The ultimate goal of the Catalyst Lab is to prepare participants to apply what they learn at the Lab in their own context, and activate systemic change processes in different segments and sectors in Switzerland

"The Catalyst Lab has brought me together with highly comitted and exciting people. This strengthened my overall view of the topic and my empowerment….

Auch die Organisation collaboratio helvetica, ebenso in Bern lokalisiert, bildet mit ihrem ein-jährigen Catalyst Lab Programm junge Change-Maker aus, globale und lokale Wegbereiter des Neuen zu werden, um die aktuellen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit zu erkennen, sozial-ökologische Projekte zu gründen und Kapazitäten des Menschseins zu entwickeln. Hier weiter lesen.

23-year-old Bea Albermann is the youngest participant to complete the Catalyst Lab 2019/20. The medical student is intensively engaged in advocacy work regarding the consequences of climate change on human health.

Conversations with hidden heroes making big societal change.

During the past year we have published an interview series with Gender and Diversity experts across sectors in Switzerland. Find here the key learnings out of our expert interviews. You can find the links to all the interviews at the end. Feel free to comment with your own tips!

An interview series with Gender and Diversity experts across sectors in Switzerland. How do they relate to their own gender? What are the current challenges and opportunities they see and what inspires them? The aim of this series is to bring awareness to gender and diversity work and inspire further action towards creating inclusive workplaces in Switzerland.

This is the recording of the online panel event on Gender, Inclusion and the Future of Work organised by collaboratio helvetica on June 10th 2020. The recording starts at the input part. The order of speaking is: Patricia Purtschert (University of Bern), Sylvie Durrer (Federal Office of Gender Equality), Robert Baker (Potentia Talent Consulting), Simona Scarpaleggia (Ikea), Nicholas Niggli (State of Geneva).

When a deeper examination of oneself and the society is needed – the principle and values of extinction rebellion and why I joined them.

An interview series with Gender and Diversity experts across sectors in Switzerland. How do they relate to their own gender? What are the current challenges and opportunities they see and what inspires them? The aim of this series is to bring awareness to gender and diversity work and inspire further action towards creating inclusive workplaces in Switzerland.

Gerade in der aktuellen Krisensituation unseren Kindern das Vertrauen zurückgeben sollten im Wissen, dass sie bestrebt sind, sich zu bilden und die Kompetenzen zu entwickeln, die ihnen in ihrem Leben dienen. Das ist ein natürlicher Prozess und alle Eltern, die Kleinkindern beim Spielen zugeschaut haben, wissen, dass die Neugier und der Wille zu wachsen unbändig sind.

Im Podcast Rethink Everything spricht Lukas Fischer mit seinen Gästen über die Gegenwart und Zukunft unserer digitalisierten Welt.

The future has just settled at our dinner table - a half familiar stranger too striking to go unnoticed, too powerful to control, and too tantalising to ignore. She is fierce, disruptive and fearsome - yet she is clearly here to stay. We are now charged with the task to draw her into a conversation. But how does one talk to the future?

In a short time, life has dramatically changed. Will we go back to the way things were or is this a #newnormal? We have entered into the unknown. Uncertainty is omnipresent. No one knows how things will turn out.

Catalysing systemic change around a particular issue or topic is complex work, a match for the system you’re addressing and activating. There has been some degree of codification, theory and study around which approaches may help us do so. One of the approaches that has gained traction over the past years is the Lab approach, which in this context means bringing together a variety of stakeholders to co-create prototype solutions to complex challenges.

Die Art und Weise, wie wir kollektiv auf die Corona-Krise reagieren, sagt viel über unser Denken und unsere Kultur aus, über die Art und Weise, wie wir gewohnt sind, Probleme zu definieren und eine Lösung für diese zu suchen. In den letzten Jahrtausenden der Entwicklung unserer westlichen Kultur haben wir gelernt, uns selbst als Menschen als getrennt von allem anderen zu sehen und zu erleben - getrennt von der Natur (wie es im Wort Um-welt zum Ausdruck kommt), getrennt von anderen Menschen und getrennt von einem grösseren Ganzen.

Am 19. März wurden per bundesrätlichen Beschluss alle Schulen in der Schweiz geschlossen. Auch die KITAs und ausserschulischen Betreuungsplätze sind vielerorts nur noch für Kinder von Eltern in systemrelevanten Berufen geöffnet. Kindergartenkinder, Primarschülerinnen und -schüler sind seither zuhause bei ihren Eltern – in vielen Fällen bei ihren arbeitenden Eltern.

Instead of fighting the symptoms and clinging to old systems that don’t work anyways, let’s use this time to reflect and address the root causes to shape the Switzerland we want to live in. Staying in a state of busyness and jumping to (re)action may be comforting but if that’s what we focus on, we will never be addressing what got us into this situation in the first place. We are kicking off a series of blog posts as exploration around what these times are calling us to be and do

This is an overview of our core methods and awareness-based tools and approaches. It also includes links to proven practice tips, case studies and experiences from our facilitation in and for systemic change and social innovation.

Als Teilnehmende des Catalyst Labs werden wir reich beschenkt mit Eindrücken, Inputs, Begegnungen und Emotionen. Im Anschluss das Wahrgenommene einzusortieren, zu integrieren und zu spüren, wo unser Fokus Achtsamkeit fordert, ist nicht immer einfach. Die Begegnung mit der belebten Natur gibt – zumindest mir - Antworten darauf.