This 8-week online course introduces you to fundamental Asset-Based and Community-Led Development (ABCD) theories and principles. You will learn tools to support communities to organize themselves to discover, connect, and mobilize their strengths for change. In addition, you will be able to reflect on the outside institutions’ role in supporting community development projects to avoid dependency and foster sustainable communities.
DATES: February 2 to March 30, 2026
Human-induced climate change is one of the most pressing global issues of our time. How humans have historically lived, played, and dreamed is changing. The impacts of climate change are felt across all sectors of human society: water and food systems, housing, health and sanitation, employment, industry, finance, security, and migration, to name several. Additionally, actions being taken around climate intersect with the interests of many civil society actors, such as those seeking gender justice, upholding and honouring indigenous rights and knowledge, and social movements mobilizing around environmental concerns, youth voice, and a just transition for workers, among others. Within this context of overlapping crises in a changing climate, the ways humans think, our relationships with more-than-human natures, and how we organize our societies must change.
As people, organizations, and institutions work on these changes across scales, communities are mobilizing to build their resilience in the face of crisis. This course offers foundations to engaging in climate change work – addressing injustice, (re)building relationships, exploring solutions – at the community level. Starting from an understanding that all people and communities have strengths, skills, and knowledge, this course supports participants to share their experiences and knowledge (and those of their communities, where appropriate) to engage with community climate resilience topics in a way that is meaningful in their own contexts.
DATES: September 15, 2025 - November 7, 2025
Women leaders across the globe are dealing with dispossession from resources, capabilities, and a form of discursive ‘development’ which is deeply rooted in a capitalist and patriarchal order. In the current milieu – as women leaders face further marginalization, cultural exclusivity, and the Covid-19 pandemic – we offer this online discourse hinged on power, patriarchy, and justice to support and facilitate a process of enhanced critical thinking and alternatives towards feminist ecological justice.
This course aims to inspire and empower people of all genders across the world to engage in purposeful and justice-oriented leadership, and to design ways to inculcate processes, systems, and structures towards the above issues in the communities you are engaged with. Apart from leading towards a better world, and taking on leadership with more content, strategies, and with more conviction and confidence, the course is geared to improving our homes, workplaces, societies, and states.
In this seven-week course, we will focus on a political understanding of gender, power, and patriarchy in the current milieu. We will also delve into leadership not just as a discourse but also as a lived alternative. We will work to understand, critique, and explore various progressive alternatives of change and justice. We will look into various leadership models and draw lessons from the feminist movement.
DATES: January 12 to March 9, 2026
The unprecedented convergence of the forces of globalization, urbanization, changing demographics, and climate change are already fundamentally changing the way we live and work. While the continuous advancement of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics have improved productivity and efficiency and increased convenience, they have raised concerns over the number of jobs being lost due to automation. The COVID-19 global pandemic and its consequences on how we work has further accelerated these forces. Meanwhile, the disruptive impact of the sharing economy, which is being felt deeply by those in transportation and accommodation, will continue to spread into other aspects of our lives and completely upend the traditional actors in these sectors and displace the jobs they provide. Further, the rapid developments in 3D printing, virtual reality, the Internet of Things, and Block Chain are set to also disrupt how goods are manufactured, and services are provided. These will also have a knock-on effect on the configuration of supply chains globally and how business is conducted across a wide spectrum of sectors and industries. The full magnitude of the impact on jobs, work, and workers is not yet fully understood.
DATES: September 15 - November 21, 2025
This 8-week online course is an introduction to peace and conflict while examining the nature, effectiveness, and challenges of grassroots peacebuilding.
Grassroots Peacebuilding focuses on the theory, models, and frameworks relevant to peacebuilding and conflict resolution which may be applied in post-conflict situations, humanitarian emergencies, and long- term peacebuilding and reconciliation initiatives. The course uses a wide range of materials in an interactive learning environment. You will be introduced to the latest theories, models, and skills in the context of the most current developments in peacebuilding theory and practice. This course allows for an inquiry of the way in which grassroots initiatives play a role in national peacebuilding practices. As a result, the course explores the tensions that arise between actors from national and international agencies.
We will also dissect the importance of conflict analysis prior to examining theoretical frameworks and practical initiatives of peacebuilding. The course offers you the opportunity to navigate between theory and practice. One-on-one academic support is provided upon request by participants. You are responsible to communicate with the facilitator for any course related questions or concerns.
DATES: January 12 to March 9, 2026
In Introduction to Community Outreach, participants will learn the fundamentals of how to engage with community in a way that is meaningful and impactful for all parties. CEI’s team of facilitators will introduce the idea of community outreach as one piece of a larger puzzle that also includes promotion and engagement, and help participants understand the intersections of how each piece works together. Participants will then have the chance to dive deeper in the “why” and “how” of community outreach, and explore various tools and approaches that can be applied to their own contexts. Individual module topics include: defining community outreach and engagement, understanding community needs and priorities, planning and purpose, forming meaningful partnerships, and measuring impact.
Dans le cadre de ce cours, les participants apprendront les principes de base qui leur permettront d’interagir avec la communauté d’une manière utile et efficace pour toutes les parties. L’équipe de facilitateurs du CEI leur proposera de considérer la sensibilisation communautaire comme une pièce d’un casse-tête qui comprend également la promotion et l’engagement. De plus, elle les aidera à comprendre comment chaque pièce s’emboîte les unes dans les autres. Les participants auront ensuite la chance d’en savoir davantage sur les raisons de faire de la sensibilisation communautaire et sur la façon de le faire. De plus, ils pourront examiner divers outils et approches qui peuvent être utilisés selon le contexte. Les sujets de chaque module comprennent les suivants : définition de la sensibilisation et de l’engagement communautaire, compréhension des besoins et des priorités de la communauté, planification et détermination des objectifs, établissement de partenariats fructueux et mesure des impacts.
We hear about leadership all the time – in the contexts of our workplaces, governments, schools, and communities… but what is leadership really? This course is intended to support young professionals in the early stages of their careers (less than 5 years) in the workforce as they explore what leadership means to them in the context of their work and future goals. It will offer participants the chance to grow their understanding of what leadership means, explore their own personal strengths as leaders, learn new skills, and begin to think through how they can apply their leadership in the workplace. The facilitation style for this course is highly participatory, and prioritizes self-reflection and participant-driven learning. Course participants will be actively involved in shaping their own experience, and should not expect a more traditional lecture-based classroom.
DATES: January 12 to March 9, 2026
In Youth-Focused Community Outreach, participants will build on the fundamentals of the Introduction to Community Outreach course and learn how to engage with youth in a way that is meaningful and impactful for all parties. Course facilitators Addy Strickland and Hannah James will support participants to define youth outreach and engagement, share strategies for creating welcoming, youth-friendly spaces, and explore a variety of tools for use in outreach and engagement activities. Participants will make connections and explore various tools and approaches that can be applied to their own contexts. Individual module topics include: defining youth outreach and engagement, meeting youth where they’re at, creating welcoming youth-friendly spaces, tools and strategies to engage youth, asset-based approaches to youth outreach, and trust in action.
Dans le cadre de ce cours, les participants consolideront les bases du cours d’introduction à la sensibilisation communautaire et apprendront à interagir avec les jeunes de façon significative et pertinente pour tous les intervenants. Les facilitatrices de ce cours, Addy Strickland et Hannah James, aideront les participants à définir la sensibilisation et l’engagement des jeunes, à échanger des stratégies pour créer des espaces accueillants et conviviaux pour les jeunes et à découvrir une multitude d’outils pouvant servir aux activités de sensibilisation et d’engagement. Les participants créeront des liens et exploreront divers outils et approches qu’ils peuvent utiliser dans leurs propres situations. Voici les sujets de chaque module : définir la sensibilisation et l’engagement des jeunes; aller à la rencontre des jeunes; créer des espaces accueillants et conviviaux pour les jeunes; les outils et les stratégies pour engager les jeunes; les approches fondées sur les atouts en matière de sensibilisation des jeunes; et la confiance en action.
Email: stfxonline@stfx.ca
