As the tropical thunderstorm rolled above and rain poured down on the glass roof, a small group sat huddled around a table covered in bright post-it notes. The air buzzing with conversation and ideas. The editor-in-chief from one of Indonesia’s biggest online video channels sat next to the Platform Lead from a public policy organisation. To their right a mental health illustrator and sat opposite a Climate Justice Associate from an NGO working on the country’s renewable energy transition.
This was a scene from the first-ever Crisis Navigators Bootcamp. Last month Mindworks brought together 15 partners from Indonesian NGOs, media, funders and grassroots organisations in Bandung, Indonesia, most of whom had never met before, for a one-of-a-kind bootcamp: an immersive, hands-on experience to navigate the complexity of the polycrisis.
A space to reflect, share and learn
The polycrisis has plunged the world into an era of uncertainty, worry and quickly shifting contexts. It is a time of powerful emotions and shifting narratives. This is no different for changemakers, themselves often deeply embedded in the crises or working in complex and evolving political and social contexts, as is the case in Indonesia. Exhausted and overwhelmed, there is rarely the opportunity for them to step back and reflect, first on their own role and emotions in the polycrisis and secondly, how it has shaped their work and their audience.
Defining Moments
We know from our own research and that of many experts that simply broadcasting information doesn’t work anymore. In line with thinking by leading climate psychologist Renee Lertzman, the Bootcamp was designed to create spaces for reflection, for deeper conversations, for connections and for hands-on experiences. With this in mind the Bootcamp was not your average training. It purposefully moved away from presentations, instead trying to create Defining Moments for participants, giving them space to journal, to reflect on their own emotions and journey. To connect on a deeper level with each other and to learn about a new approach to campaigning in the polycrisis by ‘tripping over the truth’.
Organisations who worked in the same space but hadn’t connected built relationships. Participants were able to gain new perspectives on their projects.
From discovering where each participant found themselves in the polycrisis and reflecting together on their emotions and the collective challenges they faced to looking for opportunities in crisis. From learning specific skills in small-group deep dives on conversation design, emotional research or signal and noise communicating to experiencing an intense crisis simulator, the three days gave participants to step out of their bubble and reflect.
This pilot Bootcamp was just the beginning, fostering connections between the different organisations working on the ground and between Mindworks and with a promise to reconnect in January. An inspiring three days and a reminder of how critical connection, conversation and empathy can be in the polycrisis, not just for our audiences but for the changemaker community itself.
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