Cultivating conditions for transformative change
"We cannot solve our biggest problems if we do not come together. It is not only about institutions or processes. It is in the first instance about our mindsets."
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres
“Transformative Spaces” is a collective initiative across UN partners whose goal is to convene “safe and inclusive spaces for connection, dialogue, co-creation and transformation” and amplify these across different workspaces and networks of engagement and dialogue.
Our global challenge
More than halfway through the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are not being achieved fast enough. Furthermore, events have run ahead of the UN’s capacity to adapt, with lightning-fast transformative changes in the world. To accelerate progress on the SDGs and UN80 outcomes, established ways of dialogue and cooperation must shift to cultivate our collective capacity for truly inclusive collaboration and effective solutions.
The UN Secretary-General, in Our Common Agenda (2021), called for an “upgraded UN that is fit for a new era and can offer more relevant, system-wide, multilateral and multi-stakeholder solutions to the challenges of the 21st century”. Global leaders and a diverse range of actors convened at the Summit of the Future, during which a Pact for the Future was adopted, forging a renewed vision for international cooperation that is more networked, inclusive, and effective. The UN80 Initiative proposes “a paradigm shift in how the UN system organizes its work and collaborates for greater impact."
What will it take to create the conditions for transformative change?
Transformative Spaces proposes to cultivate the conditions needed for transformative change
These are intentional learning and co-creation workshops that integrate theory, practice and peer-to-peer learning to create the space (mental, emotional, physical) for participants to:
- experience participatory, inclusive methods for approaching systemic challenges;
- share experiences and co-create ideas and solutions to those challenges; and
- provide connections for future support in their work and across existing networks.
Transformative Spaces seeks to democratize learning and access to tools, practices, and creative spaces to build a strong foundation for a forward-thinking and inclusive culture to accelerate the SDGs with all partners and stakeholders and to better support Member States.
It strives to help grow individual and collective capacity for transformational change on a systems level.
Workshops
Creating psychological safety has been shown to be one of the most essential conditions for transformational change and impact and is intertwined with fostering an inclusive workplace culture and well-being.
The workshop on Creating Psychological Safety is offered on a regular basis. Dates and registration can be accessed in The Blue Line, an online learning hub designed by the UN, and for the UN.
Transformative Spaces is powered by a growing coalition, including academia and the private sector, that aims to overcome the persistent challenge of sustaining momentum beyond pilot projects.