Dear Community,

As we step into 2026, the Ayni Institute is launching a new series of workshops and trainings designed to help us meet this moment of immense change with clarity, courage, and resilience.

Across the world, the ground feels unsteady. People are searching for direction and meaning while carrying the fatigue of relentless experiences that stir grief, frustration, and withdrawal. Many are trying to hold purpose without hardening, to stay open amid disillusionment, and to keep faith in the work of dismantling what no longer serves and building what might finally endure.

We believe that creating social change begins with the quiet work within ourselves and with an urgency that calls us to see what is before us with new eyes. Before movements can shift the world, we must first learn how to sit with change, how to hold contradiction, and how to keep our hearts open when things fall apart and come together again.

This year’s offerings invite you to explore that journey within yourself, your organization, and the broader ecology of movements shaping our world. So far, we are offering five trainings, three of them new, and two new workshops designed to deepen both the strategic and emotional capacities our times require, alongside our signature workshops on Movement Ecology and Seasons of Leadership. We are grateful to be joined by partners and collaborators in several of these trainings.

Each offering in this year’s series is part of a larger arc that strengthens our capacity to navigate change within ourselves, our organizations, and the movements we serve. Rooted Leadership in Turbulent Times invites us to cultivate presence and discernment amid upheaval, helping us develop the steadiness and clarity that this era demands of those who lead. The Seasons of Leadership Retreat deepens that practice by teaching us to recognize the cyclical nature of growth, rest, and renewal, reminding us that rhythm, not relentless motion, is what allows leadership to endure.

The How to Win Campaigns Training and Movement Strategy Training move that grounding into action, offering frameworks for building campaigns and movements that can shift power, win tangible gains, and give coherence to moral vision. The Organizational & Project Design Lab takes that momentum inward, guiding us to design institutions capable of both innovation and scale, organizations that can learn, evolve, and stay true to purpose as they grow. 

The Navigating Transitions and Managing Stress Workshops weave through it all, helping us meet change without losing balance and find steadiness together in times of pressure and uncertainty. 

For those of you who may not have heard from us in a while, the Ayni Institute is a training and research organization dedicated to social movement education. Our mission is to see the world through reciprocity, to remember that strength comes from what we give and receive. We equip leaders like you, offering strategy for direction, resilience for the long road, and ancestral wisdom to strengthen your work and sustain your journey in social change.

With gratitude from all of us at the Ayni team to everyone who has journeyed with us so far this year.

In reciprocity,

Carlos, Fhatima, Rodrigo, Sergio, Katia, Isabella and Dina

Ayni's 2026 Calendar Lineup

(NEW) How To Win Campaigns and Influence People

A three-day, in-person intensive on campaign design and strategic planning for organizers and movement builders. Led by Ivan Marovic, co-founder of Otpor! and author of The Path of Most Resistance, this training walks participants through proven frameworks used by successful movements worldwide. You’ll learn how to craft strategies that shift power, build momentum, and lead to lasting breakthroughs.

(NEW) Rooted Leadership in Turbulent Times Online Training

This training helps leaders develop presence, discernment, and imagination in an age of upheaval. Participants explore six core conversations, from seeing the architecture of the crisis to sustaining endurance over time, that cultivate clarity, adaptability, and courage. It is an invitation to lead from depth rather than reaction and to find steadiness amid uncertainty.

Seasons of Leadership Retreat

Grounded in the Ayni Institute’s Seasons Framework, this retreat helps you recognize the cyclical nature of leadership and organizational life. Through reflection, mapping, and conversation, you’ll learn how to align with your current season, navigate times of rest or renewal, and work with the emotional and strategic challenges each phase brings. It offers a space for restoration, insight, and reconnection with purpose.

Movement Strategy Training

This training is for organizers, campaigners, and movement leaders ready to think strategically about how change happens in times of crisis and possibility. It combines big-picture movement theory with practical, grounded tools to help you design strategies that build power, respond to repression, and prepare for future openings. Each session blends reflection with action planning so participants leave with concrete strategies tailored to their context. It is both an intellectual deep dive and a practical lab for those shaping the next phase of social movements.

(NEW) Organizational & Project Design Lab Online Training

A six-week lab for practitioners ready to reimagine how their organizations grow, innovate, and scale. Participants explore two complementary processes, scaling what works and inventing what’s missing, through real design projects within their own organizations. You’ll leave with concrete tools, frameworks, and visual maps to balance creativity with structure and turn strong ideas into systems that last.

Navigating Transitions Workshop

A guided space to reflect on personal and collective change. Through dialogue, storytelling, and practical tools, this workshop helps you understand how transitions shape your leadership and life. You’ll gain awareness of the patterns beneath change and learn ways to move through uncertainty with greater clarity and care.

Managing Stress Workshop

This workshop offers practical tools to manage stress, strengthen resilience, and regain balance amid the pressures of change. Through guided reflection, small-group exercises, and creative practice, you’ll explore how stress shows up in your life and learn simple methods to stay centered and present. It supports you in cultivating calm focus and grounded confidence in your work and daily life.