The NGO

Cédric Ringenbach founded the Climate Fresk NGO in 2018. Its goal is to raise awareness and participation of the workshops and to train and upskill Climate Fresk facilitators.

The organisation has a decentralised and participatory governance structure that was inspired by the Swedish Pirate Party whose principles include do-ocracy, transparency and the right to make mistakes.

The founding principles of Climate Fresk are the urgency to act in the climate emergency, humanism, respect for science and inclusion of the corporate world.

Our Purpose

The NGO was created on 17 December 2018. Its goal is to:

Raise awareness of the Climate Fresk workshop as quickly as possible in order to raise the level of climate education around the world
Train new facilitators so that they can continue spreading the workshop and contribute to Climate Fresk’s exponential growth
Design additional educational material to help facilitators and enable them to operate autonomously
Build, grow and manage the Climate Fresk community

The team

Climate Fresk has a decentralised and paticipatory management structure. This enables thousands of volunteers, the permanent team and Board of Directors to use their collective intelligence to accelarate the dissemination of the workshop.

Founding principles

Climate Fresk was founded with the following principles:

Climate emergency
Treating people with care and respect
Respect for science
No taboo about money

Climate emergency

Climate change is threatening humanity and we need to act very quickly. This is why the creator of the tool has entrusted the non-profit he founded with the urgent mission to spread the Climate Fresk far and wide.

This urgency is why the principles of do-ocracy and the right to make mistakes, as well as the ‘swarming’ nature of the Fresk community, are so important.

Treating people with care and respect

We are trying to save the planet so that humans can continue to live here as comfortably as possible.
In light of this broader aim, we want to be consistent in how we treat people in our day-to-day lives. We treat people with care and consideration, and we don’t discriminate. We are aware of the dangers of burnout and we value a regenerative working culture.

We are not naïve and know that maintaining a framework in which all our members can find their place will sometimes mean removing people who threaten our values or founding principles.

We will do this with respect for individuals, but with firmness.

Respect for science

The Climate Fresk workshop is based entirely on the facts from the IPCC’s first working group. We are committed to the scientific methodology that underpins their work.

If we venture into topics outside climate change, we defer to the consensus of the scientific community and to recognised scientific bodies such as the WHO and UNSCEAR. Thus, Climate Fresk is neither pro- nor anti-nuclear, nor is it anti-vaccinations or anti-GMO. We stick to solid scientific data on all sorts of issues, including the use of pesticides.

No taboo about money or business

Money is the lifeblood of all war and our NGO needs it to operate. We charge a fee for our workshops and trainings, and we collect royalties when people use the Fresk commercially. Some freskers earn a living by delivering the Fresk to companies. We have no issue with this. In fact, we support it: people deserve to be compensated for their work.

But it is worth bearing in mind that Climate Fresk is, first and foremost, a community of volunteers. The money we make is used to employ a staff team to support and serve our ever-growing army of volunteers.

We work with businesses of all kinds, including those who are traditionally seen as the ‘bad guys’ by environmentalists. Change can come from inside any organisation when the people who work there are moved, connected and empowered.

The NGO isn’t anti-business or anti-capitalism and its member are free to express their own opinions. Climate Fresk takes no responsibility for the words or actions of its members outside of the context of workshops, trainings and other Climate Fresk business.

Governance

The organisation has a decentralised and participatory governance structure, initially inspired by the Swedish Pirate Party. Here are some of the key principles.

Do-ocracy: The members of the NGO can take the initiative and are encouraged to do so. Those who do, decide and vice versa. Everyone is asked to respect each others’ initiatives, even if it means exploring different ideas in parralel and seeing which one works best.
The right to make mistakes: We accept that we’ll make mistakes and, in fact, believe that making mistakes is a good way to progress, according to the “trial and error” principle. As Mandela put it: “I never fail. I either win or learn.”
Thee rule of three: As long as three members agree that an initiative is a good idea, they can go ahead and do it, even if it involves the NGO. You can learn more about this rule and how to apply it here.
Duplication: As a result of the previous principles, we might find that people are doing the same thing at the same time. That may seem sub-optimal, but it’s part of being an agile organisation. Nature works in the same way… We might waste some time, but we gain as much if not more by avoiding debates.
Transparency: This is to avoid frustration and unwanted power moves. Fundamental to ensuring healthy, fair and sustainable operations, this principle guides the tools that the NGO uses.