In Their Words: Building Community Power at Chicago Next System Teach-in

On Nov. 9, 2025, community members and innovators braved the coldest day of that winter to gather at the historic First Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL. Through participatory processes including Open Space and asset mapping and hearing from internationally and locally celebrated grassroots leaders, they explored the question, "How can we use this moment of crisis and repression to build the world - and city - we want?"

In this video, participants share their impressions, takeaways from, and contributions to the event.

In addition to this Community Power Convergence, the Chicago Next System Teach-in featured an array of locally and nationally organized events hosted by organizations and groups active in building a more democratic, just and sustainable world.

This Teach-in was part of a wave of Teach-ins across the Americas coordinated by the being performed by the Next System Teach-Ins Taskforce, a project of the Next System Studies Association Initiative, with supported from staff with Next System Studies at George Mason University and the University of Vermont. Global academic and community partners include The Democracy Collaborative, encuentro5, Leadership for the Ecozoic, Presente.org, U.S. Solidarity Economy Network, Move to Amend, and World Beyond War. If your organization would like to do more to participate in the coordination of the Teach-Ins, contact us: contact (at) nextsystem.org.

To learn more and get involved, visit: https://nextsystem.org