The Global Environments Summer Academy (GESA) is a three-month immersive fellowship for changemakers working to find durable solutions to complex planetary challenges. Globally, we are witnessing a rise in the destruction of ecosystems, catastrophic climate change, ruptures in socio-cultural fabrics, and the violent dispossession of living beings, amongst many other issues. GESA brings together participants from across the world – including researchers, practitioners, activists, academics, ecologists and artists – who are actively finding solutions to some of the most pressing matters facing humanity today. The Academy provides them with mentoring, support, guidance, tools and expertise. 

In a time of increasing polarisation and an era of ‘taking sides,’ we believe creating an environment for learning and growing together with curiosity whilst challenging the status quo and seeking alternatives together is more important than ever. GESA offers a facilitated space for learning how to rewrite our story together across differences and divides.

The guiding themes for our 8th Summer Academy were Renewal, Resilience and Hope, with participants coming from Panama, Kenya, Tanzania, Brazil, Cameroon, Nepal, Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Uganda, Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and China. 

Read more about the participants here.

“My most cherished takeaway from GESA 2018 has been enduring networks of richly inspiring people and soul-fulling friendships that have continued to encourage and positively expand the quality and integrity of my work in ways that earning my degrees never could.”

– Maria Mejia, 2018 GESA Alum

Programme

Online: 17 June- 29 July

The Fellowship consisted of 7 weekly online sessions (2hrs/week) starting on 17 June and ending on 29 July. The online sessions included conversations around the themes of “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Peace Building”, “Communities and conservation for grassroots organisations”, “The power of film, sound and art in activism” and much more. The online sessions also offered participants skills-based workshops, peer-to-peer mentoring sessions, and opportunities to develop storytelling and turn one’s dream project into a reality. 

In-person: 12-23 August

In August, we met in person for a 5-day retreat at The Quadrangle in Kent, followed by a field trip to the pioneering Knepp Rewilding Estate, culminating in a 5-day academy hosted at the Environmental Change Institute, the University of Oxford. 

During this time together, we collectively tended to ecological grief and developed personal and community resilience tools. We explored freedom of speech and freedom of movement, alongside practical workshops on public speaking, video making and podcasting to help participants better articulate their work and journeys. We delved into what food sovereignty and local food economies look like on the ground and visited a successful Rewilding site. GESA was a jam-packed, truly life-changing experience.

Our transdisciplinary programme included nature connection experiences, field trips, ethnobotany breaks, embodiment sessions, academic seminars, skills and tools sharing, and practical workshops.