UnaVison Overview
UnaVision - Co-Creating Future
The UnaVision initiative invites you to co-create a better future.
Join us for innovative experimenting resilient lifestyles supported by an international network for sustainable good living in harmony with our unique fragile biosphere.
Our Vision
In a rapidly changing world, the ability of fast evidence-based reactions and building up resilience become increasingly important. Therefore, the UnaVision initiative is building up self-learning structures within a global network and invites you to co-create an emerging framework for prototypes of good living that respects a diverse global society and the biosphere of our planet. Our Vision of a content life is worked on by systematically practicing, refining, adapting and expanding the framework of UnaVillage regions in rural areas. We envision a global sharing and solidary community. UnaVersity is supporting this vision with a systematic transformative learning process, innovative learning approaches and an international exchange of experience and competence. We take responsibility for the dignity of people of different genders, ages, educational backgrounds, races and beliefs and for the protection and regeneration of the environment and nature. UnaVillages and the UnaVision network will be governed with a sociocratic system.
Approaches
- UnaVision stands for a growing global sharing network of people working towards the vision of good life for all people and future generations establishing and supporting UnaVillage regions and UnaVersity offers.
- UnaVillage regions are prototypes for resilient sustainable living, learning and working together, aiming for a content life.
- UnaVersity offers transformative learning processes and innovative learning approaches to research about sustainable living and disseminates the results.
Teilnehmersuche UnaVision Herzershof !
Möchtest du bei einem spannenden und lehrreichen Projekt mitmachen?
Table of Contents
Objectives
We aim at providing for all UnaVillage community members affordable access to healthy food, accommodation, education, preventive health services, cultural activities, a safety net in case of special needs or health problems and peaceful aging. This gives members the scope and the spare time to find out and do what they "really, really want to do with their lives for themselves and for society". This enables emergence of fundamental improvement for our own lives, our communities and our environment by activating, joining and working with like-minded people for good living. We like to recognize patterns and co-create a pattern language, how future living can be "good living for everybody", and at the same time secure a sustainable development of our planet as we are all interdependent within one biosphere on one planet. These aims are achieved by a step by step approach recognizing regional, organizational, financial and other constrains. This is our common UnaVision.
UnaVision Global Network
In several countries groups of people are forming to promote the UnaVision concept, establish UnaVillage regions in rural areas and city hubs and develop UnaVersity offers. These groups are in different stages of this process.
Our History
The concept emerges out of a decade of Learning- and Research Journeys. The fundament of the UnaVision initiative is based on the input from many people participating in idea camps, hiking dialogs, learning journeys and academies of the Global Marshall Plan Initiative. Based on this the concept for the non-profit cooperative ThinkCamp was born in 2007. It initiated in 2013 the "Caravan of Change" called "dunaVision" (see Report) in which the UnaVision initiative emerged: During this eight months long journey, more than on thousand people from over fourteen European countries connected in 50 workshops to talk about "What is really, really important in our lives for ourselves, the society and our planet?" The ThinkCamp idea emerged out of the Global Marshall Plan activities to foster bottom up initiatives and to prototype new frameworks for a regenerative world. A big influence to our approach comes from Frithjof Bergmann with his breakthrough concept of New Work – New Culture. Important impulses come from the principle of pattern language and the Nature of Order from Christopher Alexander, the Transition Network, GIVE (Global Village Network), Global Ecovillage Network GEN, Economy for the Common Good and the Basic Income Network BIEN.
UnaVillages - Prototypes for Life
UnaVillage
The UnaVillage starts with UnaVersity project-based learning locations such as some agricultural fields for food supplies, workshops and housing units. The location may expand to a community of several hundred members. This community consists of permanent full-time members, people and organisations from the region and participating short term learners and scholars from around the globe. The UnaVillage and UnaVersity should serve as a node and hub for the region and offer learning and working opportunities for neighbouring inhabitants. UnaVillages work in conjunction and close cooperation with regional developments led by local civil society and supported by institutions such as NGOs, universities, associations and municipalities. One objective is to enrich the social, cultural and environmental development of the region. UnaVillages may become catalysts for new ideas, social and technological innovations, good and healthy livelihoods, meaningful work and eco-social entrepreneurships.
UnaVillage Region
The UnaVillage regions are located in rural areas and supported by a UnaVision city hub for connection to stake holders like governments and other NGOs and for advertising and knowledge transfer. UnaVillages are real-life experiments, that we call prototypes, of physical learning locations for sustainable and content living, working and learning together. Buildings are renovated or newly built from natural and regional materials. Regenerative energy, environmentally friendly water and hygiene systems will become a best practice example of regenerative, sustainable living. The region transforms into an eatable and permaculture region by using public and private spaces for planting trees, raising vegetables, herbs, fruits and other crops for producing organic, regional food.
Eco-Social Entrepreneurship - Circular Economy
Healthy social enterprises are a necessity for the economic sustainability of an UnaVillage region. We define eco-social enterprises as organisations who provide quality products and services needed by the UnaVillage region and beyond. They create value for the society and invest surpluses back into the region. They also aim at closing circles of production and material flows.
UnaVersity - Transformative Learning
T-Learning
UnaVersity offers a unique environment for transformative and project-based learning as part of the UnaVillage prototypes. Under T-Learning (Transformative Learning) we are co-developing a learning process on an individual, team and UnaVision network level. This process covers single and double loop learning of continuous, incremental improvements asking the questions "Are we doing things right?" and "Are we doing the right things?". More important for us is the triple loop learning with the key questions "What are the right things to do?" and "What do you really, really like to do with your life for yourself, society and nature?". For active participants of the UnaVersity prototypes these questions are regularly asked during T-Learning activities. What we also use these questions for is life in the UnaVision system. This covers the UnaVillage communities with working circles, topic circles, coordination circles, the partnering eco-social enterprises and the UnaVision global network as a whole. This system represents our miniature world for which we have more influence implementing the changes we like to see for good, sustainable living in the future! As you may recognize, our approach is not conducting workshops and talks about change, but implementing and being the change we like to see!
Additional learning opportunities for this T-Learning process are innovative approaches of research and learning journeys, hiking dialogs, workshops, vision labs, topic labs and so forth. These will support individual and team learning activities and enhance personal growth and the co-creation of eco-social enterprises. We see the importance and need of learning systems which are human centred and not based on standard curricula and influenced by special interest groups.
Project Based Learning
Individuals or teams decide on creating a project. This can be offering an event, building an oven or a house, co-creating a product or service or founding an eco-social enterprise. This project will be looked at from all aspects and perspectives such as ecological, economical, functional, sustainability or systemic relevance. Learners may receive critique of assumptions and can reflect in constructive dialogs their learnings, feelings, needs and desires. This way, they may reach, with help of feedback and reflection, a higher level of understanding.
TOPIC Circles
The learning topics are for example about personal interests, team and community development, healthy living, New Work or economic models. We will apply this learning process to the different learning, working and living environments within the UnaVision global communities. We also support lifelong learning and promote the key competences for that. We like to foster with this special learning approach an important and lasting change for the UnaVillage inhabitants, participants and learning communities. Topics are related to all fields of life but especially about finding passion and fields of work, which the people really, really like to do and at the same time sustains their livelihood.
Learning and Research Journeys
Learning journeys for individuals and teams help to answer the question "What do I really, really like to do with my life?". UnaVersity participants co-design their inner and outer learning journeys, identify some learning partners, mentors and experts to support them and start with suitable activities. As part of the learning journeys, people can participate in inspiring projects and programs and also experience interaction with likeminded people within the Transformative Learning process in an UnaVillage region. Finding orientation that way, participants can design and prototype eco-social enterprises or join existing ones. Basically, we work with our 4-M philosophy: Moving – to move with your body, thoughts and mind; Meeting – to meet and understand other people; lead profound dialogues and share ideas and experience; Making – co-create a sustainable future and implement eco-social innovations; Multiplying – sharing experience, insights, knowledge and information openly and use creative commons.
Hiking Dialogues
Since many years we implemented hiking dialogues. The idea is to concentrate the conversation on one topic and have an exchange of dialogues, meditations, ideas, concepts and thoughts. Hiking dialogues are a special combination of nature, mind and spiritual activities. You may get deeply connected with nature and the content of the topic and, at the same time, with participating people. Hikes were conducted on four continents. The duration lasts from one day to several months.
Trainees - Internships - Voluntary Services
Since many years people joined our activities for shorter or longer periods. We are looking for motivated people to support the co-development of the UnaVision network and UnaVersity activities. As a trainee you are active in different circles such as gardening, alternative building, Eco-Social entrepreneurship and administrative work. You develop your own program and set your own learning objectives. There are also multiple topics for BA or Master theses within the UnaVision network.
ERASMUS+ Activities
Erasmus+ is the European Union Programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Its budget of €14.7 billion will provide opportunities for over 4 million Europeans to study, train, and gain experience abroad. Besides offering opportunities for students it has a wide variety of activities for individuals and organisations. Since 2010 we conducted and participated in several ERASMUS K-1 and K-2 actions. There are current activities that you can join. We are also looking for partners from program countries and neighbouring countries. Please register with us and check our news and events pages.
UnaTools
The UnaVision approach is a systematic approach. Tools, methods, frameworks and existing concepts can help with the research and learning activities and especially with prototyping the future. Here are some of the frameworks and tools of our box:
- The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) serve as a framework and are the blueprints to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
- Sociocracy gives us the governance and decision-making method.
- The concepts of New Work-New Culture, Economy of Common Good and Eco-Social Entrepreneurship are inputs for our working and economic systems.
- Systems Thinking, Design Thinking and systems analysis may help us understand the complexity of our social, technical and environmental systems and find trigger points to change for the good.
- The concept of Pattern Languages can help identifying and understanding the patterns of life.
ThinkCamp non-profit Cooperative
ThinkCamp is a non-profit cooperative based in Brandenburg, Germany. Our roots are with the Global Marshall Plan Initiative, the Club of Rome, the Rio Process 1992, New Work-New Culture from Prof. Frithjof Bergmann, the Economy for the Common Good, the philosophy of Basic Income and the idea of Eco-Social Entrepreneurship.
ThinkCamp initiative was founded in March 2008 during the Global Marshall Plan "Save the World Now Conference" in Berlin by Johannes Pfister. The objective was to create a global network of concrete prototypes and learning environments for sustainable development and identify patterns for that. In April 2010 a group of people founded the non-profit ThinkCamp cooperative in Augsburg, which moved 2017 to Brandenburg, Germany. The idea for today´s concept emerged from the insights of the "Caravan of Change 2013", a learning journey passing through 18 European countries and the Project Based Learning activities during the years afterwards.
