EJ DISRUPT DESIGN: an environmental justice movement fellowship
EJ Disrupt Design: An Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship
The fellowship is a 2-year experience made up of progressive phases in Environmental Justice and Design for leaders of the Environmental Justice Movement. Fellows will participate in a combination of virtual and in-person retreats, group coaching sessions, and community ideation to scale project prototypes and build power.
The unprecedented speed, magnitude, and impact of climate change requires redesigning our global economic, social, and political systems. Incremental, reformist climate change responses have been ineffective. The world needs solutions that transform the extractive systems that cause environmental harm. The EJ Movement’s critique of political, social, and economic systems and focus on frontline solutions for those most vulnerable to climate change make it prime to disrupt the status quo and advance transformative climate solutions.
BORIKÉN (PUERTO RICO) - Design Cycle: Air Gratitude Report
Collective Movement Leadership
Our partnership with the Environmental Justice Movement has been integral to the fellowship since its inception. We have remained centered on working with EJ leaders to design a program rooted in collaborative culture and decolonial, liberation, feminist, and regenerative worldviews. The EJ Disrupt Design Fellowship is dedicated to practicing and uplifting the EJ Principles of Working Together and Jemez Principles of Democratic Organizing.
Reimagine and Design a Bold Future
The Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship will support and grow the capacity of movement leaders to design innovative and disruptive strategies that advance a transformative climate justice agenda on a local, Tribal, national and global scale. The aim of this fellowship is to nurture, test, and deploy contentious, creative, and scalable solutions. We seek to co-create the conditions and curriculum that can best support groups of movement leaders in their efforts to generate and pilot these strategies for movement impact.
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THE ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE MOVEMENT
As a part of our design process, we conducted a needs assessment of the EJ movement to evaluate the priority issues and strategies, challenges, transformational campaigns, and the expressed needs in relation to a future fellowship. The assessment, which included 48 interviews and 167 surveys with movement leaders, identified Climate Justice, Environmental Health, Energy Democracy, and Just Transition as key themes for urgent and long term intervention, as well as areas of work ripe for experimentation and disruption.
SUPPORT
Relationships
Groups of 3-4 EJ leaders will work as part of a community of leaders, key contributors, staff, an advisory committee, coaches and seed supporters as well as historic and aligned movement leaders and Mother Earth. In relationship and at the center of a circle of support, fellows are able to learn, unlearn, and design disruptive action and solutions from the cumulative advances of EJ over the last 30+ years.
Financial & In-kind Resources
The Fellowship offers 2+ years of support for design, research, and prototyping solutions. Fellows receive individual stipends of $28,000 (subject to tax) and groups will receive up to $60,000 to support their group prototypes. Groups will also receive coaching. Fellows’ organizations will receive $17,000 to $20,000 per participating fellow. Fellows will need a fiscal sponsor or affiliated 501(c)(3) organization to receive funds on their behalf.
All travel and lodging expenses for the retreats will be covered.
For more information, please contact Marouh Hussein, Director of Impact and Learning.
Email: husseinm@newschool.edu
Supported By:
The Tishman Environment and Design Center is committed to working with movement artists. Our creatives are central to our stories.