Community
Education is the great equalizer. Experience it with us.
Learning can open the door to new skills that help communities use what they already have to advance a shared vision for the future. We invite you to participate in the Future Generations world-circling community of learners.
Upcoming Events
In celebration of International Cooperative Day, we invite you to join us on July 9, 2025 for an alumni Success Sharing Session led by Kimberly Pettigrew (Class of 2024). Kimberly will share the powerful story behind Knoxville, Tennessee’s community-led food access movement—a grassroots initiative that lives and breathes cooperative values like shared ownership, mutual aid, and participatory leadership.
Faced with persistent food insecurity, local residents came together around a shared challenge—lack of healthy food options—and built a sustainable network of neighborhood markets, church-based gardens, and education programs. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many systems faltered, this homegrown effort held strong—demonstrating the enduring power of community cooperation.
Date: July 9, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM UTC / 9:00 AM EDT
Zoom Link: https://bit.ly/2025-SSS-
A monthly webinar series covering a broad array of topics of interest to the maple syrup producer and forester: from tree science and woodlot management to marketing and taxes. Featuring industry experts and producers, each session includes a presentation followed by audience Q&A.
This month, join Heather Harper of Future Generations University, who will introduce the Reconnecting Heroes Program, launched and housed at Future Generations University in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s Veterans & Heroes to Agriculture initiative.
Register now: bit.ly/FGU-Appalachia-out-of-the-woods-webinar
stories that inspire. work that shapes a better tomorrow.
Blog
Read stories of community-led transformation, updates on alumni, profiles of students, and more as we work to create a more just and equitable future. These narratives center strength, hope and regenerative practice, paving the way for everyone to participate in building Future Generations.
Community in Action
Future Generations University equips people, in their own places, to build on their current success and effectively address problems they face. To forge enduring solutions. To build their community’s resilience for today, and for the future. Putting into place the practices taught in the Master’s and certificate degrees.
Agroforestry
Stewarding healthy forests is essential to the survival of the planet. It also benefits communities whose cultures, traditions, and livelihoods are rooted in forested areas. Future Generations University is helping rewrite the story of richly-forested communities in Appalachia, Himalaya, and beyond to nurture and grow foodways as a means to achieve positive community development, especially in the face of climate disruption.
Equity and Self Determination
Every step forward sparks new hope, and as people find opportunities to build on success, communities advance. As communities advance, the equity gap closes. Future Generations University works with community leaders to focus on what success looks like in a local context, foster innovations, and build momentum towards equity and positive community-wide change.
Workforce and Economic Development
Livelihood development plays a crucial role in community development efforts. Future Generations University works with communities to address economic needs with an added focus on enhancing the capacity for nature conservation, recognizing communities with strong economic opportunities are less likely to rely heavily on natural resources that lead to overexploitation and environmental degradation. The University participates in collaborative frameworks established among government officials, forest users, local governing bodies, and community groups - essential for fostering a sense of shared responsibility and collective action.
Youth Education
The importance of youth education cannot be overstated - it is part of our very name. Future Generations' Community Engagement division provides training, mentorship, resources, and learning opportunities for young people, educators, and community leaders that are applied, practical, replicable, and aligned with government-mandated educational standards. Emphasis on nature-based learning and fostering positive peer relationships are at the core of the University's youth education programming.
individuals changing countless thousands of communities for the better.
Alumni
Students and graduates of the University join an ever-growing global network of alumni and partners that continue to generate vital impact and support communities towards inclusive and positive change.
Building a more resilient world together
Partners
Students, alumni, faculty and partners in over 40 countries lead non-profit organizations, manage government agencies, teach in universities, serve as international consultants, and organize civic movements.
Future Generations University works collaboratively with partners to build capacity and enable real-world results in communities around the world.
Scaling community development around the world
Global Network
For over three decades, Future Generations has worked to achieve just and lasting positive community change around the world. We are a global family of country-based organizations, an accredited university, and an alumni network in 43 countries. Rooted in SEED-SCALE methodology for community development, we work collaboratively to facilitate connections and support alumni and partners to scale and share knowledge and practices that empower communities, regions, and systems worldwide.