Rewoven

Gathered here

Welcome to Rewoven.

I started this newsletter to share what’s on my mind as I sit with one big question:
How do we solve the challenges facing mission-driven organisations and changemakers today?

Recently, I’ve been reflecting upon how we collaborate in times of crisis.

We’re living in a time of multiple, interwoven and overlapping crises, a period given the name ‘polycrisis’ or ‘metacrisis’, basically the slow process of environmental and societal collapse. But what does that mean for how we think about ourselves as interconnected? Are we starting to recognise our interdependence on one another and the earth? How could coming together to collectively address the polycrisis be regenerative? In this fornight’s newsletter I’m focusing on how collaboration will move us forward.

How can we pull apart the threads and begin to weave a new world? A world with less friction and tight knots?

I believe that when we gather with intention, clarity, and care, we unlock our collective intelligence. We surface what’s stuck beneath the surface. We build the trust required to move. The tools, ideas, and threads of inspiration in this edition of Rewoven are inspired to help you collaborate better.

Let’s stay in the weave.

The core thread

Collaboration is the only way forward

We need a radical change to how we work together, we cannot tackle this world and all of its crises on our own.

Earlier this month I was forwarded a letter explaining that mediation was needed between civil society partners for a C20 event being held alongside G20 in South Africa. It seemed as though communication had broken down between different civil society partners. This was sad. Each organisation committed to a greater societal good struggling to come together.

Here’s what I know: convening people isn’t just about bringing people into a room together. Creating collaborative magic is about cultivating an environment where people feel heard, valued, and free to challenge assumptions without fear. It’s about noticing who’s not in the room, and asking why they aren’t there. And it’s about having the courage to slow down and make space, even in these urgent times, for listening, reflection, and letting diverse perspectives flourish.

I wrote a reflective blog piece below about why collaboration is the only way forward and that how we work together reflects the world we are trying to build.

Read more → Collaboration is the only way forward

Threads of change

Can We Confirm We Are in a Collapse?
A Substack post by Ernesto Van Peborgh where he discusses Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio’s reflections on their latest report. He writes that we are in the slow state of total system collapse and that the ways we have been living are outdated and that now is the time to “fundamentally change how we relate — to nature, to each other, to knowledge, to power.”

Reduction Roadmap’s Report ‘Beyond Reduction’
Addressing how the building industry can operate within planetary limits, defined as ‘the butterfly framework’ is the key theme of Reduction Roadmap’s report ‘Beyond Reduction’. While it focuses on the building industry in Denmark, the report embraces systemic solutions while acknowledging the industry’s interconnectedness of environmental and socio-economic factors, both within Denmar and on a global scale.

Nature’s Lessons on Collaboration
A short blog post on lessons on collaboration we can learn from nature. Just as nature is interconnected (and we are within the woven tapestry of the world), different ecosystems form their own woven worlds. How can we think about collaboration as ecosystem building?

Your turn to weave

The Social Change Map

Deepa Iyer’s social change ecosystem framework is a tool to support organisations, campaigns and networks who are committed to social justice and equity. In the framework, Iyer identifies 10 roles that people and organisations show up in when responding to crises or participating collectively in organising.

I show up as a Guide and Disrupter. What about you, can you identify your role? Where do your colleagues, comrades, or collaborators see themselves? Are you missing anyone in your team?

Tend the loom

Feeling stuck or spinning in circles?

Let’s untangle it together.
I’ve opened my diary for three pro bono coaching sessions next week. Available to the first three people who get clicking.

Until next time,
Adanma