Concept

Social inequalities, the climate crisis, and other intensifying crises make these times very challenging—especially for educators and facilitators. With our methods platform, we want to provide you with tools and ideas to explore the complexity of our world in learning spaces and counteract feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness! Our methods specifically support individuals aged 15 and up in gaining a better understanding of global, societal, political, economic, and socio-ecological connections. They promote critical analysis, foster personal opinion formation, and offer perspectives for action, all in line with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The focus of our methods places great importance on a critical approach to power, is based on the concept of transformative education, and engages the head, heart, and hands.

Our Understanding of Education

With our educational work, we aim to create learning spaces that are filled with the diverse perspectives, experiences, emotions, thoughts, and desires of the participants. In this way, we want to support people in finding answers to pressing questions together. It is important to us to cultivate an open, empathetic,, and power-critical way of interacting with each other. By this, we mean recognizing, making visible, and dismantling power hierarchies.

Together with the participants of our events, we seek the building blocks for a different economy, the causes of social injustice, and ecological crises. We question common assumptions and discuss what constitutes a Good Life. We explore tried-and-tested alternatives and create learning spaces to make socio-ecological economies directly tangible. One thing is clear: there are no simple answers. The problems we face are complex, and so too are the solutions needed. We understand socio-ecological transformation as an open process. In this, we aim to empower people in their self-efficacy, mindfulness, and solidarity.

Our methods of transformative education involve learning with the head, heart, and hands. This means our methods go beyond just imparting knowledge, addressing individuals’ embeddedness in global power relations, and also engaging the emotional level. Together, we explore our economic system, the reasons for social injustice and ecological crises. We research, reflect, and discuss, listen to each other and our bodies, share our concerns, take action ourselves, and actively shape society.

Why “Beyond Growth”?

Economic growth often remains unquestioned; many still sigh with relief: “Finally growth!” Whether green or not—growth must be finite if we are to respect planetary boundaries in our economic system. Things like current resource consumption, the escalating climate crisis, and biodiversity loss make it clearer than ever: business as usual is not possible! This also ties into the intensification of social inequality: the majority of people, many of whom live in the Global South, suffer from the lifestyle of the Global North, which is sustained only through economic growth and the accompanying exploitation. A Good Life for all therefore also requires questioning and changing the current prevailing economic system.

The development of this set of methods

“Beyond Growth” was launched as a joint project by Konzeptwerk Neue Ökonomie e.V. (Leipzig) and FairBindung e.V. (Berlin). The collaboration began with work on the first booklet, Finally Growth! in 2012. Since 2018, Konzeptwerk has continued to maintain the platform and develop the methods independently. All methods have been tested, and we have incorporated feedback. In doing so, we particularly aim to strengthen a critical perspective on power, placing global justice at the heart of the work. The development of our methods is an ongoing process closely linked to our individual and collective learning processes.

Goals of this set of methods

With the methods in this set, we want to bring the privileges of the Global North into focus and question the prevailing model of prosperity there. It is especially important to us to give space to marginalized perspectives, strengthen spaces for reflection, and expand opportunities for action. What kind of world do we want to live in? How can we achieve a Good Life for all? Is this possible with the existing growth model? What alternatives exist within and beyond this system?

Our own social positioning

In this collection of methods, we strive to strengthen a growth-critical and power-critical perspective on the climate crisis and global justice, making marginalized perspectives more visible. In this, transparency about our own positioning is important to us: we are a team of seven people with diverse experiences in method development and practical educational work. We have different positions in relation to societal power structures, such as gender, origin, language, race, class, education, and more.

Target groups

This collection of methods is aimed at anyone working with adolescents and young adults in an educational context. The methods are particularly suitable for people aged 15 to 30, for working with students from grade 10 onwards, apprentices, vocational school students, individuals participating in a voluntary year (e.g., FÖJ, FSJ, FKJ, Federal Volunteer Service, European Voluntary Service, Weltwärts programs), youth groups, and university students.

Barriers

To make barriers visible, we mark them at the beginning of the methods. We have focused on the barriers of seeing, hearing, reading, writing, motor skills, movement, and complexity. The barriers indicated for a method are necessary for participation in the method. However, with slight modifications, these barriers can also be reduced within a method. For example, by reading texts aloud, providing audio descriptions of a situation or image to be used, using more visual language, translating into other languages (including sign language), reducing movement, etc. Don’t limit your creativity.

Language

Language is a key to societal change; it shapes norms and power relations. As much as possible, we use gender-neutral language and an asterisk (*) to reflect all social genders and gender identities beyond the prevailing binary system.

We use the terms “Global South” and “Global North” instead of evaluative terms like “developed,” “developing countries,” or “Third World.” Development is a normative term that is not clearly defined and still conveys a sense of general backwardness for the regions concerned. The term “Global South” does not impose a specific developmental direction, especially not that of the Global North. In line with the brochure Mit kolonialen Grüßen… by glokal e.V., we define the terms as follows: the term “Global South” describes a disadvantaged social, political, and economic position within the global system. “Global North” refers to a privileged, benefiting position. This division highlights the different experiences with colonialism and exploitation, with some being the beneficiaries and others primarily the exploited. Neither the Global South nor the Global North can be grouped into homogeneous state categories. Differences between countries and regions, as well as within them, challenge this broad categorization. There are privileged people in the Global South (e.g., German settlers in Namibia) and marginalized people in the Global North (e.g., undocumented individuals). We want to avoid discriminatory evaluations of countries.

In our glossary “Words of Global Learning,” additional terms that frequently appear in our methods are explained in simple language and in multiple languages.

Structure

The methods set includes seven categories with a variety of different exercises. Each category focuses on a specific aspect of the topic. It is important to highlight that the boundaries between categories often blur, as the aspects of the topic frequently overlap, and we intentionally aim to strengthen intersectionality. Nevertheless, we believe that categorization can help with broad orientation on the website. A global justice perspective is central to all categories.

Alternatives

There are already many existing or imaginable alternatives for a more socially and ecologically just world, which are explored and made tangible in this category. Here, strategies for greater justice are also highlighted.

Work and care

This category focuses on paid and unpaid work, gender justice, and time. What would happen if care work were at the center of economic policy—rather than profits and economic growth?

Digitalization

The methods in this category address how digitalization is changing life, work, and the economy on both individual and structural levels, what impact this has on the environment/climate and societies, and how digital technology can be shaped and used in a more democratic and socially-ecologically just way.

Nutrition

The nutritional sector, like all other economic sectors, is shaped by our growth-based system and its logic of profit and exploitation. The methods in this category question our currently dominant food system and explore socially and ecologically just food production.

Good Life?

These methods focus on social inequalities and different notions of prosperity. The following questions are central: What does a Good Life mean to me? What responsibility do I have to ensure a Good Life for all?

Ecology

The methods in this category deal with the planetary boundaries of our world, the effects of different actions, and our own responsibilities. A key question is: To what extent are economic growth and sustainability compatible?

Economic growth

What grows when the economy grows? This question is a starting point for critically engaging with the topic of economic growth. The methods in this category examine green growth and post growth.

We welcome feedback! Feel free to contact us at bildung@knoe.org.