Mounting evidence suggests that the source of the growing apocalyptic crisis we experience is spiritual and cultural. Thus, to survive we need to urgently engage in transforming our fundamental collectivistic philosophical beliefs towards a holistic, nature-based worldview that also includes the invisible, extra-rational world. Accomplishing this paradigm shift requires people individually and collectively transforming. Whilst the transformative learning community generated extensive and deep knowledge of individual transformative processes, how to deliberately create a paradigm shift is less well understood. In this symposium, we, a team of transformative scholars and practitioners from diverse cultures, generations and disciplines, suggest that one key to intentionally and sustainably create collective transformations is shifting the governance system and processes. Based on using sociocracy or deep democracy sociocracy to create a vibrant, agile, innovative international transformative community of the last two years, we propose that sociocracy is offering governance structures and processes that intentionally enable individual and collective transformation. We put forward that transformative learning and sociocratic governance processes strengthen each other and co-create sustainably the systemic transformations required not only for surviving but thriving. We will illuminate how sociocracy enables individual and social transformative learning and how transformative learning enables sociocratic systems and processes.

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