Each of us have a unique set of skills, strengths, and gifts we can offer in service to others. You might be a natural storyteller, able to paint an inspiring vision that motivates others to work together to bring that vision to life. Or you might be a skilled connector, forming bonds and relationships that strengthen the fabric of your community.
We’ve compiled a handful of experiences and trainings to support catalysts just like you — whether you’re wanting to level-up a skill you already have or build a new muscle.
These opportunities from our friends and partners provide a range of skills for personal or professional development. Which is right for you?
- Want to host more purposeful, connective gatherings within your community? Try the Art of Gathering Digital Course.
- Want to develop your writing and make your voice more powerful? Try the Writing to Change the World Workshop.
- Want to participate in a week of energizing activities around civic education? Try the Civic Learning Week.
- Want to expand your work on strengthening democracy and civic engagement with the support of academia? Try the SNF Agora Visiting Fellows Program.
- Want a boost in transitioning from military service to the civilian workforce? Try the Warrior-Scholar Academic Boot Camp.
Art of Gathering Digital Course
Hosted by Priya Parker
Gatherings play a large role in our lives. How we spend our time with our friends, family, and co-workers has the potential to change the way we connect, the way we understand one another, and the way we live. It’s about time we start practicing how we intentionally plan them so that our time together better serves our needs, whatever those needs might be for you at work and in your communities.
The Art of Gathering digital course is a learning experience created to guide you through the process of planning and hosting intentional gatherings — for special occasions, in the workplace, or in your communities. Whether you’re scheming your next great event, special occasion, meeting, or party, we’ll answer the question: “How can I do this differently?”
Across six weeks, Priya Parker will guide you through the core lessons of artful gathering to help you define your need and plan a specific gathering important to you. The course includes a robust collection of pre-recorded videos, highly practical exercises, real case study examples, and a wealth of supporting resources.
Write to Change the World Workshop
Hosted by The OpEd Project
The story we tell becomes the world we live in. The world becomes more intelligent when it is more inclusive. And the best ideas, regardless of where they come from, should have a chance to be heard and to change the world.
This Write to Change the World workshop is based on time-tested models of transformational learning, designed to unlock knowledge in powerful and unexpected ways. You’ll explore the source of credibility; the patterns and elements of persuasion; the difference between being “right” and being effective; how to preach beyond the choir; and how to think bigger about what you know — to have more impact in the world.
You’ll emerge with concrete results (op-ed drafts and more), and access to a national network of journalist mentors for individual follow up. The workshops are also designed to inspire and cultivate a greater sense of social responsibility by clarifying our potential impact on the world. We now typically welcome global cohorts of 50+ people, and we break into smaller cohorts of ten for discovery-based work, in which participants learn by doing.
Participate in Civic Learning Week
Hosted by ICivics
Inspired by local and regional events last year, the national Civic Learning Week is hosted by iCivics and seeks to highlight the importance of civic education in sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States. By highlighting the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions that provide the foundation for an informed and engaged populace, CLW seeks to further energize the movement to prioritize civic education across the nation.
Educators can… Gain and provide insight and inspiration, sharing the latest effective teaching practices and innovations, and joining in shared civic learning opportunities throughout the week.
Students can… Engage in shared civic learning opportunities throughout the week with other students across the nation.
Community members can… Participate in a series of events to highlight the key role different groups (e.g., business leaders, members of the military) play in ensuring high-quality civic education is accessible for each and every student across the nation.
SNF Agora Visiting Fellows Program
Hosted by SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University
This multi-disciplinary academic and public forum is dedicated to strengthening global democracy by improving and expanding civic engagement and inclusive dialogue, and by supporting inquiry that leads to real-world change. By building integrated partnerships with scholars, practitioners, students, and the public, the Institute uses research to identify and sharpen strategic choices that members of the public and civic and political stakeholders around the world can make to realize the promise of democracy.
The SNF Agora Visiting Fellows program supports the institute’s mission of strengthening global democracy by enabling us to expand our reach and incorporate a broader range of people into our work. This program identifies and recruits a select cohort of fellows from diverse sectors, disciplines, backgrounds, and ideologies to join the institute to work with our permanent faculty, researchers, and students for a defined period — typically one semester or less — during the academic year. Visiting fellows contribute to an academic community that is open and permeable — based at Johns Hopkins but reaching well beyond its walls.
Academic Boot Camp
Hosted by the Warrior-Scholar Project
Our mission is to empower enlisted veterans and service members and amplify their voices as civic leaders by providing them with: (1) a skill bridge that enables a successful transition to the classroom by making them informed consumers of higher education and increasing their confidence to apply to and complete rigorous degree programs at top-tier institutions, and (2) sustained support throughout their pursuit of higher education and into the civilian workforce.
In partnership with the nation’s top colleges and universities, Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP) hosts intensive and immersive one and two-week college-preparatory academic boot camps for enlisted veterans and transitioning service members. Boot camps are offered in three disciplines: Humanities, STEM, and Business & Entrepreneurship.
Through faculty lectures, workshops and research projects, tailored assignments, and one-on-one tutoring, warrior-scholars acquire the skills to succeed in higher education and navigate the cultural shift from military service to college. Throughout the course, warrior-scholars are mentored by student veterans who have successfully transitioned from the military to college. We host intensive, one- and two-week college-preparatory academic boot camps in three disciplines: Humanities, STEM, and Business & Entrepreneurship.
