2 a Mexico City Fellow in 2015. How did their paths ever cross? Facebook, of course! Despite having never met each other, they instantly recognized their common passion for environmental sustainability through dialogue on the UnSchool Alumni Facebook page after Meli shared a piece about a project by Articulo 41, an online community dedicated to upholding and preserving Article 41 of Argentina’s Constitution. In short, it states: “All citizens have the right to a healthy and balanced environment fit for human development and for productive activities. It shall meet present needs without compromising those of future generations. They have the duty to preserve it.” Mari and Meli’s creative change agency escalated quickly from there, as they swapped email addresses to connect and collaborate. Mariana shares, “[I] asked Meli for her email and invited her to tell me more about Articulo 41 and Club de Reparadores, so I could
@unschools
share it with my readers (because I think it’s very important for people to see that great, imaginative, intelligent and beautiful projects are being developed around the world, [and] not everything is sad news and gloom), while doing something together.” They decided to create an online campaign that would raise awareness worldwide for the right to a Healthy Environment. They planned the release of their project for Earth Day 2016. When the pair first conjured up the idea to invite people to share what “healthy environment” meant to them, they had no idea they’d receive such an outpouring of beautiful pieces from all over the world. But, they also wanted their influence to dip into tangible methods for change. What better way to achieve that than by knowing and working with the current laws? They made a compilation of all the legislation in Latin America regarding the right to a healthy environment for people to read and use to inspire their creations! Check it out here. They also collaborated on an amazing blog post to raise awareness for their campaign. Their spark created a ripple of environmental inspiration around the world; congratulations Meli and Mari!
When the pair first conjured up the idea to invite people to share what “healthy environment” meant to them, they had no idea they’d receive such an outpouring of beautiful pieces from all over the world.
1–7 november 2015
mexico city #unschoolMX
What happened in mexico city? It was an amazing week and fellowship in Mexico City, with 16 fellows from 6 counties, 5 mentors and 7 intense 12 hourlong days of brain-activating adventures in social innovation, sustainability, systems thinking, disruptive design and making change, all in the bustling mega-city of Mexico! As the second fellowship, Mexico City presented some new and interesting challenges as well as ironing out a few of the quirks from the first fellowship. Each fellowship week is totally different to the last and the next. Each one depends on the personalities of the fellows and the dynamics of the team, mentors, and individual fellows. The general Un-School curriculum stays the same, but each journey is un-mapped and un-predictable to some degree. Mexico was no different… Mexico City Highlights: • Starting the week at We Are Todos, a design collective and co-work community in Roma. • Playing The Sober Truth (a Designercise game, based on the American Sobriety Test). • A surprise field trip via our very own chinampa—a traditional for a mystic,
#unschoolMX
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mellow, candle-lit boat ride along the canal being serenaded by mariachi bands, experiencing the Day of the Dead festivities in this UNESCO heritage site of traditional and unchanged market gardens and waterways, with views into suburban and agricultural backyards, callejones, and more. Finishing the day with a visit to Jilotepec cemetery, where we got to experience truly authentic Day of the Dead celebrations. Leyla’s introduction to sustainability, and how to use it as an a holistic filter for viewing and acting on change and leveraging change outcomes and embracing approaches to activated leadership. Alumnus Marcela Zetina, a Mexico City local who was part of NYC fellowship cohort, leading an interactive activity focused on perception, visual illusions, relativity, framing, stereotypes and behavioral economics and how these tools can be used to decode marketing and design perceptions, examining how they motivate and influence our decisions within the market. Guest mentor Alexa Clay, provocateur of
alternative economic forms and co-author of the Misfit Economy facilitating an impromptu discussion on ethnographic and observational research techniques, followed by dinner in Coyoacan, where Alexa facilitated a lively conversation around alter egos, and using personality as an approach to activate outcomes. • Mentor, Luis Sosa, co-founder and Creative Director of More Starch leading a fascinating session that covered the power of narratives (“Reality is too complex. Stories give it form.”) and sharing examples of effective campaigns for change-driven organizations, movements and causes. • Secret dinner party at La Metropolitana, a Mexico City based design studio specializing in furniture, architecture, interior, and graphic design solutions. The dinner was completely gamified, designed by Leyla & Luis Sosa, and focused on exploring the ways in which we strategize to influence others. Over four rounds, fellows and our guests were given secret missions that they had to complete before the timer rang and the next round
began. Each round increased in difficulty (and weirdness) and decreased in time. It was fascinating to see how different people strategized to complete their secret missions: some acted covertly, while others were very open about what they needed to do, and while some people formed alliances others acted solo, etc • Pancake breakfast at the family home of our host, Regina, in the historical neighborhood of Coyoacan, South of the city. • The Museum of Tequila and Mezcal. In addition to a tequila and mezcal tasting, we learned about the processes of production, cultural relevance and role that design plays in the creation of each product. • 30 hour design challenge… The client was a for profit microfinance company and the challenge was to design “new opportunities to facilitate socially equitable, environmentally responsible and economically viable (sustainable) financial inclusion models within Mexican communities that are currently financially disadvantaged”.
We asked some of our UnSchool Alumni what they believe the most effective tools for social change are…
mx alumni
Rodolfo Cordova Alcaraz
Roxanna de la Fuente
Emma Blomkamp
Susan Evans
“Truth, otherwise is impossible to change much.”
“Life cycle thinking.”
“Hope. Without it, positive change is impossible.”
“Good people to help change the hearts and minds of others to make a difference.”
Mario Bringas Avila
Arlette Gómez
Alberto Solís Hernández Mexico
Mariana Matija
Medellin, Columbia
“Empathy. Making others understand where your message comes from and why it exists. But it’s not just about making others feel like they are contributing to something, but actually turning them into active change makers.”
“Protoype, if you don’t test a possible solution, you’ll never improve.”
“Empathy... which might be an attitude, but if you see it as the collection of considerations and frames needed for design and planning, it is actually the most neglected yet powerful tool to generate a realistic impact.”
“Curiosity. Everything can change if you ask the right questions, but in order for that to happen, you first need to be interested (but REALLY interested) in asking a lot about everything.”
Mexico
Mexico City
#unschoolMX
Mexico City
Mexico
New Zealand
Seattle, USA
Arturo Ortega
Icnelly Pineda
“Inspiration and knowledge... Well, you need both to be a crazy change maker without being a stupid leader.”
Reilly Dow
Monterey, Mexico
Canada + Mexico
Mexico
Peter Rossetti
United States of America
Emilija Veselova
“Empathy, this is how everything starts.”
“Imagination.”
“Being active, leading by example, and activating people around you.”
Tabaré Arroyo Currás
Diana Lizette Moya Quezada
Mexico
“Designing better ways of being and doing in this big crazy world!”
Shout out to the team! Regina Cantu: Producer and host Yvette King, Heidi Sloane, Leyla Acaroglu: Production team #unschoolMX
Mexico City, Mexico
Helsink, Finland
Nano Kigel
Buenos Aires, Argentina
mx mentors We invite experienced practitioners to mentor at our fellowship programs, around the world, to share their knowledge and experiences in creating change.
Luis Sosa
Alexa Clay
Mario R Silva Rodriguez
Pedro Reyes
Luis has embraced the power of combining creativity & a deep curiosity about the world. Finding the right elements with which to communicate projects and ideas are a ritual of discovery in his work as Creative Director of More Starch.
Alexa is a leading expert on subculture and innovation from unlikely places. She is the co-author of The Misfit Economy (Simon & Schuster), a book that explores underground and informal innovation. Alexa works to create bridges and opportunities for misfit subcultures within the formal economy. She is the Founder of Wisdom Hackers, an incubator for philosophical inquiry. And the Co-Founder of the League of Intrapreneurs, a movement to create change from within incumbent systems and big organizations. When not operating in the world as Alexa, you can find her playing the Amish Futurist, an alter ego bringing Socratic inquiry to the tech scene.
He’s been a member of Colectivo Ecologista Jalisco since 1996 where he coordinates the Health Cities and Urban Mobility with the Support of the Hewlett Foundation in Mexico working in coordination with other organisations that specialise in Urban Mobility, Sustainable transportation and City management. He is also professor at ITESM and part of the Citizen Council for Non Motorize Mobility in Guadalajara’s local government. He is also part of the Citizen Observatory of Mobility and Public Transportation of Jalisco, and has been part of the Commission for Metropolitan Coordination of Guadalajara as well as the Metropolitan Platform for Sustainability in this city.
Pedro Reyes is a multidisciplinary contemporary artist who uses sculpture, architecture, video, performance and participation. His works aims to increase individual or collective agency in social, environmental or educational situations.
His background in Film (NYU) and Geekery (since birth) have given him an unusual insight which he passionately exploits as he works with his the talented team to find the best ways to communicate great ideas. This along side with his diverse cultural background, has helped him understand and more importantly empathise with a the diverse audiences he comes across.
#unschoolMX
He has challenged Mexico gun culture, by turning firearms into musical instruments, set up a people’s UN and set up a temporary clinic with the mission of treating various kinds of urban malaise. At the Sanatorium, therapies such as trust-building games and hypnosis are offered to combat common problems such as loneliness and stress.
where are they now? mariana matija So what are you up to? Finding the intersection between design, education, sustainability and every-day life. The UnSchool experience… ...helped me find further connections between my favorite subjects, and super-charged me with ideas and inspiration. Number one ‘take home’? The “designed intervention”, or how we can, from different perspectives, start to create change in the most unsuspected places. I also started saying “no” more easily to projects that don’t align with my main interests.
Where to now? Sustainable living is easier to understand and apply if we think about it as a journey. We’re usually open to new things while traveling, so I’m committed to help people find their own “itinerary”. What does the future hold? I’m working as one of the coordinators and the graphic designer with “La Ciudad Verde” on a campaign aiming to educate people about all the issues associated with single-use plastic. The first stage –”Mejor sin pitillo” (better without the straw”)–invites restaurants and bars to eliminate the use of straws, while at the same time educating people about why they should avoid using them. The next stage—”Mejor sin plástico” (better without plastic)—will deal with plastic bags, disposable cups, styrofoam and other common disposable products. Check out: www.cualquiercositaescarino.com
"When you stay in one place for too long its difficult to see beyond your own life and experiences. '' Susan Evans
#unschoolMX
Susan evans
ICNELLY pINEDA
So what are you up to? Currently in this moment I am passionate about the importance of balance in life.
So what are you up to? Facilitating and inspiring people, as well as making positive change thru design. More specifically, I’m writing a booklet about “How to survive in your design team”…
The UnSchool experience… ...really helped open my eyes and put into words some of my past experiences and future goals. Number one ‘take home’? When you stay in one place for too long its difficult to see beyond your own life and experiences. Where to now? Running free and accessible workshops to introduce people to the intersection between code+art, using the Processing programming language. What does the future hold? I am also starting to work on some community based interactive art pieces that challenge human+computer interactions.
The UnSchool experience… The UnSchool showed me that I love challenges, stress, frustration and the excitement of a presentation. So much rush, so many talented people, so much stimuli, so little time! Number one ‘take home’? Go big or go home! Where to now? I thought about “quiting” my city and going to an international hub What does the future hold? Finishing my booklet, putting ideas into action! Check out: Hey Chula - https://www.facebook. com/mermeladasheychula Commune Project - www.communepeoject.com ATEA - https://www.facebook.com/ ArteTallerEstudioArquitectura
where are they now? Emilija veselova So what are you up to? My main job at the moment is Collaboration Designer at 15/30 working mainly on two projects—Trend Manual & Nordic Youth Study—plus I design and consult about different collaboration and workshop techniques. Trend Manual strives to create new ways that trend research and market forecasting can be delivered to clients—we work on understanding how information can be presented and how can we support people in making insights actionable. The Nordic Youth Study works to change how market, trend and future research is done. We co-create our research—from setting research topics, analyzing, and shaping research insights—with our clients and the youth. My biggest ‘side project’ and ‘love project’ right now is my study within the
Collaborative and Industrial Design (CoID) Master’s programme and our student-led CoID Community, which I’m taking over as the semiofficial leader for the next academic year. The UnSchool experience… ... boosted my professional confidence; enabled me to see the big picture; urged me to lead by example (do what you preach approach). Number one ‘take home’? Everything is an opportunity! Mine - Landscape – Build: After the UnSchool I started to look at the projects and my overall work in a much more systematic way. Nowadays, I mine then understand and only then build on top of the understanding of the current status quo in the system.
So what are you up to? Re-drawing and putting together a book of a friend’s amazing but illegible models/diagrams for designing a sustainable life and a better world. I’m also doodling for deeper dialogue and understanding… Taking things less seriously. Using music and conversation as emotionally balancing forces. The UnSchool experience… ... fostered new connections and collaborations with people in Mexico City (and all over! But mostly local collaborations so far).
Where to now? Currently, I’m most passionate about people and involving them in shaping their own futures. I’m also diving deep into sustainability and design for government…
Number one ‘take home’? I dig Leyla’s approach to building the Unschool, spreading ideas, collaborating. Don’t know how that all works but it seems like I can learn something from it!
What does the future hold? We’re taking CoID community to Helsinki Design Week and raising question about what is a “designer” nowadays, is designing for society initiatives sustainable, is there any role for designers in decision making, and what are the future hybrids or designers.
Where to now? I’m moving from working as a freelancer to creating a *real* company; bring together a badass interdisciplinary facilitation team.
Check out: www.1530.fi www.trendmanual.info www.nordicyouthstudy.com http://www.helsinkidesignweek.com/programme/ muotoilu-aalto-yliopistossa/?lang=en
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reilly dow
Check out: https://facilitacionvisual.com/
Rodolfo Cordova Alcaraz So what are you up to? A de abeja: fair trade honey business. I am passionate about bees and how they impact on our lives. The UnSchool experience… ... made me realize my goal in life is not doing things “the right way” but to question myself better and remain beta :) Number one ‘take home’? Prototype, analyse, improve... Where to now? Continue to use creative and positive problem solving to analyse issues and then prototype possible solutions! What does the future hold? I want to Build a creative studio focused on entrepreneurs. Check out: http://adeabeja.com
where are they now? Mario Bringas Avila
Now my life is like 800% more chaotic than before, but I’m OK with that, because I’m focused on music & changing the world through it.
emma blomkamp
Number one ‘take home’? Embrace chaos.
So what are you up to? 1) Solo DJ project, called Matatu 2) Back-to-back DJ project with a friend (our goal is to mix African music and structure it in an electronica/dance style). 3) The Plastics Revolution - indie band, currently recording our 3rd album. 4) Bugs I Find - I love bugs, so I made an Instagram account of the bugs I find (@bugsifind).
Where to now? In late May 2016 I became an associate at a recording studio, Chimychanga Estudio. We refurbished the studio, redesigned the brand and relaunched it in social networks.
So what are you up to? I’m really interested in co-design as a method for democratic participation and policy design, and have started doing some research into this to find meaningful ways for all kinds of people to participate in shaping the policies, services and programmes that influence their lives. I’ve also been working on Project Emma—I’ve quit other commitments and created space for myself!
The UnSchool experience… ... was like a 180° change in my life. Before the UnSchool fellowship, I was kind of unhappily working in an NGO. I was doing stuff that made me feel like I wasn’t making as much positive impact on society as I expected myself to make - or at least the kind of impact that I wanted to make. I needed creativity, and I wasn’t finding it there. Sharing experiences with so many people from such different backgrounds made me believe in myself as a creative, musician and entrepreneur. In other words, it made me think of myself as a global emerging leader, a rebel with a cause. It convinced me that music was the path I needed to follow, that I needed to embrace chaos and accept stuff instead of fighting it.
What does the future hold? Jingle Junkie—its goal is to provide music production services along with social good. The project is still in development. I then want to design a mobile recording studio that can help people understand in an original way how music is made nowadays. Check out: http://www.chimychanga.com
"it made me think of myself as a global emerging leader, a rebel with a cause '' Mario Bringas Avila
#unschoolMX
The UnSchool experience… ... made me cherish my cynicism and my optimism, to think more deeply about systems change and sustainability, to feel more confident in the methods and practices I use, and more clearly recognise my strong interest in the opportunities of co-design for democratic participation. Number one ‘take home’? Lifecycle assessments have become part of my personal life - as I consider the most ethical consumption choices I can make. Our ‘sphere of influence’ has also been a biggie - a useful frame for considering how we can create change in the world around us. Where to now? Professional: develop a research project that explores how design thinking and co-design can be used as effective ways of engaging different types of people and knowledge in policy processes. Personal (as part of Fail Club): Fail at attempting to become a Spoken Word poet. What does the future hold? Quitting my job and leaving my country… I moved to Melbourne to start a new role with the just-launched Policy Lab at Melbourne University! I’m also continuing to share my experiences through the Fail Club and encouraging others to start their own. Check out: www.failclub.co
where are they now? peter rossetti So what are you up to? Bridging design & personal growth in a coaching role. Developing a foundation for type 1 (diabetic) individuals. Building brand authority for a design organization. The UnSchool experience… Systems; systems; systems! The UnSchool has helped me think and act more from a methodical perspective; thinking more intrinsically and less symptomatic. Causation and correlation aside, I’ve been elected as president of an organization and am leading the start and growth of 2 others and know that I’ve felt massive growth has happened since the fellowship.
strategies, and tools for type one individuals to restore their health. What does the future hold? The self-card kid documentary; I’m looking to create and gain funding & momentum for this in the coming months. I want to document myself and another type 1 individual in a specific cleanse program in Thailand using holistic lifestyle changes to disconnect and reduce our reliance on medication. Check out: http://thinkfeelgo.com
Roxanna de la Fuente So what are you up to? I decided to take a couple of sabbatical months to figure out which way it’s next. I’m thinking how to take all my skills to the next level, to keep always learning and to make a positive change in the people that I meet (physical of digital life).. and most important to keep traveling (for me it’s the firsthand learning experience). At the same time I’m working on freelance projects focused on social marketing with innovation processes like design thinking, disruptive design, etc.
Number one ‘take home’? Build understanding to gain clarity. Where to now? thinkfeelgo is focused on guiding people out of their head, into their heart, and going forward towards their vision, with the courage and conviction to design the life they’d love to live. The Healthy 1 Inc’s mission is to transform the lives of individuals with type 1 diabetes through education and training on self-awareness, lifestyle-medicine care, and nutritional therapy; research and raise understanding about the mind body connection for optimal well-being; offer and develop the solutions,
"(unschool) gave me the confidence to be a creative rebel to inspire others no matter what" Roxanna de la Fuente
#unschoolMX
The UnSchool experience… ...opened my mind on how we need to think in the whole pie and not just a piece, everything that we do has an impact even if we don’t see it. It gave me the confidence to be a creative rebel to inspire others no matter what. Every leader has different techniques and this experience helped me to understand that there’s no “rule” to follow, you just need to make change... don’t think, do!! Number one ‘take home’? Crazy ideas always turn out better... we just need to fail fast, try try try to keep learning & improving from our mistakes. Where to now? Well all of these are new projects (remember I’m still on my sabbatical): I’m helping a skateboarding brand from LA with strategies for their business, to understand people’s needs and not just to do “social media” to promote their products. I’m working with a music artist/ producer based in NY on a couple of projects I’m producing a Fanzine in collaboration with a digital artist from Spain to share & inspire creatives to change how we perceive the world to become more creative, with some elements of systems thinking to understand that everything is interconnected. What does the future hold? I have been thinking about starting my own company. It would be more like a psychologist/ therapy model, oriented for business building/ development.
unschool fellowship alumni collaborations rodolfo, reilly + Mario Rodolfo Cordova Alcaraz, the Deputy Director for the Foundation of Justice & Rule of Law, had long felt the frustration of a certain gridlock experienced during his time working in Human Rights & Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Mexico. He also knew that he wanted to agitate for improvement and positive change. After fortuitously meeting Reilly Dow, a graphic facilitator and video maker, and Mario Bringas Avila, a music maker and studio manager, Rodolfo felt the inspiration to manifest his vision through an animated music video that would make his case with maximum appeal to targeted viewers.
they don’t see an impact of their work on government or society, so we decided to explore this, and help them feel less frustrated and more empowered with their work, building empathy with our audience. We were just out of the UnSchool when Rodolfo asked Reilly and I to work with him on this task, so I feel we all had a sense of just having fun while being extremely open to all sorts of crazy ideas to make the video happen.” - Mario, on the initial project inspiration
The trio was UnSchool’ed together at the Mexico City Fellowship in November 2015, and they wasted no time in putting their new change-making framework into action. Their video project makes the case for NGOs to work directly with United Nations (UN) Committees, instead of working solely with the State, in order to improve the efficacy of their mission and produce tangible change.
“We thought people in NGOs feel frustrated very often because they don’t see an impact of their work on government or society, so we decided to explore this, and help them feel less frustrated and more empowered with their work, building empathy with our audience.”
“We thought it would be much more relatable and fun to tell the story from the point of view of Rodolfo—or anyone who has worked in the NGO sector, for that matter. We thought people in NGOs feel frustrated very often because
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Mario Bringas Avila
So, the three amigos rolled up their sleeves and went to work, each lending their expertise to the project by Rodolfo sharing his experience and ideas to help guide Reilly and Mario to create the script and the storyboard. Reilly contacted her Chile-based collaborators (illustrator and editor), and through Skype meetings, email, and WhatsApp, the purpose-driven team got the video done! But… simply publishing the video (albeit an incredible accomplishment!) wasn’t the end of their collaboration; Rodolfo was able to use
the video plus an executive report that he wrote in a webinar for the Migration and Development Civil Society Network to agitate for the implementation of his idea (which he prototyped alongside Reilly in January 2016) at a collaborative session on gender and migration with UN Women, MADE and RIMD (among others)! Congratulations to Rodolfo, Reilly, and Mario for their bad-ass collaboration that is making waves in how NGO’s activate change!
23–29 January 2016
#unschoolMelb
What happened in melbourne? In January 2016 the UnSchool team headed down under to run our weeklong intensive emerging leaders fellowship program in the creative and beautiful city of Melbourne (our founder’s hometown)! Seven jam-packed days in the ‘world’s most livable city’ with 16 fellows, 6 mentors and a crazy collective ambition to change the world! Showing uncanny similarities to the first episode of ‘Lost’ combined with the opening credits of Friends …. it was with a mixture of excitement, fear and wideeyed eagerness that our first Australian fellowship kicked off in Melbourne on a summer January day! The animation and anticipation was palpable as our fellows arrived at Donkey Wheel House with bright eyes and bushy tails and memory sticks full of ideas and dreams. Melbourne highlights: • City walking, talking and socializing tour forging a winding trail up, down and around Melbourne. • Dinner at Shebeen, a not-for-profit model that gives back to the countries from which they source their beer, wine and cider • Leyla’s deep dive into systems theory, with a powerhouse workshop on how systems work and the practice of
#unschoolMelb
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systems mapping and using systems thinking as a framework for designing activated social change. Peer Dinners! Curated by the Un-School team in four groups of four Fellows at four amazing restaurants complete with gamefied conversation starters and a mini challenge… David from Children’s Ground sharing the idea that problems within the indigenous sector are largely systems and to do with governance. Hannah, the founder of SCARF, a social enterprise (and charity) that provides 10 weeks training, mentorship, and assistance with work placement to refugees—the main take-away from Hannah’s talk was her advice to have faith in your idea and then run with it. “I would’ve been more ballsy in the beginning to allow more impact sooner”. Ishani from The Difference Incubator. Ishani had the room do a quick survey of what keeps us up at night, and found out that we, like the rest of the world adhered to the universal
fact that ‘self belief’ is most people’s number one worry. • Mentor Trent Jansen’s workshop on creative approaches. Trent describes himself as a furniture and object and a Design Anthropologist. From a background in sustainability, he now sees himself as a proponent of longevity and re-use, that creative thinking and sustainability are the crossover links between practices, with the last two being the main motivators for his practice.
• Jess Miller. So much good advice, so many funny anecdotes, and so much applicable theory. She discussed how the most important thing you can do when planning a communication strategy, event, or project is to remember to ask why — why would I care (or share) this message and why will others. • “make sure you have a stick in one hand but a much tastier carrot in the other”. (Best quote ever according to Leyla) • Secret dinner party in a converted photographic studio/warehouse (that used to
"make sure you have a stick in one hand, but a much tastier carrot in the other" - Jess Miller, Mentor
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be a kickboxing studio. Three of our mentors attended (Trent, Jess and Adam) and we set up three tables for the Fellows. Each table had one mentor, and we designed three challenges to go with the three courses of food. Talk by Gorkem Acaroglu, Creative Director at Metanoia Theatre in Brunswick on theatrical interventions. Particularly the experience of curating art within a collaborative framework. Petrucci Studios grand tour by Tim DenshireKey, an Industrial Designer who holds a keen interest in social and sustainable design practices. Tim talked us through his process of using recycled and found materials in his work, and showed us his incredible animal sculptures that are made of found and recycled materials. The Commons, a residential development with a high level of sustainable and community building principles. Monkey Marc’s portable solar and wind powered recording studio built in a shipping
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container being regaled with tales of his most recent and incredibly inspirational projects working within remote Aboriginal communities to record important cultural narratives. • CERES Environment Park. • Stephen Mushin, a magical thinker and fantastical designer, do-er, maker, bioimagaterian and dreamer who shared a series drawings from the book he is currently working on ‘Now if what when’, a fantasy world where he can do whatever he wants, including creative propositions such as “The ethical polar bear burger and hoodie company inc”. • Simon Griffiths, founder of SheBeen (bar/ restaurant/live music venue) and toilet paper subscription company Who Gives a Crap. We heard some hard facts about some of the more difficult times both businesses faced, both in the initial stages. Simon was honest about his struggles with finding the right funding model for the businesses, his backflip into the not
for profit sector — which wasn’t quite right either. He talked about the impact game — not impacting millions of people, not making enough impact to satisfy his goals. But in the end, if you can create positive change with minimal change in actual behavior, but a pay off to the part of people that want to do the best thing for the world, you are already winning. • Co Design Studios where CEO Jessica Christiansen gave us a talk and tour of their space. Co Design are a not-for-profit creative consultancy and social enterprise that mainly work within the built environment with a focus on urban interventions and transformation of spaces and places. • Co Design have adopted a methodology called ‘Tactical Urbanism’ incorporating a low-cost, high impact agenda to create thriving public (and some private) places. • Thick Studio and Adam Morris, Thick’s Creative Director, discussed how “User Experience” or “UX” is currently a buzz
term used to explain making/designing of any digital content whereas real UX is designing experiences based on how people interact with a product or service, considering their wants and desires, wrapped in how they use or do it. • The Social Studio and associated restaurant The Cutting Table—both wonderful local social enterprises, operating within a not-for-profit structure that are dedicated to improving the lives of young Australians from migrant or refugee backgrounds. • 24 Hour challenge. The challenge was to come up with, agree and build a presentation around a new proposition that offers a solution or idea to improve the current uptake of engagement between Asylum Seekers and the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre’s Entrepreneurs Program.
We asked some of our UnSchool Alumni what they believe the most effective tools for social change are…
Jay Booklin
Jessie Borrelle
MELB fellows
Fi Clements
Alexia Extrellado
Sydney, Australia
Melbourne, Australia
Dunedin, New Zealand
“A set of tools, a language, or methods that look at problems as a whole instead of as separate parts.”
“Collaboration”
“Co-creating, community and sharing is the way forward. Meditation, natural medicine.”
“Good people to help change the hearts and minds of others to make a difference.”
Mim Kempson
Melbourne, Australia
Craig Scott
Dunedin, New Zealand
Charlotte Rose Mellis Queensland, Australia
Aimee Reeves
Melbourne, Australia
“Intrapreneurship or infiltrating large corporations and changing them from within”
“Get involved and speak up. Awareness is key”
“Intrinsically connecting human beings to nature for a thriving ecology”.
“Challenging us all to be optimistic and intentional about the change we want to see.”
#unschoolMelb
Sydney, Australia
Sara Rickards
Bella Burt-Morris
“Be the change. Because mirror neurons�
The Unschool totally took me out of my own head and gave my thinking and experiences a new context.
Christopher Brew
Abby Rees
Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia
Erik Sumarkho
Melbourne, Australia
Jane Watson
Gretchen Coombs
Sydney, Australia
Shout out to the team! Leyla Acaroglu: Host, Producer Bec McMaster: Co-host Taya Brendel, Natasa Tosic, Simone Steel, Derin Acaroglu: Production team #unschoolMelb
Koel Wrigley
Queensland, Australia
Queensland, Australia
MELB mentors We invite experienced practitioners to mentor at our fellowship programs, around the world, to share their knowledge and experiences in creating change.
Photo credit: Francesco Vicenzi
Simon Griffith
Trent Jansen
Jess Miller
Adam Morris
Monkey Marc
Simon’s latest venture is an ethical home products company. Its flagship product is Who Gives A Crap, an environmentally friendly toilet paper that uses 50% of its profits to build toilets in the developing world. He is also well known for his work as co-founder of Shebeen, Australia’s first nonprofit bar. Shebeen sells exotic beer and wine from the developing world with the profit from each sale supporting a project in that particular drink’s country of origin.
Award winning designer Trent Jansen focuses on producing sustainable designs, with pieces that can connect with the user and bypass the disposable mentality of many of today’s modern designs.
As day job, Jess leads the 202020 Vision – a collective impact campaign that is increasing and improving urban green space by 20% by 2020. Jess is founded Grow it Local - campaign that seeks to improve urban and suburban food resilience by encouraging smallscale urban farming through bribery (amazing dinner) and cheap tricks (very good-looking people).
Creative Director, co-founder of Studio Thick, Adam is a veteran, having held some of the country’s most coveted senior creative posts. Through his proficiency in information architecture, user experience design and digital marketing, Adam has led multiple award-winning projects for the world’s most successful brands across Europe and Australia.
Melbourne-based electronic producer Monkey Marc writes sonically rugged, politically charged music in his solar-powered studio (that he build in a shipping container) by day, and plays it on his solar-powered soundsystem by night. For over 15 years, Monkey Marc has worked with indigenous youth and elders in more than 30 communities around Australia.
She is theTEDxSydney food curator. In 2012 she introduced the idea of crowd-farming, and in 2015 she based the day’s menu around the idea of ‘rebel food’. She co-created the Elizabeth Street Gallery, a ‘guerilla’ long-form photo essay gallery located (initially illegally) on an ugly wall on Elizabeth Street.
Adam is a co-founder of Thick. He is passionate about the power of design to improve people’s lives, and guides our clients through relevant and effective design processes to ensure their experiences, services and products deliver genuine and meaningful value.
Marc has pioneered Transfer of Knowledge projects, which transform traditional Dreamtime stories into modern songs. This helps to strengthen, preserve and reinvigorate sacred indigenous knowledge.
In 2011 he was recognised by The Age’s Melbourne Magazine as one of Melbourne’s Top 100 Most Influential People, and in 2013 he was shortlisted for Young Australian of the Year. #unschoolMelb
Jansen’s practice is for the most part focused on creating honest and poetic sustainable design, developing pieces that aim to maintain a lasting relationship with their user. This work becomes a life long companion instead of a disposable thing, fostering meaningful relationships through the honesty and personality that this work possesses.
where are they now? charlotte mellis
jessie borrelle
mim kempson
Alexia extrellado
So what are you up to? Building a sustainable design agency, whilst working on a solution to Australia’s aging population, using system re-design.
So what are you up to? Taking the pulse of Doctor’s for the Environment Australia’s membership, creative engagement for homelessness campaign, developing Good Looks ethical asset catalogue, making radio, making good fun.
So what are you up to? I’m currently working for an international secretariat of the UN but also write a blog on the side (The New Etiquette - a lifestyle blog featuring scientific reporting and social observation) and freelancing as a writer and editor.
The UnSchool experience… ...cracked my head open enough to let new light in.
The UnSchool experience… ...led me to develop more holistic career goals in terms of how I see myself “saving the world” in some small way. I’m now more invested in sustainable practice. I grew to become more observant of other people’s skills and talents in regards to how they can be utilized most efficiently.
So what are you up to? I’m working as a Library and Learning Programs Coordinator. I am also really passionate about equity and technology. Technology has the opportunity to create a democratic approach to information and community development, but also has the potential to create greater divides.
The UnSchool experience… ...was EPIC, inspiring and empowering. Number one ‘take home’? Everything exists within a system. Where to now? Overseas, to collaborate with rapidly developing communities to design innovative social and environmentally positive solutions. What does the future hold? A healthy balance of oxygen, tears and serotonin.
Number one ‘take home’? The newfound ability to do some kind of supply chain philosophy. Where to now? Engineer enough creative ballast to stay afloat across all my projects.
Check out: http://voxpopuli.earth/
"There are so many different ways we can each participate to helping the world for the better" #unschoolMelb
Mim Kempson
Number one ‘take home’? There are so many different ways we can each participate to helping the world for the better. What does the future hold? To gain a substantial following on my blog, a number which is yet to be set... I don’t like restricting myself to the future prospect of a goal that mightn’t necessarily be attained. Check out: http://www.thenewetiquette.com.au
The UnSchool experience… ...really allowed me to focus on what I wanted direct my energies on. Number one ‘take home’? I think that systems analysis was probably one of the most influential to me. I had already been using models of collective impact, but the idea of emergence really hit home. Where to now? My big hairy goal is actually to develop my skills in coding so that I can create some interesting generative artworks that respond to data sets What does the future hold? My current love project is developing an event for International Day for People with Disability. Unlimited Possibilities: Disability and Science Fiction. It’s really to help build awareness about the social model of disability by highlighting inclusive design teams and processes as a place of innovation as well as presenting some provocations about intentions and contentions of access.
where are they now? christopher brew
aimee reeves
Erik Sumarkho
koel wrigley
So what are you up to? I am trying to write a book.
So what are you up to? Right now I’m working as a user experience designer with Thinkplace, which is in the top 20 most innovative companies in Australia according to the financial review. Most of the work that I have been doing is in the health space. Most exciting stuff is projects with local ACT Government working with parents and students on healthy eating projects. Trying to shift mental models about food and its role in our life to help change eating behaviour.
So what are you up to? At the moment I just took a new role as an Environmental Scientist and Sustainability Consultant for the Stone & Wood Brewery legends. They are doing epic things in terms of sustainable innovation and working with the community. And, continuing to grow and expand VOXPOPULI.earth from the creative outlet it is, that inspires sustainability expressed through art, science, music, sports and nature stuff. In my personal life: Continue chasing for the perfect wave.
So what are you up to? I am still working at Capire as a community engagement consultant. I have been proud to lead one of the biggest local government engagements in Victoria this year - Casey Next. It was also really exciting to see my research into improving energy efficiency for rental properties published in the Conversation.
Number one ‘take home’? An affirmation that curiosity and play can play a curiously large role in creating new worlds, and that this doesn’t necessarily trivialise the issues that we face. Where to now? Everywhere. What does the future hold? Everything.
Number one ‘take home’? Recognising that if what you’re doing isn’t driving towards the kind of world you want to create, then you should shake things up!
jay booklin
What does the future hold? Super passionate about the connection between how we feel and what we eat and building positive emotional connections with healthy eating behaviours in kids from a young age. Future hopefully involves designing tools that will do that!
So what are you up to? Blogging at Social Good Stuff. Number one ‘take home’? Systems thinking and unintended consequences. Check out: www.promiseorpay.com www.socialgoodstuff.com
#unschoolMelb
The UnSchool experience… Intense. Different. Fucking Cool. Number one ‘take home’? At the end, we are all just human beings. Where to now? Working and learning in the Environmental Science and Sustainability fields, especially with Waste. Using my creative skills and passions to grow VOXPOPULI.earth. And, continue chasing for the perfect wave. What does the future hold? Experiences and death. Check out: http://voxpopuli.earth/
The UnSchool experience… The UnSchool was very dynamic, interesting and exhausting. While I loved seeing all the amazing projects and case studies, the tasks were challenging. I still giggle when I think of some of our ‘solutions’ particularly the condom ‘fit bit’. Number one ‘take home’? To stop amongst the busyness and step back and look at the whole picture. Where to now? The immediate future remains tackling community engagement projects in Victoria, particularly difficult trade off discussion with the community. What does the future hold? Next year I hope to build a partnership and skills share with some great NGO’s in South Africa.
unschool fellowship alumni collaborations Bec, craig + fi Meet New Zealand native Bec McMaster, Lead Catalyst at her own business, Sustainable Projects and UnSchool Melbourne co-host; Craig Scott, the Head of Design for New Zealand’s Otago Museum; and Fi Clements, a zerowaste textile practitioner also based in New Zealand. The three connected at the Melbourne Fellowship in 2016 and haven’t looked back; they are currently blending their expertise and agency into two separate and inspiring collaborations! Bec and Craig are currently working in partnership on a project for Foodshare, a perishable food rescue organisation based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Foodshare collects quality excess food that would otherwise go to landfills from commercial businesses, including supermarkets, farmers markets, catering
@unschools
companies, and other similar businesses. They then distribute the produce, free of charge, to over 50 local charities and social service agencies. The rescued food provides vital assistance for vulnerable men, women, and children. In one month of working together, FoodShare rescued 22 tonnes of food waste in a city of 120,000 people! This came about after the two were asked to provide an UnSchool-inspired workshop for local post-graduate Design School students. Rather than doing a simple presentation, they provided an authentic example of agency in action by collaborating with FoodShare. During the workshop, the group mapped the system and presented FoodShare (as their client) with a proposal of possibilities through which they could leverage change, and as a result, receive additional awareness and opportunities for funding and collaboration. Bec and Craig have continued to work with FoodShare on a
number of projects that will help bring these recommendations into fruition. Harnessing that momentum, Craig collaborated with Fi—recognizing her expertise in zero waste and fashion—to join forces on a fashion project close to all of their hearts. The Otago Museum supplied excess exhibition materials, namely tent canvas used in the Who Cared? Otago Nurses in WWI exhibition, to be used as the basis for Fi’s next collection. Senorita AweSUMO, Fi’s brand, encourages conscious consumption by spreading awareness and offering environmentally-friendly fashion choices—and here’s the even more exciting part: it will be featured as part of an upcoming zerowaste fashion collection entitled Who Cared? Cared I, I do! to be showcased at Perth Eco Fashion Week in November 2017! But they didn’t stop there. As part of Fi’s Non-Profit Just Atelier Trust she secured a
prime retail space through Urban Dream Brokerage for Fashion Revolution Week 2016, to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion and to show the world how change is possible. Fi brought Craig on board to help create a dynamic spatial installation where members of the community could attend mending workshops, clothes swaps, and find more about who made their clothes and bring attention to the current state of the fashion industry. Huge congratulations and thanks to Bec, Craig, and Fi, for joining forces, leveraging their passion and expertise, and making epic shit happen!
19–25 June 2015
são paulo
#unschoolSP
What happened in SÃo paulo? We warmed up São Paulo’s winter with our 7 day emerging leaders fellowship program! Nine locals and seven international creative rebels joined us in June 2016 for an adventure into disruptive interventions for social change. What an incredible week we shared together… The adventure started out in the very cool district of Vila Madelena, at Batmans Alley, an open gallery whose walls artists have been adorning since the 1960’s. Our powerhouse team, organised and produced the best best cultural, creative city-wide adventure São Paulo has ever seen! Highlights of São Paulo: • Ecobeco, a group of architect entrepreneurs. Who have outfitted a house with sleek sustainable design solutions, and showed us a drool-worthy example of urban eco-living. • Casa Madalena, the headquarters for Yunus Social Business. It isn’t a co-working space, but rather a house designed to accelerate purpose driving companies. • House of All, a coworking space that also has a Laundromat and coworking food shop! It’s a cluster of several cool little buildings that have been converted
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•
•
• •
into a coworking space, a shared Laundromat, a co-kitchen space for chefs, and a “house of learning” (a space for hosting educative programs like ours)! Mentor Luisa Santiago who walked us through what seemed like her entire life journey as a (disruptive) misfit. Luisa now spearheads the circular economy in Brazil and has put Rio on the list of 100 Resilient Cities. Surprise dinner with our mentors Tomas and Luisa. Two of our Mexican team members, Regina and Arturo, co-cooked for us so we enjoyed an utterly delicious veggiecentric Mexican dinner, complete with secret missions — by opening them we implicated ourselves and agreed to play this sneaky game throughout dinner. It was fascinating and at times hilarious to see the ways in which people strategized to complete their random missions. Field trip to “Villa Nova Esperança,” an organized community located an hour and a half outside of São Paulo. We toured the Innovation Center and
community gardens, which employ several people from the community. One of the community members, Ignacio, took the fellows to Villa Esperanza’s sustainable garden, where recycled materials such as PET bottles and tires are used to build garden beds and hearty plants grow through the clay soil. We were all pleasantly surprised when the secret garden door swung open and revealed such a lush and vibrant place. • The Red Bull Station, set up in an abandoned building, which used to function as an electricity station but now fosters emerging
artists (in their recording and art studio) and supports 16 social innovators. • Talk from Ruy Lopes de Barros, who welcomed us at The Impact Hub and gave us the scoop on what they’re all about. He told us that they work as “connectors of social innovation.” What does that actually mean? At the Impact Hub, they feel responsible for connecting community and running towards “coherence” by trying to improve communities around the world. Ruoi explained that “we need more disruptive thinkers to help break barriers in society”
and that is why he was so excited to host the UnSchool! • Mentor session with Dr. Stuart Candy, an experiential futurist on a mission to bring foresight to life. He’s aiming to use immersive, participatory and guerrilla futures interventions! Stuart lined our fellows up like sausages on a barbecue and asked them to identify if they feel Optimistic or Pessimistic about the future. He then asked the fellows to identify if they feel that they personally can have an impact on this future. All this set up a live human matrix of optimism, pessimism, and everyone’s own perceived ability to have impact on their future. Fellows then spoke about why they put themselves where they did on the matrix. Stuart closed with some insightful comments like “Be the change you want to be, and simulate the rest.” • Mentor session with Kyle Wiens, CEO and Co-founder of IFIXIT.com, the repair community for open source materials and product tear downs. His explanation of the IFIXIT mission, to make repair sexy, took our
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fellows on a pretty exciting journey. Kyle also spoke about how repair is way more efficient than recycling, which makes sense because as you extend the life of one product, you don’t need to replace it and consume more. So…. reduce, reuse, REPAIR, recycle! (Ultimately repair and reuse help that super important first one of reducing.) • Barco Art space, a cultural centre that allows for cross-pollination between actors, painters and other artists. • Mentor session with the epic Garance Choko, a strategist, participatory designer and the founder of Coda, a global network of grassroots problem solvers who exchange “How To’s” across continents. • 24-Hour Challenge. In partnership with Transparency International, an NGO formed by a global coalition of international chapters seeking to find corruption, worldwide, our challenge was to design an intervention to increase the population’s literacy and engagement around corruption.
We asked some of our UnSchool Alumni what they believe the most effective tools for social change are…
sp fellows
Matheus Silva
Guilianna Louis
Valentina Ferrari
Mohamed Bashkeel
“Create a mindset where everything is possible. The most important thing is to start doing and also to meet people eager to help and develop together. ”
“For everything I do I try to systems map how it will affect the world. Even if it’s as simple as complementing someone, or drinking water on a plastic bottle. It’s crazy, you should try.”
“I believe willingness is the most effective tool, if one has the will and internal motivation to change nothing will stop them.”
“Never doubt your ability to challenge the status quo. Change starts from a belief deep within that you CAN make a difference.”
Kalina Juzwiak
Natalia Franzon
Victor Moreira
Alexander Duran
“To love the problems and identify everything that is interconnected to it. we have the power to change systems.”
“I think it is the collaboration. Bringing people together to think of a challenge really makes the change, cause everyone is capable of social change, they just have to be aware of the challenge and be activated to change.”
“No matter what is happening to you right now you have the power to transform it. The belief in this power is what will guide you through the quarrels of life, dont give up, believe in your self and in your dreams, Dream the impossible then go after it and don´t quit untill you achieve it.”
“Forming habits. All society is, is a complex system informed by the things people do every day; most of which are governed by their habits more than anything else. Ideas are great, but the change lies in Action. And action follows habits. So we should probably focus on influencing those things first.”
Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil
#unschoolSP
São Paulo, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil
United Arab Emirates
Oakland, USA
Murillo de Araujo
Caroline Yumi de Carvalho
Marcela Godoy Chile
Greensbourg, USA
“To plan less and act more.”
“Being the example, live it.”
“Brain activation”
“A multi-pronged effort is necessary.”
Anastasia Kuznetzova
Thessa Bos
Aziz Camali
It’s incredibly important to break down old habits of thinking and approach problems in new ways.
“For me the starting point to designing solutions is people’s understanding that their perspective is not a universal truth. Empathy is the key.”
“Amazing”
Brazil
New York City, USA
São Paulo, Brazil
South Africa
Shout out to the team! Luisa Viotti Producer and host Sara Rickards, Arturo Ortega Co-hosts Leticia Rheingantz, Regina Cantu, Leyla Acaroglu Production team #unschoolSP
Brazil
Alyzza May
Isabel Chender Canada
(Un)learning at the unschool not only connected me to artists and designers trying to model a new kind of society, but almost more importantly, it is a way of practicing and daring to try creative ways of working together with a view of disrupting on multiple levels - from personal radical human conciousness to systemic.
sp mentors We invite experienced practitioners to mentor at our fellowship programs, around the world, to share their knowledge and experiences in creating change.
Dr. Stuart Candy
Tomás de Lara
Luisa Santiago
Kyle Wiens
Dr Stuart Candy is an experiential futurist on a mission to bring foresight to life, aiming to use immersive, participatory and guerrilla futures interventions to pattern a wiser and more vital culture of public imagination. He recently co-created the award-winning imagination game The Thing From The Future, and helped to design the 2016 Museum of the Future at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
Social entrepreneur and a conscious business netweaver, Tomás co-founded Goma a coowning space and collaborative ecosystem of social entrepreneurs and two Hubs of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community. Business administrator with a master in digital communication, Tomás is a specialist on collaborative and sustainable economies, is a co-leader of B Corps movement in Brazil, member of the board of Coca-Cola Brazil’s foundation and a teacher at Brazil’s leading social innovation schools. Invited in 2013 to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss technologies for social innovation and crowdfunding, Tomás is based now in Rio de Janeiro focusing his work, studies and lectures on fostering the shift of old businesses paradigms that are based on competitive and EGOcentric culture to ECOcentric and collaborative economical life supporting systems.
Luisa consults in strategy and sustainability areas, working in collaboration with businesses, governments and the third-sector.
Kyle Wiens is the co-founder of iFixit, the repair community internationally renowned for open source repair manuals and product teardowns.
He is currently Director of the Situation Lab and a tenure-track professor in the world’s first hybrid foresight/design program, at OCAD University in Toronto.
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Mayra Fonseca
Garance Choko
Mayra Fonseca is a cultural researcher and works with behavior for over 13 years.
Garance is a social entrepreneur, international system builder and innovation strategist.
where are they now? natalia franzon So what are you up to? My own business - a school of innovation through design called Look Up Lab. My true passion right now is creating awesome experiences for my lab’s clients and trying to find ways to make social innovation real in our daily activities. The UnSchool experience… The UnSchool experience took me out of a simplistic vision I was limited to see as an entrepreneur trying to make a business work, and brought me the vision of an interconnected world that can be changed and that we can make better through our projects. It really made me feel more empowered and to believe more in my capacity of change making. That for sure makes me a better leader.
Number one ‘take home’? “Call me trim tab.” The idea that we, as a tiny part of the whole system, are able to make the difference and really influence to make the future we want to see, made me feel more empowered. It made me think and rethink till now how I’m going to make it real in my projects at Look Up Lab. Where to now? I’m trying to figure out now how I’m going to implement sustainability in everything that my company does. For now, we’ve banished the coffee cups and most of the post its. We are definitely going to do much more. What does the future hold? We are re-launching my lab with all the new ideas that I came up with after the fellowship. New courses and experiences and a new website!
"Everything really is interconnected, and I am seeing that everywhere now." Alexander Duran
#unschoolSP
alexander duran So what are you up to? Learning how to build movements, by attempting to build a movement! The UnSchool experience… ...influenced my life in ways more profound than my career. But in terms of influencing my career, it gave me the confidence to just start working on things that utilize the skills I have today, while enabling me to build the skills and knowledge base I will need for what I want to accomplish tomorrow. Number one ‘take home’? Thinking in systems. Everything really is interconnected, and I am seeing that everywhere now.
Where to now? I am in the infant stages of co-creating a project based around the intersection of kids and sustainability. The idea is to get and share their perspectives, creating and empowering a community of very young people (and thereby their parents) who can then work together for culture shift instead of climate shift. What does the future hold? I am currently working with a lifestyle brand to build a movement and community centered around the goal of living life on your own terms (kind of like designing your work around your life, as opposed to the opposite, which seems to be the norm). I am coming on board as a strategist and designer to build the brand and the movement. Check out: http://lookuplab.com.br
where are they now? marcela godoy So what are you up to? I’m the president of Circular, the first association of sustainable consumers in Chile, the organizer of the environmental committee of my neighborhood council “Barrio Bellavista”, a member of the community environmental committee (CAC) Recoleta District, and CEO of SlowHomeBlog, a blog about sustainable lifestyle. The UnSchool experience… ... made me aware about the power of systems thinking as a tool to make positive change, and that I can facilitate change making at different scales, as an agent and as a collective to create a movement that builds a new system. It also helped to empower me and put my leadership in action and activate people to participate in change,
#unschoolSP
Number one ‘take home’? To stop thinking that individuals do not affect anything in the change of a system. Where to now? I had the idea before going to unshool, but what I learned gave me the strength and the tools to do so. So… I created SlowHomeBlog, a website where I publish content about the sustainable remodeling of my department, including purchasing decisions, design and changes in my consumption habits (as an agent) and also the actions that I make with the residents (as a collective) in my neighborhood to improve our quality of life and influence in public policies of the local government, hoping to be referents to our experience be replicated in other neighborhoods. What does the future hold? Positioning AdC Circular as a government collaborator organism and as a promoter of a change of the production and consumption model to another sustainable one in Chile and to grow the SlowHomeBlog community. We are also working on public policies regarding use of the plastic bag among consumers and trade.
Caroline Yumi de Carvalho So what are you up to? Foreign Language Education Startup, International Education Coaching. The UnSchool experience… ... empowered me to take ownership of my career and most importantly, my life. After the Fellowship, I will only do what takes me closer to who I want to become.
Number one ‘take home’? Systems Thinking... It’s all interconnected. Where to now? Hacking my cluster, by valuing and learning from different knowledge areas What does the future hold? I’m about to start in a new company and I will be part of the Nubank team – a startup that is disrupting the financial system in Brazil!
where are they now? matheus silva So what are you up to? I am a Local Agent of Innovation in Programa ALI, and promote the continued practice of innovation actions on small businesses through proactive and personalized guidance. I’m also consulting to SMEs to suggest changes in order to positively impact management and implement innovation. The UnSchool experience… ...was a turning point experience which allowed me to think in a different way, using systems thinking and making connections between stakeholders in a deeper and wider way. It also made me feel more confident about the decisions I am making to change the Education system and leave a legacy in the world. Fellows from 5 different countries and with different perspectives and backgrounds made me develop my listener side and act in a synergic way in order to achieve the main goal of the group. It was an intense experience and I am sure that this kind of experience makes me a better leader and person. Number one ‘take home’? Asking is more important than giving answers.
#unschoolSP
Where to now? I have a Educational project called Meraki Group. Meraki is a Greek word that means “do something with soul, creativity or love. It is a development program and personal empowerment that aims to expand the worldview of people to enhance their skills and abilities to society, promoting the principle that we are protagonists of our own lives. It provokes people to rethink and act against the status quo and be the change you want to see in the world throughout methodologies of coaching, entrepreneurship (such as Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design) and collaborative games.
murillo de araujo
What does the future hold? I want to consolidate my development and innovation program in High Schools in order to foster entrepreneurship and skills among young people.
Number one ‘take home’? Always be willing to learn more!
So what are you up to? Projeto RUAS (a social tool to engage communities about homelessness in their region). Also working on an E-book about each UnSchool topic. The UnSchool experience… ...taught me new tools to apply and got me engaged with Systems Thinking.
Where to now? Develop RUAS and make it financially sustainable. Also continue studying UnSchool topics to produce this ebook, especially Systems Thinking. What does the future hold? To test and scale RUAS up in Brazil and other countries. Check out: http://www.projetoruas.org.br
"Asking is more important than giving answers" Matheus Silva
where are they now? alyzza may
Number one ‘take home’? Being problem loving when seeking solutions.
So what are you up to? I’m coordinating a Quaker youth group and a freelance facilitator for the Theatre of the Oppressed. I am also working on The Greensboro Mural Project, on Cakalak Thunder, Participatory Budgeting, and Black Lives Matter GSO. The UnSchool experience… ... helped me to shed much of the jadedness that I have been holding onto the past few years which has been so healing and fruitful. The work I am connected to is growing with the experiences of the UnSchool.
Where to now? Raise at least $10k for the Greensboro Mural Project and to apply to grad school! What does the future hold? The Greensboro Mural Project is undertaking two projects, one is a Queer Ancestors podcast and mural initiative where we will be interviewing LGBTQIA people in Greensboro and creating podcasts and murals based on the responses. The other project is a major mural rooted in the history and legacy of the Underground Railroad, Civil Rights Movement, and current social justice movements. Check out: https://greensboromuralproject.com
"Life works in cycles, and it is time to create and embrace a new moment, where all the tools in the toolbox are interconnected and can create a service as a new system to help others.'' Kalina Juzwiak
#unschoolSP
kalina juzwiak So what are you up to? Using art and design as tools to create innovative projects. The UnSchool experience… ... gave me a more systemic view of the way to apply all the capacities and aims in one place. Life works in cycles, and it is time to create and embrace a new moment, where all the tools in the toolbox are interconnected and can create a service as a new system to help others. I had some ongoing projects before and during the fellowship, and the tools learned during the fellowship gave me even more opened eyes to create new systems. The main thing is the “do not point fingers” at people when you have something to say. I had that in mind for quite some time but added another vision to it after the fellowship. There is a way around and to change the environment rather then pointing fingers to the habits directly.
Number one ‘take home’? Everything is interconnected, life is a game and people work with punishment and rewards, we are surrounded by systems, problem loving, empathy and push through the froth. We are all artists in our ways. I believe people should explore more their creative potentials. Where to now? Using my creative and rational toolbox to create impacting projects and services, uniting everything in one place, with a flexible modular system. What does the future hold? I want to establish and gain more credibility for my authentic creations and establish my new ongoing services. Check out: www.kaju.ink www.comtijolo.com www.osmosecw.com.br/simbiose
unschool by numbers 2 people quit their job during the fellowship!
47%
of fellows quit their job within the year before or after the fellowship. (20 out of 43 people)
75%
of the people that didn’t quit their job after the fellowship, at least thought about leaving.
15 people didn’t quit, but thought about it. (15 out of 20 total No’s) Average age of Fellows:
years old
9 people quit their job after the fellowship. (1 out of every 5 fellows)
We accidentally became a school for quitters! Which we love, since we believe everyone should figure out how to activate their own agency to make change in the world with purpose.
unschool by numbers Formal education level:
# of years you’ve been involved in making positive social change? Based on 38 responses
50%
post graduate degree
23.7%
42.1%
Less than 1 year 1-2 years 5-9 years
50%
graduate degree
+10 years
23.7% 10.5%
unschool by numbers Have you formed a project collaboration with another UnSchool fellow?
Which UnSchool Fellowship location had the highest participant response rate to the survey?
10
alumni have
that's 1 out of every 4 fellows
new york city 2015
mexico city 2015
melbourne 2016
sĂƒo paulo 2016
30%
28%
23%
19%
14 responses
13 responses
11 responses
9 responses
Note: this was just for fun and only half our community could get the time to press pause from change-making to respond to our annoying survey!
the unschools fellowship alumni yearbook team research
Dylan Lunney Meli Scioli
production Taya Brendle Heidi Sloane
DESIGN
Craig Scott
The UnSchools Fellowship Alumni Yearbook was produced by the community, for the community.
@unschools
fellowship alumni yearbook 2015-2016 @unschools
www.unschools.co