How do we create life-giving, impactful & deeply transformative social change movements for all human and non-human beings in a time of environmental and political collapse?
When: December 3 - 5, 2026, 9:00am - 4:30pm daily
Where: Toronto
Group Size: 50 - 70 participants
Instructors: Kai Cheng Thom, Emily Yee Clare, Cedric Jamet & Sera Thompson
Cost: Registration includes the course fee as well as coffee/tea and light snacks. Lunch is not included.
Standard - $975 CAD
Sponsor - $1,200 CAD to support solidarity and scholarship seats
Solidarity - $450 CAD (see below)
Full scholarship - up to two available (see below)
Standard and Sponsor rate seats can be booked now via Eventbrite.
Solidarity and Scholarship seats are considered through a separate application process.
We aim to reserve 20% of available course spots for reduced-cost access. This includes solidarity seats at 50% off and a few full scholarships. We prioritize participants who hold marginalized identities and are experiencing financial precarity.
If you would like to be considered for a Solidarity or Scholarship seat, please complete this form which asks a few short questions:
What is calling you to take this course at this time?
Is there anything you’d like us to know about your context or circumstances?
Requests for solidarity and scholarship seats are reviewed on a rolling basis.
About the Course:
Join us for a 3-day intensive where we will weave together the global practice of Art of Hosting and Harvesting, Somatics (working with the body), and Lewis Deep Democracy to navigate complexity and move toward meaningful action. Kai Cheng, Emily, Cedric and Sera are deep practitioners of dialogue for social and systems change and we invite you to join us in a space of learning and inquiry.
Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter - a global practice of collective leadership. It brings together dialogue approaches that help groups access collective wisdom, navigate complexity and move to meaningful action
Somatics - practices for working with the body as well as with the mind
Lewis Deep Democracy - an approach to understanding and transforming conflict.
Why this, Why now?
Our world slides ever deeper into environmental, political, and economic crises, and the call grows louder every day for powerful and compelling social movements that spark hope, bring people together, and create lasting change for a sustainable future. Yet despite our greatest efforts, much of the social change and social justice landscape is in turmoil: We are battered by escalating austerity and authoritarianism. We are disoriented by the collapse of funding across many sectors. And we are fragmented by cultures of burnout and toxic conflict.
Amidst these growing shadows, the sparks of resilience, wisdom, and collective power still shine bright. More and more social change practitioners, culture workers, leaders, facilitators, activists, and healers are asking:
How do we meet the times by creating the movements that our people most need?
What kind of social movement cultures do we need to seed and grow in order to have the greatest impact at scale?
How do we bring in the wisdom of marginalized and divergent voices?
How do we build solidarity across different perspectives and worldviews while holding strong to the values of decolonization, equity, and justice?
What becomes possible when we walk the talk? That is, when we embody the values we want to see in the world?
This is for you if:
You want simple and accessible tools to host real conversations - that you can implement right away
You want to help create social movements that can create a better world
You are longing to find ways of transforming social movement and/or social justice culture into one where collective, participatory leadership and embodied conversations are brought into the norm
You want to bring fun, play, and dynamic ways of working together into your social change practice
You work with groups for social change in any capacity, including but not limited to community organizing, education, professional facilitation or consulting, leading teams in a socially engaged sector, activism, social enterprise, spiritual care/ministry, non-profit work, or another related field
You will leave with:
Tools and strategies that can be used to facilitate powerful conversations in a wide range of contexts
Practices to bring pleasure, joy, and fun into social change work even while focusing on serious topics
An understanding of how to access the wisdom of the body as well as the mind when facilitating group conversations
A framework for working power dynamics in group facilitation
Greater comfort with divergence of perspective and conflict within social change contexts, as well as a framework for generative conflict
Sera Thompson (she/they) is a settler of European descent in Mi’kma’ki and a social innovator, facilitator and lifelong student of how people create meaningful change together. Her work supports deep shifts around social and environmental challenges, helping diverse groups find shared clarity, build their capacity for collaborative leadership, get unstuck and move big work forward. She brings curiosity, creativity and a deep belief in what’s possible when people come together in a good way. She has been teaching and practicing the Art of Hosting and Deep Democracy for over 20 years. She draws on her lifetime of Buddhist practice and decades of experience leading change in Academia, Nonprofit and Public and Private sectors, with organizations and communities on four continents.
Emily Yee Clare (she/they) is a mixed-race (Hong Konger/White) consultant and facilitator with over 10 years of experience working with team dynamics, anti-oppressive change management, conflict engagement & curriculum design. They are passionate about co-creating interactive processes with my clients that enable more authentic and courageous workplaces & organizing spaces. In their free time, they love painting and have illustrated two children's books.
Cédric Jamet (he/him) joyfully teaches Human System Intervention at Concordia University, supporting practitioners as they build their capacities to help organizations navigate change. His work leverages a variety of approaches and practices to think, create and embody new ways of being together in complexity, weaving 15+ years of experience designing and facilitating inclusive and strategic conversations with a wide diversity of organizations and communities. A seasoned Art of Hosting practitioner, Cédric strongly believes in a vision of communities as spaces where one can learn and practice the magical and somewhat tricky art of becoming better humans.
Kai Cheng Thom (she/her) MSW, MSc, Qualified Mediator is a coach, mediator, and facilitator with expertise in somatic approaches to collective healing and transformation. She is passionate about working with individuals, groups, and communities that are interested in social change for a better future. Kai Cheng is currently a legacy supervisor for the Trauma Research Foundation's trauma healing supervision program as well as a Senior Teacher at the Embody Lab. She is also the author of seven books for adults and children. In her spare time, Kai Cheng loves to make lasagna and dance in her kitchen.
Please reach out if you have questions: deepdemocracy@waterline.coop
