You can start by asking yourself whether you are committed to reimagining/reclaim education in response to the critical challenges facing the planet. Are you exploring new pedagogies which deepen our notions of interbeing and expand collective consciousness? Are you in partnership with social movements, local communities and natural ecosystems? Are you working consistently with learners of age 17+? 

There is no one model for becoming an ‘ecoversity’. If you look through the website, you will notice that very different initiatives have joined the Ecoversities Alliance, exploring a range of learning areas such as: sustainable living, social entrepreneurship, spirituality, cultural regeneration, ecosystem restoration, arts, direct actions, etc.  Many of these initiatives are committed to respecting the autonomy of the learner, connecting with/replenishing local context, challenging violence and injustice, co-creating with the more-than-human, and aiming to decolonise and reclaim knowledge.

The Alliance is an open ‘semi-structured’ network meant to offer a wide space for co-learning/unlearning and learning from each other’s communities. The Alliance is designed to support diverse, dynamic, spontaneous, intimate friendships and collaborations between the members. We value the power of the ‘informal’ and encourage members to self-organize to collaborate on projects, publications and learning exchanges together.

A Steering Committee of 6 members who have been participating and hosting gatherings since 2014, volunteered to support the spirit and the growth of the Alliance. Its role was to administer grant funding  received for collaborative activities.

Since 2021, an organic transition has started, with the previously known Steering Committee group dissolving into an Assembly made up of members of self-organized working circles, an experimental horizontal governance structure in favor of larger participation, clearer distribution of tasks, and more autonomy for the different working groups. 

The biggest benefit is to have a group of peers from around the world who share  similar paths as you, and who are committed to re-imagining education and the ways in which we are, learn and relate. Collaborating within the Alliance can help your initiative grow and deepen, add legitimacy and credibility to our projects, strengthen our capacities and imagination, and thus expand the pool of learners and resources available to each of us.

The Alliance also offers grant funding to members for fellowships to travel to other ecoversities, participate in the global gatherings, organize regional gatherings, publish texts and produce films, participate in conferences, and promote and disseminate material within the network.  The network has also activates campaigns in support of members and communities in struggle.

Ecoversities has been built and nourished through relationships. In a similar way, becoming a member means starting to weave relationships. If you would like to become part of the Alliance you may want to reach out to an Alliance member in your region and start connecting with people by attending an Ecoversities gathering or event. Check our News and Events page or follow Ecoversities on Facebook and Instagram to be notified about Welcome Calls, General Members Meetings, Regional Gatherings etc. 

We invite you to actively contribute to our network by finding ways to collaborate, reaching out to other members, participating in and promoting gatherings and events.  As we grow, there is a need for more people to become involved in the day-to-day operations of our network to support existing and new ecoversities in their efforts to thrive. We invite you to join one of the various working circles connected with our initiatives: Publications Circle, Germinators Circle, Pollinators Circle, Global Gathering Circle,  Regional Gatherings Circle, Grant Administration Team, Communication Circle, Residencies Circle, Regional Collaborative Projects Circle, and Welcome Circle. We also invite you to participate in your regional gatherings and actively collaborate with other Ecoversities in your region on relevant joint projects, hosting Ecoversities members, co-designing workshops, etc. Lastly, we invite you to participate in the annual Global Gathering, a fundamental experience to get to know the members, the ethos of the Alliance and its vision and mission.

There are currently no membership dues. Most of the ‘collective work’ of the Alliance takes place through the voluntary efforts of the members.

The Alliance operates in the spirit of gift culture. The idea behind gift culture is to experiment with and build an alternative economy that values everyone’s time and energy and is built on the principles of mutual care, solidarity, generosity, trust, and open sharing. You are invited to contribute what you can afford and offer the gifts, energies, and resources you choose.