Welcome to the May edition of the Global Ecovillage Network newsletter.
Our month begins in celebration, with the close of our Green Match campaign. For all of you who support our work financially, physically, and mentally, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you. 

Change is in the air this month and we have exciting new updates for you. Read on to learn about our new interactive online Community Sustainability Summit, updated dates for the upcoming Permaculture Design Course, an open call for our annual Hilder Jackson Award, free workshops, and updates from the network. 

Our online Summit is back and now it is completely different!

This first interactive edition of our brand new Community Sustainability Summit event series, "Problems in Sustainability: An Interactive Panelist Discussion," explores the most contentious issues affecting the regeneration movement today (e.g. “Should we stop having children for the environment?” “Should intentional communities practice polyamory?” “Can omnivorous communities be called ‘eco-friendly?’“).

This is your chance to network and learn with a community of regeneration experts and enthusiasts from around the world. Featuring Charles Eisenstein, Sonita Mbah, Tiejun Wen, and Meg Wheatley.

Problems in Sustainability: An Interactive Panelist Discussion
22 May 2022, 3-5 pm UTC (find your local time)

Mark your calendars and help spread the word, GEN’s Community Sustainability Summit first workshop of 2022 is happening on May 22! Look out for more Summit Workshops coming in November 2022 and February 2023! 

You can find more information and the registration form. here: https://communitysustainabilitysummit.org 

Join panelists from around the world for an interactive online event with expert Q&As, curated small-group discussions, networking, and more!

Our online Permaculture Design Course upcoming cohort will have new dates, soon to be confirmed! 

This special course explores Ecovillages as examples and sources of expertise for permaculture design in action. You can find more information and the registration form here: https://ecovillage.org/permaculture-design-course/

Together with Gaia Trust, GEN developed the Hildur Jackson Award to honour the global projects demonstrating regeneration best practices in all dimensions of sustainability. The €3,000 prize is awarded annually to projects that bring impactful ecovillage inspiration to a broad audience.

As the applicants continue to impress us each year, we are pleased to this year *add* to the prize options. While we can only provide a financial reward to the top applicant, the top 3 projects will be invited to a ‘needs assessment’ call with the GEN team to explore how we can further support and enhance your work. This could result in additional support from either:

• the Education team, to co-design a ‘Masterclass’ on our Online Learning Platform (for which you would retain 80% of the course fees);
• the Fundraising team, to co-design a crowdfunding campaign or explore further financing opportunities;
• the Communications team, to co-design more in-depth storytelling about your work;
• the Operations team, to explore our volunteer database and plugin further support;
• or other ideas as they arise in our discussion

You can find more information and the registration form here: https://ecovillage.org/get-involved/hildur-jackson-award/

In GEN, we continue to explore the interconnections between schools and communities. Over the past two years, we have been hosting a webinar series to present the amazing work that is happening in the field of education.

On Tuesday, May 17 from 16-18h UTC the series continues as we showcase more inspiring examples of how ecovillage principles are being applied in diverse educational contexts. 

We especially invite educators, parents, and members of learning communities who are interested in integrating regenerative approaches and ecovillage design principles into their activities.

Join us for free by registering here.

Celebrating GENerosity and the success of our Earth Day campaign!

We are celebrating the results of our campaign "Building Resilience in times of Crisis". It always feels vulnerable to ask for money – whether you are an individual or an organization. We are very grateful for the generosity of everyone who contributed to the campaign: be it donations, help with promotion, or your kind wishes for us. 

As GEN explores new ways to support its work financially, we must rely on our wider mycelium in these turbulent times. We are searching for new donors and new ways to support our unconventional work of building the ecovillage movement. We invite input from our network and welcome resourceful suggestions.

For the campaign, "Building Resilience in times of Crisis," we were awarded by the Green Match Fund from the UK, which doubled the donations – the great results of this campaign depended on each of you who helped us. Thank you!

Your support evokes deep gratitude and provides us with the motivation to continue moving forward with our mission, day by day, to fulfill your hopes and our collective dream of a regenerative world. 

If you haven't donated yet and would like to, you can still do it here: https://ecovillage.org/earthday

“Cultural shifts happen on a different level; they come into view only when we step back enough to see a bigger picture changing over time." - Joanna Macy

Join us to explore the role of culture in any given context, how it influences our society and behaviour, and the subtle yet impactful way that culture forms the foundation of our day-to-day realities. With this deep understanding, we will be the stronger catalyst for change toward "the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible".

The cultural dimension of the REGEN-Nations learning programme is starting on May 30th 2022. Registration is now open here: https://learn.ecovillage.org/course/regen-nations/

Trauma-informed leadership helps us to wake up to the symptoms of individual, ancestral and collective trauma, and to move towards healing and restoration. Together, we move from traumatizing to trauma-sensitive, trauma-informed and trauma-healing institutions and cultures. Our collective wounds need a collective body to heal.

The Trauma-Informed Leadership Course, starting on May 24th, will bring together a global community and offer a continuation, refinement and deepening of the 2021 Trauma-informed Leadership Course. As trauma-informed leaders, we develop our skills for systemic healing, becoming more able to integrate the past, fulfill our potential and create new opportunities with our teams.

The course is organized by the Pocket Project in collaboration with Charter for Compassion and Global Ecovillage Network and offers a mixture of live sessions, small group activities, affinity group meetings and
integration calls.

Follow the link to know more about the course, watch the FREE Pre Call Recording by Thomas Hübl or sign up to join and build new capacities: https://pocketproject.org/trauma-informed-leadership-course-ii/?ref=14

Join GEN Europe in the celebration and exploration of community in all its forms: from urban co-housing to rural farming collectives, and everything in between. Picking up the pieces from two years that have dramatically changed our lives and societies, we feel called to action. 

Join ecovillagers and explorers, families and farmers, artists and activists for four days of practical workshops, inspiring talks, crafts, music, and more in Ananda Gaorii, an ecovillage, organic farm, and retreat centre in Denmark. 

Learn more at https://ecovillagegathering.org/ 

Ticket sales open Monday, May 9th! 

After two-and-a-half years of border closures in Vanuatu, Ecovillage Edenhope is at last ready to open up to international visitors from July onwards. They will be hosting an in-person gathering in August at Edenhope:

"We invite you to the heart of Edenhope Nature Preserve: an ecovillage located in the remote rainforest of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. 

Step into the center of everywhere and find yourself where you belong: here we provide a sanctuary for your inner exploration, a place to reconnect with the power of nature in the presence of a vibrant community of friends. 

For the duration of this gathering, we will be sharing a space of conscious communion and creativity. The flow of each day will provide you with the time and space you need to untangle from the world, whilst connecting and sharing meaningfully with others. 

Here we come together to attune to what is real: allowing happiness to shine forth, of its own accord, from our place in the heart of nature. "

Know more about the Happiness Shines Gathering and register here: https://edenhope.org/hs-gathering