Organising Society by the Logic of the Planet: Workshop with the global think tank Dark Matter Labs

Our institutions divide the world into countries, municipalities, and separate areas of responsibility. The planet, however, follows a different logic. Water, energy, air, and nutrients flow across the boundaries between countries, cities, and institutions that humans have created.

What if our societies and institutions were organised around these flows instead? In this workshop, we will follow them across space and time and explore how they could reshape the way we think about cities, institutions, and the shared management of resources. Together, we will identify points where small, local interventions have the potential to spark wider positive change.

The workshop is intended for designers, cultural managers, public-sector professionals, activists, and educators who want to explore methods of systems thinking, understand complex interconnections, and identify opportunities for positive change in a world where interconnected global crises, uncertainty about the future, and a sense of powerlessness can often discourage us from taking action.

The working language of the workshop is English.

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The workshop is moderated by Prateek Shankar from Dark Matter Labs, leading global think tank, recognising the complex, entangled reality of living systems and exploring alternative pathways for organising society and stewarding the shared planetary commons. Dark Matter Labs collaborates with international bodies and governments, including the UNDP, EIT Climate-KIC, the Scottish Government, and the Design Museum / Future Observatory.

Prateek Shankar is a strategic designer, writer, and educator whose practice explores how our institutions, governance systems, and ways of knowing must evolve to meet today’s challenges. He is currently Steward (Mission & People) at Dark Matter Labs, where he previously co-led the Planetary Civics mission. He is also a founding member of the Planetary Civics Inquiry. Prateek has spent over a decade working in the fields of international development, ethnographic research, public humanities, and design. He has lectured at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and RMIT University, served as Strategic Design Fellow at the Center for Complexity, and is a Young India Fellow.