Regen Champions: City-Scale Adaptation

What structural shifts might help us realise the promise of a regenerative Sydney?

WHAT IS REGEN CHAMPIONS?

Regen Champions a 6-part masterclass series funded through the City of Sydney’s Business Sector Support grant. Designed as a practical introduction to regenerative and systemic methodologies, the program will strengthen capability, activate innovation networks and deepen understanding of regenerative frameworks across sectors. It will support practitioners in shaping their approach and profile as regenerative leaders, while offering hands-on opportunities for upskilling. It also offers practitioners the opportunity to bring an existing regenerative project for support or to develop a new initiative throughout the six masterclasses, drawing on the expertise of leading voices in the field.

Our inaugural event, City-Scale Adaptation, led by futurist and urbanist Tom Rivard, opens the series and sets the foundation for the work ahead. This session is open to the public, with the option to continue into the full six-part masterclass as part of the first Regen Champions cohort.

The 6-Part Masterclass Series:

1. City-Scale Adaptation
   Environmental city-making; climate resilience; designing in uncertainty

2. Funding and Capital Landscapes
   Regenerative finance; catalytic capital; power and leverage

3. Policy, Governance & Advocacy
   Institutional levers; civic influence; multi-level governance; vested interests

4. Bridging Inner and Outer Regeneration
   Leadership capabilities; cultural renewal; embodied worldview shifts

5. Paradigm Shifts in Measuring Progress
   Indicators; regenerative metrics; story and data

6. Building New Institutions
   Scaling out; platforms and networks; mainstreaming niches

Whether you join a single session or journey through all six, Regen Champions invites you into a growing movement of practitioners exploring and activating how Sydney can become more resilient, connected and regenerative at the scale of organisations, precincts, as well as the broader city and bioregion.

WHO IS REGEN CHAMPIONS FOR?

This masterclass series is for emerging and established practitioners working in sustainability and/or regeneration, who want to:

• Upskill and build capability in regenerative and systemic methodologies

• Deepen their cross-sector understanding of regeneration applied to the Sydney context

• Develop skills in regenerative leadership

• Receive support on activating and developing a regenerative project in your professional context

• Grow your innovation network of supportive regenerative practitioners

• Form unusual alliances and seed new collaborations

WHAT WILL YOU DO AT MASTERCLASS 01?

In this first session of the series, you’ll experience:

• A live provocation by Tom Rivard on radical coexistence and environmental city-making

• A guided sensemaking process to anchor the work in your own practice

• Co-design activities exploring:

  • What monocultures Sydney must let go of

  • What diverse, regenerative futures could replace them

  • Where your project, organisation or precinct fits in these futures

• Breakout conversations with other “positive mavericks” across Sydney’s innovation, creative, policy and sustainability ecosystems

This session is hands-on, imaginal and practical, designed to spark real collaborations and prepare the ground for the five masterclasses ahead.

WHAT ELSE WILL HAPPEN?

Alongside the main session you can expect:

• Light food & refreshments

• Space for cross-sector networking

• A guided reflection wall to capture themes + insights

• A look at the upcoming year of masterclasses and project labs

• Early invitations to mentoring, walkshops and peer circles

Think of this as the opening chapter of a bigger collective story, one that continues across six themed masterclasses, a project incubation series, and a final public showcase.

WHAT YOU NEED

Please bring:

• An open mind

• Curiosity about systems, city-making or regenerative practice

• A willingness to collaborate with people outside your usual silo

Before you arrive, we also invite you to complete a short Pre-Event Survey.

It takes less than 5 minutes and helps us understand what you care about, what you’re working on, and what capabilities you want to build. Your responses will help us shape the series and bring deeper purpose to the conversations.

No preparation is required beyond that, everything else will be provided at the event!

WHERE & WHEN

We're grateful to be able to host the event at the Impact Story Lab, a creative social impact hub in the City of Sydney.

Please arrive 5:30pm for a 6pm start