The GSF program accommodates 20 fellows with cohorts representing multiple disciplines and countries. The 2023 summer session will comprise a three-week on-site experience that combines theoretical work with hands-on experience during July, on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, Spain. The on-site session will follow a three-week virtual orientation period in June that requires a commitment of approximately eight hours per week, including a weekly three-hour live session plus readings and self-managed assignments. Fellows will apply a multidisciplinary approach, guided by a rigorous definition of sustainability, in service to the island and its people who have recently faced a major natural disaster.
The Lab’s GSF session in La Palma illustrates an approach to sustainability that is as equally valid to the island’s development challenges as it is to humanity’s broader sustainability challenge. Planned together with our partners at the Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the 2023 GSF program aims to help strengthen collaborations among local stakeholders and sectors involved in advancing alternative visions of the island’s future development.
The 2023 GSF program will take place in La Palma where a select group of international fellows will explore the applications of The Lab’s sustainability principles to the island’s development challenges while experiencing a uniquely diverse, rich, and fragile island ecosystem.
In La Palma, Fellows will have an opportunity to evolve innovative, practical approaches to issues of future sustainable development of the island, in collaboration with our partners at the Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria and key local stakeholders.
As a group, Fellows will be tasked to sketch out a comprehensive design including a draft vision and a strategy for a long-term, actionable development blueprint for the island.
La Palma is one of the seven main islands in the Canary archipelago. La Palma recently experienced a cataclysmic volcanic event and is in the process of recovering and considering its development future.
In addition to coursework and project assignments, participants, led by experienced, knowledgeable, local experts, will have opportunities to explore many exciting local places of interest.
For more information about La Palma, please visit: https://www.visitlapalma.es/
The 2023 GSF program will combine theoretical topics with practical experiences all related to The Lab’s signature approach. The educational experience involves individual and group assignments that foster lively exchange, opportunities for peer teaching, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Emphasis is on enhancing methods and technical skills while focusing on enriching the inner experience and a commitment to ethical values.
The GSF program is designed in two major components: a three-week virtual introductory orientation session, and a three-week on-site experience.
Virtual Orientation Period
The three-week virtual orientation period in June requires a commitment of approximately eight hours per week, including a weekly three-hour live session plus readings and self-managed assignments. The intensive virtual program will introduce key elements of The Lab´s core sustainability curriculum, including an introduction to system thinking, and systems modeling; a pioneering theory of change; The Lab’s rigorous definition of sustainability and the derived five core sustainability principles.
A perspective on evolutionary processes and complexity will be explored to foster a holistic view of the world, including the history of the cosmos, the history of the biosphere, and the history of humanity.
On-site Program
The three-week, on-site experience in La Palma will focus on deepening the conversation on core sustainability issues and applying systems modeling and project design methodologies.
During this stage, Fellows will have opportunities to explore the island and interact with local stakeholders and experts to better understand the island´s ecological and socioeconomic conditions as steps in crafting an actual sustainable development plan.
As a step in developing our plan, we will experiment with applying a unique methodology, Syntegration, that facilitates consensus building on complex questions.
During the on-site experience in La Palma and as a part of working on a comprehensive sustainable development plan, Fellows will engage in sessions exploring critical issues with local experts that will include:
The GSF is a respected brand in sustainability education, and graduates of the program form the foundation of an interdisciplinary alumni network where a common language and framework serve as the basis for game-changing sustainability innovations and initiatives worldwide.
The Alumni Network connects GSF graduates and other distinguished members of The Lab’s global network, including scientists, academics, and social entrepreneurs, enabling opportunities for collaboration, employment, news, research, and more; helping to bring about a global shift in paradigm.
Thorough understanding of sustainability, the concept, and related issues, taking a holistic, designed-based system view
Fellows are better equipped to address urgent sustainability challenges facing the planet individually and as a group
Catalyze professional, pedagogic, and personal transformation, combining technical skills with enhancing inner awareness and empathy via special program experiences
Fellows experience a deep personal shift as necessary for addressing and implementing major change
Synthesize, in collaboration with local stakeholders and experts, long-term sustainable development for the island
The La Palma sustainable development plan is an effective model for The Lab’s approach to development in an island ecosystem, and it serves as a testament to the session’s contribution to the island
Thorough understanding of sustainability, the concept, and related issues, taking a holistic, designed-based system view
Fellows are better equipped to address urgent sustainability challenges facing the planet individually and as a group
Fellows experience a deep personal shift as necessary for addressing and implementing major change
Catalyze professional, pedagogic, and personal transformation, combining technical skills with enhancing inner awareness and empathy via special program experiences
Synthesize, in collaboration with local stakeholders and experts, long-term sustainable development for the island
The La Palma sustainable development plan is an effective model for The Lab’s approach to development in an island ecosystem, and it serves as a testament to the session’s contribution to the island
CULTURE
ECONOMY
ENERGY, WATER, WASTE
ISLAND ECOLOGY
LANDSCAPE
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SOCIAL ISSUES
INSULAR VISION
DECISION MAKERS