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Contribution short abstract

This contribution will reflect on a public, hybrid classroom led by the Governance Action Hub that brings students, practitioners, and policymakers into dialogue on democracy and climate justice. It explores collaborative learning as a way to bridge academic, policy, and practice boundaries.

Contribution long abstract

This discussion piece reflects on an ongoing learning exploration led by the Governance Action Hub, a global initiative that convenes practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and civil society actors to learn together and improve how democratic and climate governance challenges are addressed in practice. The Hub uses learning spaces and practitioner networks as tools to bridge boundaries across sectors, disciplines, and lived experiences.

The piece will reflect on the University of Maryland’s redesigned 'Challenges for Development' course, beginning in Spring 2026 as a public, hybrid classroom focused on democracy and climate justice. The course is taught by Dr. Mario Picon, a lecturer at the university and Senior Director of the Governance Action Hub. Rather than being a standalone academic course, it operates as a shared learning space that brings practitioner networks into dialogue with students. Insights emerging through the course feed back into the Hub’s ongoing work on strengthening collaborative governance and building a global platform of governance innovators.

At the roundtable, we will share early lessons from this initiative, structured around three strands: (a) the open, hybrid classroom as a collaborative learning space; (b) how dialogue between students, practitioners, civil servants, and activists reshapes understandings of democracy, participation, and agency; and (c) what this experience reveals about collaborative learning as a pathway toward more coordinated climate action across sectors and regions.

Rather than presenting a research paper, this reflective contribution offers insight into how academic practice can become more connected, inclusive, and responsive at the interface of research, policy, and practice.