This stream engages the wider geopolitical, economic, and ecological dynamics that are reshaping the conditions for civil society globally. It takes as its starting point a recognition that is emerging with increasing clarity across the network: that the erosion of the rules-based international order is not a temporary disruption but a structural shift, and that the concentration of technological and political power in new configurations is creating conditions that existing civil society strategies were not built for.
The focus is not primarily on action but on deepening collective understanding. Strategies that once worked are not only becoming less effective but in some cases are becoming liabilities. Single-issue approaches that made sense within a stable institutional order may no longer be adequate to a moment where the order itself is shifting. This stream creates space to connect the dots across contexts, to examine how responses to these shifts are affecting coordination and solidarity, and to begin rethinking theories of change, paradigms, and strategies in light of a reality that is qualitatively different from what most of the sector was built for.
Without a deeper shared analysis of the forces at work and how they interconnect, coordination risks reproducing the very frameworks that are no longer holding. This stream supports participants to move toward a more coordinated and clearer-eyed understanding of what is happening, one that can inform action but does not rush to it.
Participants may find this stream most useful if they:
Sense that existing analyses, strategies, or frameworks may no longer fully apply to the current moment.
Want to engage with the wider dynamics reshaping civil society, not only the immediate pressures on their own organisation.
Are interested in connecting patterns across regions, themes, and scales.
Are willing to sit with complexity and uncertainty rather than seeking immediate solutions.
This stream may not be the best fit if you are primarily seeking personal support (Stream 1), practical organisational exchange (Stream 2), or direct conversation with funders about the architecture of philanthropy (Stream 3). It is also not designed as a generalised geopolitical discussion.
This is a space of collective inquiry. Differences in analysis and interpretation are expected and welcomed. The aim is not to produce a shared diagnosis or unified position.
The aim is to strengthen participants' capacity to read what is happening, to challenge assumptions that may no longer hold, and to think together about what different conditions require.
Facilitated inquiry-based conversations rather than open exchange alone.
Small group dialogues, reflective exercises, and structured conversations to support depth.
Space for careful challenge, questioning, and context-specific reflection.
Peer-to-peer sensemaking across different positionalities and experiences.
Focus on connecting dots across contexts and developing shared analytical language.
Held with particular attention to ensuring the conversation remains grounded in participants' realities.