The new Bioneers learning platform offers a ray of hope and strength for activists and anyone concerned about the state of the physical and political environment and culture’s ability to deal.
In the spring of 2023, the global change-makers conference Bioneers made its new home in the East Bay. Having been held at the once state-of-the-art now retro-futurist Marin Fairgrounds for decades, the conference found a new and ready audience in Berkeley, where it was held at the David Brower Center, the University of California and other nearby sites. The proximity to the university and a younger, more diverse pool of participants has revitalized the Bioneers institution.
“In many ways, this region has long been one of the hotbeds of progressive activism and movement building in the entire country,” said Teo Grossman, senior director of programs and research producer, Bioneers Radio. The move was a natural fit. “The vibrant community of progressive nonprofits, businesses and movement organizations that call the East Bay home have long been such a core part of Bioneers,” Grossman continued.
So often with a conference designed to have an impact, the buzz of the events carries forward for days and even weeks, but then it dies down.
“People come to Bioneers to connect, learn and get inspired,” said Grossman. “We frequently hear from folks who leave the event and ask, ‘So what now?’”
There is always a conversation among organizers: How do we maintain this momentum throughout the year? The response of Bioneers is Bioneers Learning, an online learning platform with live-Zoom and asynchronous options.
“We hope that Bioneers Learning fills that need, providing a way to stay engaged, dig deeper and take action on the issues, topics and movements that are so important in today’s world,” said Grossman.
“The thrust of what we are doing with Bioneers Learning is to offer courses that cover the breadth and variety of everything that Bioneers is,” said Patience Kamau, program director for Bioneers Learning.
The courses, which run from four to six weeks, draw from past keynote lecturers and presenters at Bioneers to design courses based on their expertise.
While conference-favorite topics like systems thinking and spiritually rooted activism may seem impractical, the platform as a whole will emphasize practical topics.
“You can actually take permaculture so that you can have practical tools to go work on your yard or your garden,” said Kamau. “Our tagline is ‘education for action.’”
The “emotional work,” as Kamau puts it, is also practical. “Healed people heal the world, you know, which is the opposite of wounded people wound the world,” Kamau explained.
Using the platform will be a very familiar experience for anyone who has used Zoom and YouTube. Courses are organized around a series of uploaded asynchronous videos or live Zoom meetings which are recorded for replay.
The first series of courses will be of the “live Zoom” type, which will allow learners to connect on a conference call and meet directly with other participants through breakout groups and live comments. Those who miss those class sessions will have a chance to watch recordings of the 60–90 minute Zoom meetings uploaded to the platform’s virtual classroom the next day.
As the number of courses expand, some will release all the material at once, with pre-recorded video lessons so that “some people can go through a four-hour course in one sitting and other people might divide that in four weeks,” said Kamau.
The ease of the platform’s use lends itself to making even the harder to grasp “inner work” topics to be accessible in their practicality.
Take for example this framework from one of the first programs offered, “Sacred Activism,” taught by Deborah Eden Tull and Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons. In clicking through the video “lessons”’ in very much like a YouTube queue, short written lessons can be clicked on to bring up specific topics from the class. Under a lesson for Week 1 of this course, one reads about “a restorative practice that cultivates conscious choice” called STOP:
S—Stop, simply pause.
T—Take a couple of conscious breaths and turn your attention within.
O—Observe what is arising in your body, feelings, and mind with curiosity and non-judgment.
P—Proceed.
Although it’s an approach familiar to those with experience in meditation or emotional learning practices, rarely has it been put so succinctly and memorably. It’s an example of Bioneers Learning’s new effort to take the change-making momentum from a few powerful days in Berkeley to a year-round, life-centering community.
“Bioneers brought such incredible energy to downtown Berkeley earlier this year,” said Barbara Hillman, CEO and president of Visit Berkeley. “We look forward to supporting their 2024 encore and involving even more of the city next year.”
