Cities gather for inspiring peer-to-peer learning

Ever since pioneering cities and regions from around the world started working with the concepts and tools of Doughnut Economics, we have seen the power of peer-to-peer inspiration in action. And on 9 March we (the DEAL team) held our first peer-to-peer learning session to create a space for these cities to share, learn and exchange experiences and address shared challenges with others. 

The call was hosted by the DEAL team and we invited all city, regional, national administrations and local governments that have begun engaging with Doughnut Economics and have gotten in touch with the DEAL team over the past two years, along with any organisations or individuals that have been supporting them. 

The call was joined by 70 participants from around 40 cities and regions around the world including Amsterdam (Netherlands), Bad Nauheim (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Brussels (Belgium), Nanaimo (Canada), El Monte (Chile), Ipoh (Malaysia), Cali (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico), Glasgow (Scotland), Cornwall (England), Yerevan (Armenia), Tel-Aviv Yafo (Israel) and many more (see map). And in many ways it represented a significant moment for DEAL,  to acknowledge, celebrate and reflect on all the amazing work and innovation that has been led by cities all over the world since Amsterdam published the first City Portrait a little under 2 years ago.

Leonora, our Cities and Regions Lead, and Rob, our Communities and Art Lead shared with everyone a bit about what we’ve been seeing and learning over the past year or two, as cities and regions have been working on embedding the tools and concepts of Doughnut Economics into planning, decision-making, policymaking, strategy development, internal management and community engagement processes. We also shared how we at DEAL are planning to continue supporting cities in the coming period, including a dedicated Cities & Regions thematic page on this platform, continuing and enriching these peer-to-peer sessions, and starting a regular series of public webinars where different cities will be able to share their work with the entire DEAL Community.

We heard from two cities that have been tracing their own paths with Doughnut Economics: Bad Nauheim, Germany and El Monte, Chile. Then participants got to meet their peers in breakout rooms, and heard each other’s experiences as they discussed both the transformative potential and the challenges of working with Doughnut Economics.

This is our first venture into peer-to-peer learning spaces, and what came out of these rich conversations will guide our next steps and future learning sessions. Questions we are reflecting on include: How can we best design spaces for peer learning? What are the best ways for cities to come together and learn from each other? What are the best ways for all the different changemakers that work in cities to learn from each other - from public sector agencies to businesses, communities and organisations, consultancies and city networks, individuals and neighbourhood groups?  

We are planning for this peer-to-peer call to be the first of many, and soon we will be starting peer-to-peer learning calls for communities, as well as exploring what it means to have shared learning spaces with both local government and communities together.

If your local government, organisation or community group is using the concepts and tools of Doughnut Economics to transform your neighbourhood, city, or region and you want to join us in this journey of collaborative learning in action, do get in touch with us and we look forward to seeing you join our global learning community!