SAME Board strategic workshop 2026

On 30 January 2026, during the SAME Board meeting in Lübeck, Germany, Board members and the Council Coordinator held a one-day strategic workshop focused on situational analysis, governance reflection, and the future of the network. The workshop was designed as a shared reflection space to better understand SAME’s current realities and prepare the ground for the wider strategic planning process. Across five thematic blocks, participants reflected on why SAME exists today, how it functions in practice, what the role of the Board is now and what it should become in the future, how sustainability should be understood, and what insights should shape the next strategic phase. The workshop highlighted both the strengths of the network — such as its strong identity, shared values, and commitment to solidarity — and its key challenges, including uneven ownership, blurred governance roles, and strong dependence on a small number of active people. The main outputs of the workshop were a shared analytical basis for the strategy process and clearer identification of the governance questions SAME needs to address in the coming years. The main outcomes were stronger Board ownership of the strategy process, a clearer understanding of the need for shared responsibility across the network, and a stronger commitment to building a more sustainable, better structured, and more widely owned SAME.