Forum Co-Construct – Immersion into Cooperation (Tournai, Belgium, July 5-7, 2023)

The 2023 Forum Co-Construct gathered participants to explore innovative and inclusive cooperation models in response to societal and ecological transitions. The fourth edition featured conferences, workshops, and reflective spaces.

Inspiring Keynotes:

1. Shifting to Robustness: Biologist Olivier Hamant critiqued excessive optimization at the cost of resilience. He explained that robustness, rooted in principles like redundancy and diversity, ensures stability amid ecological, economic, and social turbulence. He advocated for a "civilization of letting go," drawing inspiration from living ecosystems that embrace fluctuations.
2. Why the Hummingbird Strategy is Insufficient: Laurent Marseault questioned individualistic approaches, championing structured collective action. Using firefighter analogies, he proposed organizing collective responses to crises by establishing political, legal, and digital connectors.

Collaborative Workshops:

1. Reconnecting with Territory: Inspired by thinkers like Bruno Latour, this workshop explored how to reinhabit territories collaboratively. Using participatory mapping, attendees analyzed dependencies on local resources and interactions within ecosystems.
2. Storytelling for Transition: Alexis Montaigne (CERDD) emphasized how collective narratives mobilize local actors around a shared future. The workshop highlighted the need to craft positive narratives for systemic transitions using tools like cartoparties and the 360° systemic vision approach.
3. Stigmergy and Cooperation: Borrowing concepts from social insects, this workshop explored distributed, self-organized collaboration models suitable for large, complex groups. It emphasized action-based flexibility over hierarchical or consensus-based governance.

Perspectives and Methods:

• Transitioning from performance to robustness, valuing diversity and imperfections as sources of resilience.
• Leveraging storytelling to mobilize collective imagination and drive systemic transitions.
• Developing concrete tools for participatory governance and strengthening local resilience.
• Encouraging cooperation through methods like random selection, stigmergy, and citizen workshops.

Resources and Inspirations:

• The forum highlighted tools and works such as Bruno Latour's Where Am I?, CERDD’s "360° Systemic Vision" and "Storytelling Kits," and participatory mapping methods.
• Collective narratives were framed as a vital tool for uniting communities, moving beyond mere storytelling to establish "narrative democracy."

Challenges and Opportunities:

• Balancing collective action with respect for individual identities.
• Addressing complex crises with systemic approaches while preserving solution diversity.
• Enhancing the resilience of human and natural ecosystems through cooperation, robustness, and circularity.

The Forum Co-Construct demonstrated that a sustainable future depends on transitions anchored in cooperation, shared narratives, and inclusive methodologies. It provided practical tools and strategic insights to guide these transformations.