This interactive course from LEAD captures the learning and experience of three outstanding LEAD Fellows. Together they have over 30 years experience of working in sustainable cities around the world. What makes this course special is that each of the LEAD instructors works with different communities in a different context. One of their key messages is that seemingly different communities can have very similar needs and values.

The topic Sustainable Cities sits on the intersection of energy, water, transport, construction, food and waste. This course will cover all of these themes and more. Our main focus, however will be people: how to make the ?invisible people? visible; how to give back to displaced communities a ?sense of place?; and how to enable the type of collaborative decision-making that leads to the creation and ownership of sustainable communities. Sustainable communities are the building blocks of sustainable cities.

Participants will acquire a holistic view of local and global challenges in urban sustainable development. They will learn how to use a number of innovative tools and techniques for strengthening collaborative decision-making and making communities more resilient.
The course will impact upon the institutions, organisations, and communities where the participants live and work. The anticipated impact of the course will be the creation of an informal global network of people working in the area of sustainable cities. The availability of an online forum (supported by LEAD) will make it easier for participants to network going forward and to create a knowledge community.

Over half of the world?s population lives in towns or cities. It is predicted that this will increase to 5 billion by the year 2030.

There are many initiatives that address the sustainable city challenges of how to meet the basic needs of those living in cities, including energy, water, transport, construction, food and waste. However the one challenge often overlooked is how to create a sense of community in overcrowded and poverty stricken urban areas. This course will focus on this issue, drawing on the expertise of three LEAD Fellows who have practical experience of addressing peoples? need for ?quality of life? in the favelas of Rio, the townships of Port Elizabeth and the inner city of Calgary through stakeholder engagement and community action.

By bringing together these three change makers from different sectors and countries with a multicultural audience we hope to create a powerful and memorable learning experience for all. Each LEAD Fellow has a slightly different approach to sustainable communities, and all are passionate about the interests and needs of local people. In particular they recognise the deep need of people and communities, wherever they live, to have a shared sense of identity, history and place. Their work is in tune with the latest thinking in the areas of new economics, equality and sustainability.

This course has a number of formal and informal learning aims and objectives:

1. To compare and contrast approaches to building sustainable urban communities in developed and developing countries. What are the similarities and what are the differences?
2. To explore the relationship between people and place. Can people living in informal settlements on the outskirts of cities be more resilient and happier than people living in cities with highly developed infrastructures and services?
3. To show how a number of proven tools and approaches can be used to engage urban communities in collaborative planning processes that are key to more sustainable cities

By the end of the course participants will have learned how to use a number of practical stakeholder engagement and participatory decision-making tools and approaches. These methods will include tried and tested tools to identify and engage different stakeholders and build the kind of trust and consensus that is needed to work jointly towards sustainable solutions. Participants will also learn how to use more innovative methods such as video and drama that LEAD Fellows have used successfully in developing countries to get to the heart of the issues.

In addition to the formal learning objectives the course has been designed to encourage participants to share their personal learning objectives. Moreover, one of our indicators of success will be if participants discover new individual and shared learning objectives as they engage with each other and with the instructors during the course.

LEAD is global network of cross-cultural, cross-sectoral sustainability practitioners who are committed to inspiring change for a more sustainable world. This course will be designed and led by an experienced team of four outstanding LEAD Fellows and staff from Brazil, South Africa, Canada, and the UK. Three members of the team work directly in urban development and sustainable communities in the north and the south. The fourth instructor is a learning and leadership specialist who has worked in stakeholder engagement in the UK water and energy sectors, and has led training courses on leadership and sustainability in Africa, Asia, North and South America and Europe. Together, they have over 30 years experience of delivering highly participative courses for culturally diverse groups.

In order to make the most of the 2.5 hour time slot, the course will be designed to maximise learning opportunities. Before the course, if appropriate, LEAD will provide an online forum where participants will be able to post their profiles, get to know each other, list their expectations, and exchange ideas about sustainable cities and urban community development. Having an online forum will enable the instructors to make better use of the limited time available. At the start of the face to face course, the LEAD instructors will share their experience of how to plan and develop sustainable communities. At the same time, they will facilitate opportunities for participants to discover additional learning points through discussions with each other. The core content of the course will be three case studies about urban communities in three very different countries and contexts: the favelas of Rio, Brazil, the townships of Port Elizabeth, South Africa and the inner city of Calgary, Canada.

The course will have three stages. In part one (30 minutes), we will give an overview of the course and we will invite participants to share their expectations and experience of sustainable cities and urban communities. This process will be important to help the instructors understand the learning needs of the participants. In part two (90 minutes), participants will divide into 3 groups. Each group will examine one case study. We will use a number of creative and participative methods to explore the challenges and opportunities in each case study. We will also share one or two practical stakeholder engagement tools and give participants a challenge based on the case study and the techniques that we have shared. In part three (30 minutes) we will facilitate a conversation between each group and encourage participants to identify the similarities and the differences between the case studies.

At the end of course we will use interactive wall charts to collect feedback and learning points from the participants about the process and content of the course, as well as the work of the instructors.

LEAD?s blended approach to learning is based on 20 years of experience of working with cross cultural cross sectoral learners. LEAD?s methodology is learner centred, participatory, experiential, dynamic and fun! We use a wide range of learning activities including e-learning, case studies, simulations, participatory inquiry, cafe conversations, story-telling, different kinds of visual media, team challenges, and peer-to-peer learning.

The course content will balance knowledge input, knowledge sharing, and skills development. The skilled instructors will pay close attention to the participants? needs, and are accustomed to being flexible and can adapt the schedule where possible. Our aim is to give participants responsibility for their own learning and above all, opportunities to learn from each other. We encourage learners to give their full attention to seeing, thinking and listening to each other. We do this by creating clearly defined spaces in the programme for high energy activities and also quieter moments for individual and group reflection.

LEAD takes a systematic approach to training design, delivery and evaluation. We are accustomed to responding quickly and imaginatively to emerging learner needs and concerns during delivery. Each LEAD training programme follows a clear learning journey with measurable learning outcomes and our detailed training plans always include structured time for group and individual reflection and forward planning. Working this way helps to create a dynamic, respectful and engaging learning environment and increases the likelihood of participants taking away and applying what they have learned back in their working environment.

First, the course will have a number of immediate and measurable impacts upon the participants.
Participants will leave the course with a more holistic view of local and global challenges and opportunities in the area of sustainable urban development. They will have acquired a number of essential and innovative tools and techniques for strengthening collaborative decision-making and making communities more resilient. They will have had an opportunity to learn about sustainable urban development from a group of international practitioners and from each other.

Second, the course will have impacts on the institutions, organisations, and communities where the participants live and work. It is anticipated that the participants will be inspired by the course and initiate new projects or return to their existing projects with a renewed sense of purpose and vigour. Participants will be able to cascade the tools and techniques from the course.

Third, a further highly desirable and likely impact of the course will be the creation of an informal global network of people working in the area of sustainable cities. The availability of an online forum (supported by LEAD) will make it easier for participants to network going forward and to create a global knowledge community.