Fostering Compassionate City Culture

A Guide to Human Flourishing

Start Date: April 25, 2022
Duration: 4 weeks
Cost: $45 U.S.
Course is Online with facilitator participation and 2 optional zoom chats
Facilitator: Diane Kalen-Sukra

Are you an engaged citizen, public servant, and/or civic leader seeking to build community culture that leads to human well-being?

Take this 4 week instructor-led course at your convenience according to your schedule. Each of the 4 week lessons becomes available on Mondays beginning April 25. The course materials will be available for an additional 6 months as a self-directed course. There will be two optional Zoom ‘meet & greets’ to discuss the course material and your journey during the course.

Included: 2 Optional Zoom Live-Chats:

•   May 2, 2022 at 5PM Pacific Standard Time | Dialogue with Diane Kalen-Sukra, Founder, Kalen Academy

•   May 16, 2022 at 5PM Pacific Standard Time | Diane will host honorary guest Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director, Charter for Compassion

Use this date/time converter to check for local times.

A Certificate will be available to all those who complete the course

Registration: Now Open!

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Our capacity to collaborate and innovate together has been undermined by the increase in incivility, toxic behaviour and divisiveness in our homes, schools, workplaces, and the public square. This erodes our sense of belonging, community, and well-being. 

We need each other to address the complex challenges facing our communities and our cities – from aging infrastructure to climate change, homelessness, mental health and addiction issues among many others.

To thrive, our communities depend on our ability to revive the art of living and working well together. In this thought-provoking and inspiring course, you’ll be taken on a journey from “Bullyville”, a broken, toxic and divided community to “Sustainaville”, a safe, inclusive, thriving and resilient community.

The successful journey includes a renewal of pro-social human values and practices rooted in compassion, secular ethics, civic education and systemic culture transformation. 

Compassionate cities are made up of compassionate people. This course orients you and then provides you with practical tools to be the change.

This course includes:

• Four self-guided learning sessions, with instructor’s daily response to questions and comments
• Two optional live-chat sessions with the instructor
• Inspiring and thought-provoking videos
• Personal values assessment and worksheets
• Excerpts of the instructor’s book Save Your City: How Toxic Culture Kills Community & What To Do About It
• Access to like-minded people from around the world

Course Goals:

• Become intentional about fostering love-based cultures of compassion.
• Ability to discern where a community stands on the spectrum of culture.
• Gain understanding of how fear-based communities tear at the social fabric, diminishing human well-being and flourishing.
• Cultivate values-based, purpose-driven, servant leadership.
• Identify your sphere of influence and how you can best impact community culture.
• Consider the characteristics of community culture that can support human wellbeing, our democracy and our planet.
• Enhanced understanding of local government, civic leadership, citizen responsibilities and collaborative possibilities.
• Learn about the Compassionate Cities movement and supporting initiatives.

COURSE OUTLINE

Part 1: Welcome to the City Gates

• Diagnosing community culture (spectrum)
• Root causes and triggers of incivility and toxic culture
• Impact of cultural poisoning
• Coping mechanisms for surviving uncivil society

Part 2: Join the Civic Renaissance

• Offering sanctuary, fostering psychological safety
• Past and present visions of human flourishing
• Science of well-being and compassion
• Tipping point for cultural transformation

Part 3 : One Ship, One Destiny

• Navigating turbulent waters and collective challenges facing communities
• The culture iceberg, appreciating interdependence and systems change
• Shared purpose, social unity and civic resilience
• Trust, inclusion, solidarity and The Golden Rule

Part 4: Compassionate Cities are made up of Compassionate People

• Be intentional about culture
• Global call for a values revolution
• Measure well-being
• Revival of civic education that includes social-emotional learning
• Declaring and building your Compassionate City

About the Course Instructor

Diane Kalen-Sukra, MA, CMC is a leading culture transformation expert, advisor to cities, speaker, author and educator. She was born with the gift of encouragement and desire for everyone to meet their potential. Her core belief is that as social beings, we flourish in healthy, sustainable communities where good governance, servant leadership and compassionate culture support the well-being of all.

Over the past 25 years, this inspiration has taken Diane to countless communities in leadership roles from national television producer, documentary maker, community organizer to multi-award winning municipal Chief Administrative Officer.

She is a certified culture transformation consultant with the Barrett Values Centre & compassionate integrity facilitator with Life University's Centre for Compassion, Integrity & Secular Ethics. She is also a media commentator and widely published writer.

For more information, visit SaveYourCity.ca or KalenConsulting.com.

Connect with Diane on social media:  Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter.

Join Diane Kalen-Sukra’s Ancient Wisdom for Modern City Builders blog.

Recent interviews with Diane Kalen-Sukra:

• Charter for Compassion Global Read of Save Your City
• Municipal World interview following keynote address to City Manager conference
• National news interview
• Regional news interview

Testimonials:

“Diane Kalen-Sukra calls us back to our core beliefs and encourages a recentering of our thinking, grounded in service. She provides gentle encouragement that results in enlightening and delightful insights.”

-        Bill Sims

“From identifying triggers to grounding to self-compassion, Diane Kalen-Sukra redefines what it means to be an effective, ethical leader for the betterment of our communities and organizations.”

-        Owen Torgerson

“Diane Kalen-Sukra weaves lived experience with a wealth of knowledge of the history of humanity into a well-rounded course rooted in theory and practice. The tools and discussions relate specifically to my work, and make me understand that my experiences and struggles are not unique to myself alone.”

-        Rebecca Dechert Sage

“Diane Kalen-Sukra’s wisdom and knowledge, kindness and continuous support helped me enormously to make progress in my journey.”

-        Aurpa Nath