We are delighted to have received funding from the Norwegian foundation, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, for a project that will build capacity in people who want to contribute to sustainability transformations.Read More
Transformations workshop with Chilean ministry
The new government of the Republic of Chile is working for an ecological constitution and the potential is enormous for restoring nature and bringing about transformative change. We got a glimpse into what they burn for and how they will create deep and lasting change.Read More
Karen appointed IPBES Transformative Report co-chair
Karen O’Brien has been appointed co-chair of the new IPBES multi-year international Transformative Change Assessment, together with other co-chairs Arun Agrawal and Lucas Garibaldi.Read More
New book out now!
Karen O’Brien’s new book “You Matter More Than You Think: Quantum Social Change for a Thriving World” is out now. Read More
New “Sustainability Science” article
How can educators teach tertiary students about how large-scale transformations to sustainability occur and help them perceive an active role for themselves in these efforts?Read More
O’Brien recipient of prestigious BBVA Foundation Award
Karen O’Brien has been awarded the prestigious BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award for her contribution to climate change science.
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Doughnut Economics as a framework for transformation
How can we transform the way we live and the society we are part of so that we stay within the limits of the planet we live on? Join us for this digital SoTalk on Thur 8 Oct to explore Doughnut Economics as a framework for transformation and how a city like Oslo could work with such a model.Read More
Workshops: Sustainability transformations and your organization
These workshops will motivate and inspire you to “see change” differently, and to explore how to engage with transformative change and creating sustainability results in new and effective ways.
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Using fiction to facilitate complex transformations
Karen O’Brien and Nicole Schafenacker have written an article in the 14th issue of Tvergastein discussing how fiction can transform how we imagine the future. Read More
Evolve interview: Transforming the Transition
cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien was interviewed recently by Evolve magazine in Germany about how we can empower individual agency for rapid systems change when it comes to climate change solutions.Read More
New book chapter: Creating a Culture for Transformation
How can culture be harnessed for transformation and what factors might contribute to cultural tipping points for sustainability? Karen O’Brien, Gail Hochachka and Irmelin Gram-Hanssen explore this in a newly published book chapter. Read More
Applications open for our leadership workshop series
Are you working on sustainability and want to see deep, lasting change? We are now accepting applications for our workshop series on Transformational Leadership for Sustainability with Dr. Monica Sharma in Bergen. Deadline 19th January 2020. Read More
Our Entangled Future: Stories to empower quantum social change
“Our Entangled Future: Stories to Empower Quantum Social Change” – a book of short stories offering hope, imagination, inspiration and transformation to inspire readers to engage with the future in a positive and optimistic way.Read More
Horizon 2020 education project collaboration
Climate change is rapidly transforming our world. What skills, knowledges and tools do students and citizens need to address this challenge? cCHANGE is collaborating on a new EU Horizon 2020 project with partners across Europe to address this.Read More
Delivering successful sustainability projects – what’s missing?
Moving towards a more sustainable society requires new ways of working. Join Prof. Dr. Monica Sharma and Karen O’Brien in Oslo for a seminar exploring ways in which we can turn passion and purpose into measurable results. Read More
RegenNarration podcast
How does conscious social transformation happen? How do we engage the highest leverage points? How do we take care of each other in the process? And can this really enable us to achieve the 1.5 degree Paris Agreement target?Read More
Award for research excellence
cCHANGE’s co-founder Karen O’Brien is the recipient of the 2019 Research Excellence Award from the American Association of Geographers’ Human Dimensions of Global Change Specialty Group.Read More
Leadership workshops
Join our free one-hour livestreamed Introduction to Transformational Leadership for Sustainability on Mon 10th December.Read More
Talk with Sharma: Towards a thriving planet
Listen in as our close collaborator, Monica Sharma, hosts professor Karen O´Brien in her biweekly radio show on transformational leadership.Read More
Deeper collaborations for clean, rich oceans
A new piece by cCHANGE’s Leonie Goodwin explores ways we could achieve clean, rich oceans more rapidly.Read More
Lofoten Watch cCHALLENGE
I 30 dager har Lofoten FHS utforsket hvordan de selv og samfunnet rundt dem reagerer på endring i en tid hvor endring er helt nødvendig.Read More
Framing Nordic adaptation conference
The 5th Nordic Conference on Climate Change Adaptation will take place in Norrköping, Sweden, from 23 to 25 October 2018. cCHANGE will be involved in its framing. Read More
Hear Karen at Klimafestivalen in Oslo
Under Klimafestivalen §112 vil Karen O’Brien snakke (in English) om hvilke rolle vi som enkeltindivider har i det grønneskiftet. Arrangementer er på Sentralen – 14:00, 28. jan 2018 – og er gratis og åpent for alle!Read More
Folk High Schools workshop
In November 2017, more than 50 inspired and committed Folk High School students and teachers from around Norway attended our workshop in Oslo.Read More
Webinar on shifting paradigms
Join cChange’s Karen O’Brien and other thought leaders around the world, for a webinar on Monday 2nd October exploring cutting-edge research into shifting paradigms and the potential for quantum social change.Read More
Food Forever interview
Karen O’Brien was interviewed for the recently published award-winning recipe book, Food Forever. She spoke about the important role chefs play in sustainability transformations.Read More
Transforming higher education
CEMUS, the student-led transdisciplinary centre at University of Uppsala, is incorporating the three spheres of transformation in their course design and setting an example for the future of higher education. Read More
Hal Wilhite with hard-hitting new book
A new book has caught our attention. In it author Professor Harold Wilhite explains how our unsustainable behaviours emerged from the values of capitalism, and why those behaviours remain just so difficult to change. Simen Pettersen in cCHANGE interviewed Professor Wilhite on the matter.Read More
Levevei podcast interview with Karen O’Brien
Norwegian website and podcast series Levevei interviews Karen O’Brien on “the nature of transformative change”. The result is definitely worth a listen.Read More
What is your worldview?
Worldviews are the very foundation for how we view global problems and solutions. Take a 7 minute worldview-test, developed by Annik de Witt, and learn more about your own worldview.Read More
Transformation builds momentum in social sciences
The International Social Science Council is launching three transformative knowledge networks for solving some of the most urgent sustainability challenges in the world.Read More
Activating youth agency to lead change
Around 40 young people came together in Oslo in December to explore their potential for becoming climate change leaders. The result was two days of inspiration and stories of change.Read More
Workshop: Climate Change Youth Leadership, 14-15 Dec
We have the pleasure to present this two-day workshop aimed at youth and young adults who are interested in transformations to sustainability. Applications are now welcomed, please apply before November 26. Read More
Upcoming Conference: Transformative Global Climate Governance
It is still possible to submit abstract to the upcoming 2016 Berlin Conference on Global Environmental Change. Interested in transformations and governance? Don´t miss the 16 November deadline for submitting abstracts. Read More
New report on biodiversity and transformations
How can we bring about equitable and ethical transformations that support a sustainable and thriving world? Read our new report on biodiversity, climate change and transformations for the Norwegian Environment Agency where we take a closer look at transformative change in response to the interrelated issues of climate change and biodiversity loss.Read More
Towards deep sustainability at the university: Reflections from our new intern
cCHANGE’s new intern Jelle Buijs shares his insights on how transformational leadership approaches could deepen sustainability in universities.Read More
Online book launch
Join the online launch of “You Matter More Than You Think” with Karen O’Brien, Paul Hawken, Eva Saldaña Buenache, and Laura Zanotti – February 24, 8pm CET.Read More
Celebrations and recognition in Bilbao
This week Karen O’Brien is in Bilbao, Spain at the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Awards Ceremony. Karen was awarded the prize alongside Ian Burton and Neil Adger for her contribution to climate change research.Read More
Join the “Our Entangled Future” virtual readings
Join our virtual readings with the authors of “Our Entangled Future”, followed by a panel discussion and reflections.Read More
Transforming knowledge systems for the future
A recent paper in Energy Research and Science co-authored by over 170 transformations researchers and practitioners calls for a shift in our current knowledge systems so that they can better support society to address future challenges.
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Upcoming webinar: Agency Matters. Register now.
Agency Matters! … Join us for the second webinar in the “You Matter More Than You Think” series; which will explore agency – individual, collective and political, why it matters, and why its quality is critical.Read More
Rethinking climate change education in the Anthropocene
How can climate change education align with what’s needed and meet the engagement we see among youth today? Robin Leichenko and Karen O’Brien argue that it’s high time to transform climate change education.Read More
A new language to describe our complex world
Karen O’Brien and Ann Kristin Schorre contributed the Norwegian word “Ildsjel” to a new collaborative volume – An Ecotopian Lexicon – a volume of new terms and concepts to help us describe and respond to today’s environmental challenges.Read More
Collective Trauma Summit interview and transcript available
In her interview with Terry Patten for the Collective Trauma Summit, cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien speaks about creating social change in a time when it can be difficult to accept just how much personal agency each of us has.Read More
Exploring climate change and societal transformation with Terry Patten
In a recent podcast, Karen O’Brien and Terry Patten discuss how different perspectives on climate change are crucial, not only for making change, but also personally for dealing with climate change challenges and impacts. Read More
cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien among world’s most cited
cCHANGE co-founder Karen O’Brien has been recognized as one of the world’s most cited researches in the past decade. This recognition illustrates the desire for new perspectives on climate change and sustainable transformations. Read More
Join our youth leadership program to create change
Young people have the capacity to create change – to shift systems and cultures that don’t contribute to the future they want. This autumn, we are starting our youth leadership program built around the cCHALLENGE approach and we are inviting registrations now.Read More
Leading Change with Monica Sharma
How can we run meetings, align projects and inspire others to move forward and lead sustainable change? Last week, participants at the Transformative Leadership for Sustainability workshop explored this and more. Read More
Invitation to book launch
Join authors Robin Leichenko and Karen O’Brien on 5 Sept in Oslo, as they introduce and explore topics from their new book “Climate and Society: Transforming the Future”.Read More
Hear Karen’s talk for climate investors
It’s time to invest in a new story! Watch the inspirational talk cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien recently gave at Nysnø’s Driva: Climate Investment Meeting 2019 in Stavanger.Read More
Being change
What do universal values, listening and speaking have to do with sustainability? Last week, Dr. Monica Sharma explored embodying the change you want to see with participants during our first session of ‘Transformational Leadership for Sustainability’ in Oslo.Read More
Challenge Christmas!
Join us during December as we explore how to be kinder to ourselves and our planet. Or challenge someone you know!Read More
Special issue on transformations and the 1.5°C target
A COSUST special issue, co-edited by cCHANGE’s Linda Sygna, explores the social transformations needed to meet the 1.5°C climate target.Read More
Four fantastic cCHALLENGES!
All over Norway, people from all walks of life are taking the cCHALLENGE this month!Read More
Contribution to EEA transitions report
cCHANGE recently contributed its unique perspective to a European Environment Agency report on transitions to sustainability. Read More
Ten essentials for transformative research
A world-leading team of transformations researchers, including cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien, outline the 10 essentials for making sustainability research more action and solutions-oriented in a new paper.Read More
cCHANGE scenarios in new energy report
cCHANGE has contributed to a new report by the Norwegian state energy agency, Enova, on how Norway can transition to a low-carbon society after 2050.Read More
Workshop: Læreplaner 2020
I 2020 blir det endringer i læreplanene. Denne workshopen utforsker hvilke muligheter dette gir for å fokusere på bærekraftig utvikling, demokrati og medborgerskap i den videregående skolen. Read More
Exhibition: WE CAN STAY HERE WHILE WE WAIT
The Anthropocene, humans, us, leaving permanent traces on the planet. How can we understand the changing of our surroundings? This Art exhibition will show you the way. Read More
A Gift for a Change
Special day at work! cCHANGE just received a gift of NOK 700 000 from the Savings Bank Foundation DNB. The funds will be used to engage and empower children and youth in climate solutions. Read More
MEET THE STARTUPS: cCHANGE
MEET THE STARTUPS is Vibbio’s video series on notable Norwegian start-ups. The latest installment features an excellent bite-sized introduction to cCHANGE. We want to inspire and engage people as the solution to climate change. If you have a minute (and six seconds) to view the YouTube video!Read More
COAL Prize 2016
Is climate change a cultural challenge, one that requires imaginative and creative responses capable of transforming the current environmental paradigm? The COAL Prize seeks to answer that question.Read More
Online Course: Transformative Practices
This new online summer course launched by The Integral Without Borders Research centre takes an internal and comprehensive approach to social change. “Interdisciplinary” is indeed the key word to transformation.Read More
Can Design Catalyse the Great Transition?
This question is asked in the upcoming Symposium in England. First of its kind this Symposium takes a closer look at what role design and designers can have in transitions to sustainable futures. Read More
cCHALLENGE 2016 is on!
Today 20 participants will begin an experiment with change. This cCHALLENGE not only coincides with the launch of the new cchallenge.no website, but it is also being pitched as one of 12 climate solutions for the city of Oslo.Read More
Exploring what our next system will be
Connect the dots! See how connecting your piece of the pie with others can transform systems. Medea Benjamin explains how we can be part of the solution by creating alternatives to the current system.Read More
Contemporary Arctic issues to the cinemas
The arctic, climate change, indigenous geopolitics and the dramatic growth in tourism are among the issues getting attention when groundbreaking Arctic Cinema Week takes place 9-13 November at the University of Leeds, UK.Read More
From extracting oil to generating transformations: Reflections on cCHANGE’s leadership program
Veslemøy Klavenes-Berge, sustainability advisor and podcast creator, shares her reflections on cCHANGE’s leadership program for people working to solve sustainability and climate change challenges.Read More
Exciting three-year Miljøagentene collaboration
Thanks to funding from Sparebankstiftelsen, cCHANGE is delighted to announce a three-year collaboration with Miljøagentene, the leading environmental organization working with children and families in Norway.Read More
From ripples to waves
Students and a lecturer at Dublin City University spoke recently to “The Independent” Ireland about their 30-day sustainability challenge, Ripples of Change.Read More
Explore the Collective Trauma Summit
Register for free to hear Karen O’Brien talk about climate change as a relationship problem on the 27-28 September at the 2021 Collective Trauma Online Summit.Read More
Learn how to generate transformations to sustainability
Are you working in sustainability and climate change and feeling impatient for results? cCHANGE is accepting applications for Transformational Leadership for Sustainability fall program with Dr. Monica Sharma. Read More
Creating ripples and waves at The Great Wave
Read Karen’s talk on quantum social change presented online at The House of Beautiful Business’ The Great Wave event from 16-19 October 2020.Read More
Webinar: You Matter More Than You Think and quantum social change
Join us for a webinar on Thu 18 June to discuss Karen O’Brien’s new book manuscript and quantum social change. Artist Tone Bjordam will join Karen, along with other invited guests. Read More
Why and how sustainability science must transform
Former leaders at Future Earth, Paul Shrivastava and Mark Stafford Smith, teamed up with Laszlo Zsolnai and Karen O’Brien, to discuss where sustainability science is currently failing, what’s missing, and what can be done about it.Read More
Mission Vestlandet: Taking Transformational Leadership to Bergen
How exciting to gather people with diverse backgrounds in Bergen this week. What’s on the agenda? Well, nothing less than how to achieve a sustainable and equitable world! Read More
Art in education and youth empowerment in a changing climate
What is the potential of art and transformative learning to empower young people to address climate change? Julia Bentz and cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien explore this in a recently published article. Read More
Interview: Changing how we perceive climate change
In a recent interview cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien talked about perceiving climate change as a relationship problem and how we all can play a greater role in contributing to solutions.Read More
Climate change as a relationship problem
Hear cCHANGE’s Karen O’Brien talk, together with 25 of the world’s most prominent psychotherapists, researchers, teachers, and transformation experts for the first-ever Collective Trauma Online Summit.Read More
New book: Our Entangled Future
“Our Entangled Future: Stories to Empower Quantum Social Change” will be launched this month in Santiago, Chile.Read More
Webinar on teaching climate change
Profs. Robin Leichenko and Karen O’Brien invite educators, students, and others working with climate change to a webinar on how we can teach the subject in a way that empowers and fosters individual and collective engagement.Read More
Engaging people with change
In September, we are joining with OBOS to challenge thousands of people to change a habit … and discover new pathways to a more sustainable future. Read More
Designing Change with Monica Sharma
How do we design our projects to solve problems, shift systems and activate our own and our community’s potential for change? Read More
13 mayors, 1 change, 30 days
What happens when 13 mayors from around Oslo explore their own personal roles in solving climate change and sustainability challenges?Read More
Humans are not just the problem, they’re also the solution
After decades of trying to engage people with solutions to climate change, it’s time to go beyond behaviour change and recognize people as agents of change, rather than objects to be changed.Read More
The 1.5°C target and transformation
Is hitting the 1.5°C target possible? It certainly could be, argues Karen O’Brien, in her recent open source COSUST article, but not by treating climate change just as a technical problem. Read More
Ripples all the way from Norway to the USA
In March, 160 students and teachers from Rutgers University and University of Oslo took the cCHALLENGE and experienced for themselves the power they have to influence others. Read More
Art for Adaptation cCHALLENGE
What happened when 25 high school students from the António Arroio Art High School in Lisbon, Portugal, explored the challenge of change through the cCHALLENGE?Read More
Transformations special issue on the 1.5C target
A new special issue of the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (COSUST) contains cutting-edge review articles on themes relating to the 1.5°C climate change target and social transformation.Read More
Game changing book
Our close partner, leadership development expert Monica Sharma, draws on more than twenty years of working for the UN and beyond to present a radical new approach to leadership.Read More
Breakfast seminar in Oslo
Join Oslo climate leader Heidi Sørensen and renowned climate change researchers Profs. Kevin Anderson and Karen O´Brien for a free breakfast seminar discussing the possibilities for radical emissions reductions in Oslo. Read More
Talking transformations with the King of Sweden
In May 2016, Karen O’Brien attended the King of Sweden’s Royal Colloquium to share her insights on sustainability transformations. Her essay from the event has just been published in a book.Read More
cCHANGE Down Under Tour
It started with an invitation to talk at a world music festival in Adelaide, Australia. And the result is a cCHANGE tour of Australia talking about adaptation, transformation, and people as the solution to climate change. Read More
A climate scientist in a time of crisis
The Norwegian paper Klassekampen recently did an interview featuring Karen O’Brien. Karen is reflecting on how she ended up as a climate scientist and in Norway, and her passion for transformation toward sustainability. With permission from Klassekampen read the full interview. Read More
What if…
In a WIREs opinion piece, O’Brien suggests that we may be underestimating our capacity to transform society at the rate and scale that is called for by climate change science and mandated by the 2015 Paris Agreement.Read More
So what is the most powerful solution to climate change?
cCHALLENGE was presented at the Pecha Kucha Night in Oslo in April for a large audience. Aftenposten filmed it and the clip is now available. Have a look and get inspired!Read More
Reflections on change
The cCHALLENGE project is in its final week after 30 days of change experiments. In this article Karen O´Brien writes about the power of experience and reflections, and how this relates to the cCHALLENGE journey.Read More
Dialogue: You matter more than you think
This Friday cCHANGE welcomes you to a dialogue on what role individuals play in transformations. The event is part of Klimafestivalen §112, a nation-wide festival in Norway that draws attention the climate change issue and potential solutions.Read More
Can training our brains make the world a better place?
Brain exercises can make us less selfish and more compassionate, social neuroscientist and psychologist Tania Singer says. Through time and practice, we can change stable preferences, and increase social intelligence and cooperation. Read More
New Book: Climate Change as an Adaptive Challenge
Climate change is crucially linked to beliefs, values and worldviews, as well as to power, politics, identities and interests. This book calls for a fundamental redefinition of the meaning of climate change adaptation.Read More