About

For millennia, across cultures and continents, we have looked to the stars to navigate when we are lost. In this era of transformation, in which everything is in flux, we are locked onto old stars that are pulling us in a perilous direction. We need to discover new possibilities, and reset our course.

We are living through an era of extraordinary change and complexity which asks huge questions about what will become of us. We know transformation is needed, but will not be enabled by the existing structures alone, many of which feel dysfunctional and obsolete.

We share a sincere belief in the possibility of a better, more beautiful future emerging from this moment of huge change: an era of human and planetary wellbeing. We created New Constellations to hold and grow space for people to imagine and begin shaping such a future, and to find and illuminate new constellations of hope and possibility we can orient our lives towards as we explore what true transformation will take.

We see a more beautiful future already emerging, through the darkness. It glimmers in new economic and political models, new forms of community and ownership, new systems for decision making and value exchange, people learning from nature and returning to Indigenous wisdom, young people upending systems that don’t serve them, and so much more. New Constellations finds these glimmers and connects them together – the act of patterning hope. The more we illuminate these patterns, the more people will see them and be ready to turn towards them, away from the dystopian narratives so pervasive in our culture.

We have seen how change starts with new stories of possibility, and how transformation is sparked when powerful ideas, visceral experiences of connection and concrete opportunities to make change are combined. This is why we create and hold immersive journeys for groups, to help people understand the present moment, reflect on the past, open up to new possibilities and discover bold new visions for the future together.

This is new and experimental and we know we don’t yet have the answers – so will never tell you what to think. We hope to explore and learn with you as we make sense of this together. Over time, together, we hope to tell the story that emerges from these new constellations, of the brighter future that lies ahead.

We dedicate this work to the highest possibility of human and planetary flourishing, for the benefit of many generations to come.

We believe the time is now and our responsibility is great.

We seek deep and true transformation, within and without.

We see that this is bigger than each of us and also made up of something we bring.

We commit to bringing about new ways of being and doing.

We take responsibility for future generations and becoming good ancestors.

We will create new alliances, work across generations and with people who are different from us.

We believe technology should be built to enable human and planetary flourishing.

We believe we have more in common than that which divides us; so should focus on the biggest challenges of our time rather than the arguments and grievances of today.

We want to work through fear, grief and anger to share hope, beauty, exhilaration, and possibility.

The following people have collaborated most closely with us over this first 5 year cycle of work and have deeply informed our work and practice. We are incredibly grateful for their partnership and all they have done for New Constellations:

Caroline McGinn is an award-winning editor and a publishing strategist and consultant with deep experience of creative leadership, media and content marketing. She is an instinctive and experienced change-maker, who loves making things and making things better. She was Time Out’s Global Editor in Chief, has led numerous media launches and transformations, and is expert in culture, cities, food and travel. She is currently focused – personally, professionally and intellectually – on what it takes to live sustainably and regeneratively, and to make good decisions based on long-term thinking and ethical values.

Hadeel Elshak is passionate about work that tackles social injustices by supporting marginalised communities to have their voices heard. She is a producer, former youth worker and journalist who has worked with the Jo Cox Foundation, National Science Museum, BBC and ITV. She is currently working at Citizens UK as a Community Organiser.

Hilary Cottam works with communities and governments to design collaborative responses to the eco-social-economic challenges we face. Her immersive methods have emerged new policy issues and her practice includes new approaches to work, care, ageing and family life. Hilary is an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. She has been recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader and was named UK Designer of the Year in 2005 for her work pioneering social design. Hilary’s book Radical Help on the future of welfare was published to international acclaim in June 2018.

Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir is an experienced manager, an award winning entrepreneur, and practitioner in how to bring about transformative change. She has worked in areas ranging from post-conflict reconstruction and development with the UN, to film making and the arts, to various roles in the private sector. A firm believer that change starts from within, she is passionate about finding balance between the creative and rational, intuitive and analytical in a world in flux. She designed and directed a university program based on these ideas, written and co-directed the documentary film InnSæi – the Power of Intuition shown worldwide on Netflix and is currently writing a book in English on the topic. She is the managing director of Iceland‘s Centre for Sustainability, a managing partner at the Nordic Circular Hotspot, a Nordic Ignite Angel Ambassador, a board member of Eyrir Invest and the Advisory Council member at the International Leadership Centre at Yale. Hrund has been awarded for her sustainability leadership in Iceland, is a Yale World Fellow, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Cultural Leader. Hrund spends her time with her family between Iceland and Germany and loves most activities outdoors.

Jane Hera has directly trained with and worked alongside founders of several of the most important movements of the past decades including systems theorist and Buddhist philosopher Joanna Macy, author of “Coming back to Life – The Work that Reconnects”. Jane is a founding member of the Permaculture Design Community in Britain and has taught Design courses for 30 years, introducing the subject to the Eco-village spiritual community that has grown up around the Findhorn Foundation on the Moray Firth in Scotland. She works as a guide to help people in organisations navigate their way with grace and courage through complex times, enhancing their ability to make decisions and clarify thinking, and is our much loved New Constellations’ wise elder. Jane works in such diverse fields as End of Life Planning, Sociocratic Consent Decision Making, running Deep Time workshops and is a skilled and inclusive meeting facilitator and personal mentor.

Kate McLaven embodies the power of community coalition for urgent change, whilst also taking a critical and creative approach to long term systems change. Kate grounds herself in her experience working front line in service provision, and volunteering as co-coordinator of grassroots group, York Anti Racist Collective. Her practice is rooted in access to community and connection, with a particular interest in ethics, accessibility and healing through a decolonised lens. Kate works as the York Local Lead at JRF, and as a member of Catalysts Governance Steering Group. Kate has also previously supported the design of NSEADs Anti-Racist Art Education Action resources and has stewarded change across York at the York Multiple Complex Needs Network.

Kim Willis is an award-winning communications strategist, facilitator and writer, who has spent twenty years working in the field of change with a specialism in community and story. She has worked for the UN and 10 Downing Street, written for The Guardian, and founded the Heroine’s Journey project to disrupt patriarchal narratives around the lives of women. She runs her own embodied strategy consultancy Where We Grow, and is also the senior strategy director at global content agency Cedar, working with clients including Nikon, Eurostar and YCare International. She is a mindfulness practitioner and qualified trainer, based on 14 years of practice using mindfulness and embodiment as part of recovering from long-term illness. Kim lives and works between London and South Wales.

Rithikha Rajamohan is an applied researcher working at the intersection of technology, governance and social justice. She is interested in understanding how people and organizations can work within complexity to create deep systems change and build adaptable civic infrastructure in cities. She has experience in community organizing, ecological restoration and digital mapping, and is the Principal of the V6A Collaborative, a consulting studio employing scalable experimentation to support the creation of a civic commons.

Utile are an art, design & branding studio crafting work with texture, tactility & emotion. By merging craft, illustration & bespoke typography with expertise in branding, digital and animation, they craft culturally relevant work that resonates with artistic value.

Yasmin El Dabi connects people with themselves, others and their purpose in the world. As an executive coach and facilitator with 20+ years’ experience, she is passionate about creating the conditions for people to learn, grow and evolve. She works with individual leaders, facilitates CEO peer learning groups, helps executive teams work better together and facilitates leadership development workshops. She works internationally and with a wide variety of businesses and sectors. Recent and current clients include: The Atlantic Institute, OnPurpose, Sanergy, Viamo and Change.org. Yasmin is a life-long learner. When not working with leaders or leadership teams, you will find her attending courses or reading books on systems thinking, neuroscience and personal and systems transformation. She is half German, half Sudanese and lives in York with her teenage daughter.

New Constellations has cost around £1.33 million to run over five years (March 2019 – March 2024). This is a combination of grant funding, in-kind or cash investments from the team and earned/business income.

Grant income £654,800 (49%)

Core funding plus grants for running journeys, producing audio encounters, designing and delivering the Mycelium Fund and organisational development work.

Team investments £453,400 (34%)

Consultancy earnings contributed, cash investments, salary contributed.

Earned income £226,000 (17%)

A combination of income earned from core business e.g. running journeys that were commissioned as part of a strategy process for an organisation, additional services provided e.g. workshops, designing and chairing events, speaker fees, fiscal sponsorship fees etc.

With thanks to the following for supporting different aspects of our first cycle of work: The National Lottery Community Fund (£378,700), Joseph Rowntree Foundation (£162,000), Arising Quo (£102,550), Paul Hamlyn Foundation (£96,924), Oak Foundation (£8,300) and Be the Earth Foundation (£3,300).

We are deeply grateful to all of the people who have joined New Constellations crews, recorded audio encounters with us, collaborated with us on specific projects and to those who provided us with advice and support. And of course to our family and loved ones across different generations who have made this possible and for whom we journey too.  

Audio encounters

Aaron Dworkin, adrienne maree brown, Andri Snær Magnason, Dr Angel Acosta, Anna Murray, Audrey Tang, Bill Sharpe, Candy Chang, Casper ter Kuile, Charles Foster, Dan Hill, Derek Bardowell,  Farzana Khan, Gabriella Gomez-Mont, Geoff Mulgan, Goddur Magnússon, Guy Singh-Watson, Hilary Cottam, Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, Ian Goldin, Jane Riddiford & Rod Sugden, Jess Steele, Kersten England, Li An Phoa, Lonnie G. Bunch III, Lucy Neal, Maarten van der Schaaf, Margaret Levi, Panthea Lee, Poppy Mardall, Rachel Coldicutt, Rob Hopkins, Robin Bowman, Satish Kumar, Scarlett Somerville, Shevaun Haviland, Sophy Banks, Yo-Yo Ma

Barrow crew

Andy Naylor, Beth Stanley, Dean McSkimmings, Dr Sarah Arun, Gemma Lianne McKell, Jay Zaccarini, John Murphy, Karen Dobson, Maddi Nicholson, Martin David McLeavy, Natalie Chapples, Sam Plum, Sarah Jackson, Sharon Mullen, Thomas Lowes

Bold Dreams crew

Abdi Hassan, Asif Afridi. Chrisann Jarrett, Clare Reddington, Farah Elahi, Fiona Hegarty, Ivor Williams, Jane Davidson, Jules Peck, Kayla Burns, Lou Byng, Mahara Haque, Noreen / Blue Blanluet, Peter Macfadyen, Stephanie Antonian, Sughra Ahmed, Tom Hartley

Our Future is Open crew

Amira Hayat, Cassie Robinson, Charli Ivy Perkins, Dami Fawehinmi, Ella Greenway, Felix Miller, Gage Oxley, Halima Ali, Jane Hamlyn, Jason Wong, Kaya Birch-Skerritt, Lilia Hakem, Moira Sinclair, Nathan Holmes, Olivia Gable, Nirushan Sudarsan

Quadrangle ‘crew’

Alvin Carpio, Baljeet Sandhu, Becky Burchell, Bel Lyon, Caroline McGinn, Felicitas von Peter, Giles Hutchins, Hilary Cottam, Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir, Jane Riddiford, Jessie Teggin, Kate Raworth, Lauren Bryan, Liz Slade, Roman Krznaric, Ruth Ibegbuna, Shauneen Lambe, Sophie Howarth, Tom Pravda, Tristram Stuart

Reimagining Care crew

Alexis Chappell, Beatrix Butnicu, Ben Myers, Cassie Robinson, Dami Makinde, Elizabeth Harrison, Farzana Khan, Krishna Ramamurthy, Lee Robb, Lisa Smith, Lyn Romeo, Maxwell Ayamba, Rabab Ghazoul, Sophy Banks, Sue Himmelweit, Tom Bailey, Yuan Yang

Sheffield crew

Abtisam Mohamed, Anthony Olaseinde, Beatrix Butnicu, Dave Hembrough, Gulnaz Hussain, Helen Sims, James Lock, Jim O’Hara, Jodie Marshall, Kate Josephs, Kiri Joanna, Laura White, Louisa Harrison-Walker, Mahara Haque, Martin McKervey, Matt Yates, Matthew Pinder, Miranda Plowden, Nathan Geering, Novaya  Bedward-Makanjuola, Rebecca Varley, Sandi Carman, Sarah Want, Steve Anwar, Terezia Terry, Waqas Hameed

Wayfinding 2023 crew

Alice Jay, Cat Tully, Christine Lai, Jenna Nicholas, Jo Sparber, Kim Willis, Louis Butler, Manish Joshi, Mark Cridge, Mathieu Le Fevre, Mitya Savelau, Tara McGuinness, Tom Adeyoola

Yale Wayfinding crew

Andrei Kureichik, Babatunde Omilola, Belva Devara, Fakhar Durrani, Huong Dang, Jad Maalouf, Kirsten Rulf, Kyriacos Koupparis, Manasi Subramaniam, Martin Inthamoussú, Minami Tsubouchi, Rufaro Mudimu, Sahar Albazar, Solangel Fernández, Vera D. Kwakofi, Zhao Zhong

York crew

Andrew Morrison, Ben Porter, Felicity Palmer, Frankie Sewell, Helen Jones, Laura Cooper, Laurence Beardmore, Layla Grainger, Mike Fletcher, Olivia Carpenter, Pete Kilbane, Sam Leach, Sam Watling, Sarah Huggett, Stephanie Wong, Victoria Hughes, Violet Cannon

Contributors and partners 

Alec Proffitt, Anna Mouser, Anthea Lawson, Cassie Robinson, David Tuckett, Dan Wainwright, Emma Shaw, Evva Semenowicz, Graham Leicester, India Morgan, Iona Lawrence, Jo Sparber, Harry Morgan, Lakshnie Hettihewa, Martha Awojobi, Megan Lucero, Nadia Medhi, Rob Hopkins, Ruth Ibegbuna, Sophia Parker, Sophie Reid, Stefan Binder, Tayo Medupin, Temujen Gunawardena, Vidhya Alakeson

Friends, family and supporters

Alaric Mostyn, Andrea Barron, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Benjamin Davis, Bo Davis, Coleen Waldron, Cora Turner, Cosima Prata Barratt, Ella Saltmarshe, Emma Sky, Fiona Napier, Geraldine Chin Moody, Hardin Tibbs, Hope Turner, our friends at House of Beautiful Business, James Mallinson, James Turner, Jim Godfrey, Jo Cox, Kat Segal, Laura Storm, Lilian Carpenter, Louis Davis, Lucy Powell, Mabel van Oranje, Margaret Levi, Nick Grono, Phoebe Greenwood, Polly Mackey, Sally Osberg, Sarah Hunter, Theodore Zeldin, Tim Dixon