ProSocial World is excited to introduce a new experimental support and engagement group called the ProSocial Commons, which is described in this introductory webinar by PW president David Sloan Wilson.

https://youtu.be/xUwOWW12kxE

What is ProSocial World (PW)? PW is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote positive change based on the most recent advances in evolutionary science. Our methods can help any group become more cooperative and adaptable at achieving its valued goals and entering into prosocial relations with other groups. We have trained over 650 group facilitators and are creating “field sites” for stewarding cultural evolution around the world. It is also part of our mission to increase knowledge and literacy in evolutionary science as an overarching worldview.

What is the ProSocial Commons (PC)? PC provides a way for you to both support and become engaged with PW. Support includes financial support, although it can be anything within your means, and exemptions based on need are possible, so there are no financial barrier to becoming involved. Engagement includes a broad range of co-created activities that support PW in ways that are fulfilling for you. What is your passion for changing the world in a positive direction? No matter how you answered this question (health, education, climate change, biodiversity, equity….) or your current capacity as a change agent (a teenager, a parent, a clergy member, a philanthropist, a professor, a director of a nonprofit, a corporate CEO, a spiritual seeker…) you can pursue your passion more effectively by seeing it as a process of evolution and working within the cultural ecosystem that we are helping to create. Activities can include:

  • Online cafés, discussion groups, and book clubs.
  • Learning journeys, for deepening your knowledge about evolutionary science and its many implications.
  • Action labs, for accomplishing concrete goals that the group has agreed upon.
  • Volunteer teams that utilize your talents to develop PW as an organization.

Importantly, your tax-deductible financial contributions will not only support PW in achieving its mission but will also be utilized to support projects co-created by PC members.

What will it be like to join the PC? The PC is designed to be a social experience, not just a digital experience. You will immediately begin meeting with current members, either individually or in small groups, for an introduction and exploration of common interests. You’ll also be encouraged to join existing initiatives or to explore the formation of new initiatives. Meetings can be both online and in-person, especially when place-based activities begin to take place (e.g., neighborhood groups or meet-ups in a given city).

For members who are newly encountering the modern evolutionary perspective, the PC offers learning experiences such as advice on what to read, discussion groups, book clubs, and webinars. For professionals such as university professors and policy experts, there can be workshops resulting in academic publications, policy applications, and content reaching a broad audience on PW’s online magazine and podcast This View of Life. In all cases, learning experiences are oriented toward action—actually doing things together that change the world in positive directions, facilitated by the infrastructure for cultural evolution that PW is helping to co-create with many other like-minded people and organizations around the world. In this fashion, the experience of joining the PC can be optimized for each member.

How will the PC be organized? The PC begins as a small group, although it has the potential to grow very large, as David will discuss during the introductory meeting. The founding group acts as a single body, using the same core design principles and adaptability tools that PW offers to all groups. As it grows, it can differentiate into multiple groups that are coordinated with each other. Since the mission of the PC is to support the development of PW, there is also frequent communication with the Executive Committee, governance circle, and specialized branches of PW as a whole (e.g., Schools/youth, health, spirituality, regenerative culture, business).

To join the PC, please go here to make your donation and you will be invited to join an onboarding meeting with other current and new members.