海角社区

• Read summary of Open Space Symposium here (Danish) and here (English).

• What, who and where?
  
• On Thursday, 12 March 2026, PACA, 海角社区 invited participants to an Open Space Symposium in Odense titled: “Green mobilization across frontiers? How can green threads become a strong root network?” The invitation had been sent out to green grassroots and activists, politicians and local decision-makers, academics and intermediaries, public and private partner organizations, journalists, educators – and anyone interested in how alternative practices and ecological worldviews can create fertile ground for broad climate action. Forty people attended and self-organized 14 sessions, where different topics were raised and discussed – precisely with the aim of weaving green threads together into a strong root network.

Summary

Taken together, the 14 sessions point to a field in motion, where fragmented initiatives are moving toward emerging coordination, where systemic critique channels energy into  experimenting with alternatives, and where feelings of powerlessness and grief are transformed into agency and community. The next step is to gather forces, create shared direction, and translate insights into organized action – without losing the diversity and depth that already exist.

Across the 14 sessions, four overarching themes emerge, spanning the need for concrete tools (platforms, organization, legislation) and the need for inspiration (stories, visions, art) – both seen as essential:

1. Identify strategic levers that can transform the economic system
   Several sessions point to a fundamental critique of the growth economy and the extractive logic embedded in economic, energy and food systems. Alternative models are called for, such as wellbeing-economy approaches, regenerative practices and new understandings of value, including time, relationships and nature. There is broad agreement that the problems are interconnected: economy, nature, culture, psychology and politics. Change therefore requires a deep systemic shift rather than isolated measures. Legislation, market logics and missing incentives (e.g., for biodiversity) are seen both as barriers and as important levers for change. Actions include using existing legislation (e.g., citizens’ initiatives), working with public procurement and regulation, creating demand through institutions, and generally shifting economic structures away from growth-driven logic.
   
   
2. Build stronger coalitions and action competencies
   Although many initiatives exist, shared narratives and coordination are lacking. Fragmentation reduces impact – politically, socially and communicatively. Many experience organizations working in parallel on similar agendas without sufficient coordination. There is a clear desire for stronger coalitions, shared platforms and better sharing of resources, knowledge and networks. A recurring need is to strengthen citizen involvement, organizational skills and access to action. There is also frustration with media logics and limited reach – while at the same time seeing opportunities in new platforms and joint media efforts. Actions include establishing shared digital and physical platforms where organizations can meet regularly, coordinate efforts and collaborate on concrete initiatives such as citizens’ proposals and campaigns. To strengthen action competencies, participants highlight training in organizing, project development and activism (especially for young people), as well as creating low-threshold entry points for engagement and connecting knowledge directly to action. There is also interest in coordinating media work, sharing access to platforms (e.g., Ritzau), experimenting with new media formats and joint channels, and making the “green majority” in the population more visible.
   
   
3.  Strengthen local communities and lived alternatives
   Several sessions focus on village communities, co-housing projects and local initiatives as concrete laboratories for new ways of living – with emphasis on community, nature and regenerative practices. We already have knowledge about alternatives – the challenge now is not imagining them, but organizing around them.
   Actions include strengthening local action and communities by supporting villages and co-housing projects as experimental spaces, creating an overview and knowledge-sharing about existing initiatives, and working with local anchoring as an entry point to broader change. In relation to experimenting with new ways of living, participants highlight promoting concrete alternatives (communities, working hours, food systems), learning from historical and Indigenous practices, and testing utopias in practice.
   
   
4. Integrate emotions and develop new narratives
   Barriers such as cognitive dissonance, norms, worldviews and emotional resistance (e.g., climate fatigue and eco-grief) play a significant role. At the same time, participants point to the potential of working with grief, hope and emotional connection as driving forces – not only as personal experiences, but as political and transformative forces. Many sessions also highlight the lack of strong, attractive visions of the future. Art, storytelling and personal narratives are seen as important tools for creating meaning, engagement and action. Several sessions revolve around a deeper shift in humanity’s relationship with nature – from dominance to coexistence, reciprocity and understanding humans as part of ecosystems. Relationships are seen as key to change: both collaboration between people and organizations, and our relationship as humans to nature.Actions include creating spaces for grief, hope and reflection; working with nature as a practice; and recognizing that inner transformation is connected to outer change. Participants also emphasize creating clear images of desired futures (e.g., wellbeing-economy futures), using art, storytelling and personal narratives actively, and shifting focus from doomsday narratives to meaningful, attractive alternatives.