An Ecosystem Approach to Gathering in Times of Rupture: Challenging the Actual in the Name of the Possible

How can we design our gatherings so they become seeds of change?

At a moment marked by institutional strain, ecological grief, and narrative exhaustion, how we gather matters as much as what we build. This seminar explores an ecosystem approach to convening people, ideas, and action—one grounded in the belief that flourishing is not an outcome we optimize for, but a condition we design for together.

Drawing on the Hope Circuits framework, the talk invites participants to reconsider education as a sector whose deepest mandate is hope: not naïve optimism, but the disciplined, relational work of challenging the actual in the name of the possible. Universities, colleges, and learning communities are uniquely positioned to do this work because they bring together difference, inquiry, memory, and imagination at scale. When designed with care, gatherings become more than events—they become seeds.

The seminar examines how ecosystem-level thinking helps us resist dominant narratives of scarcity and perpetual crisis, replacing them with antidotes of abundance, purpose, and shared responsibility. Through examples of humanities-led convenings, interdisciplinary collaborations, and moments of collective sense-making, the talk explores how we can gather in ways that restore trust, widen agency, and centre both human and ecological flourishing—especially in times of collapse and rupture.

The invitation is simple and demanding: to design spaces that help us remember not only what is broken, but what is still possible.

Dr. Jessica Riddell is a Full Professor at Bishop’s University (Québec, Canada) and the inaugural Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. A nationally recognized educator, public intellectual, and higher education leader, she is known for reimagining universities as public institutions oriented toward human and ecological flourishing. She is the founder of the Hope Circuits Institute and the author of Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities for Human Flourishing (MQUP, 2024) and co-author of Shakespeare’s Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning (UTP, 2023). Dr. Riddell serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges and Universities and has received Canada’s highest teaching and engagement honours, including the 3M National Teaching Fellowship (2015) and election to the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars for her national contributions to the humanities (2025).

To find out more about Jessica's work, visit her website: https://www.jessicariddell.com/

In a time marked by growing mental health pressures, uncertainty about the future of work, and increasing polarization, the Center for Human Flourishing lecture series equips students, faculty, staff, and community members with research-informed tools to move beyond coping toward flourishing.

Your support helps translate wellbeing and health science into practical learning, strengthen trust and belonging, and position Concordia as a leader in nurturing resilient, engaged communities.