Politics & Governance / Public Policy / Environmental & Climate Policy

The UN's Secret Weapon: Why Top-Down Power Fails & Local Co-Creation Is Our Only Hope

Co-Creation for Sustainability: The UN SDGs and the Power of Local Partnerships

Christopher Ansell, Eva Sørensen, Jacob Torfing

You think recycling and planting trees will save us? Think again. The real crisis isn't melting ice caps—it's the collapse of the very systems we trust to fix things. Governments are paralyzed by red tape, and markets are blind to social good. This is the 'death cross' of our era. But there's a way out. Based on the groundbreaking book 'Co-Creation for Sustainability' by Christopher Ansell, Eva Sørensen, and Jacob Torfing, this video reveals why the UN's SDG 17 is the ultimate lever for change. We break down the radical, counterintuitive framework of co-creation: how to build local partnerships that actually work, why conflict is fuel for innovation, and how to bridge the gap between global goals and local reality. Discover the golden triangle of inclusive participation, distributed leadership, and collaborative innovation. Learn how to silence the powerful and empower the marginalized, use rapid prototyping to fail cheaply, and unlock billions in private funding through blended finance. If you're tired of fake cooperation and want a real blueprint for saving our communities—and our planet—this is a must-watch.