We work in alliance with indigenous communities to preserve and protect sacred land, culture, and ancient wisdom. We support projects including strategic land buybacks, restoration of native ecosystems, cultural exchange, and sustainable living solutions.
Our planet is a miracle. Life has evolved for millions of years, creating a rich and diverse ecosystem, an intricate web where all life can thrive. The climate crisis is the result of a deep man-made imbalance on the Earth. Our species has been extracting, producing, and polluting without much consideration for other forms of life, even our own. This imbalance is a symptom of our alienation from natural rhythms, cycles, and systems, and our lack of a caring relationship to our world. This also manifests in ever-increasing crises in mental health, breakdown of communities, and auto-immune diseases being diagnosed at alarming rates. The Boa Foundation works together with indigenous communities worldwide to address these issues holistically, supporting both cultural and natural diversity, and the healing of our selves and the planet.
Dr. Filippo Dal Fiore holds a PhD in Economics from the Free University of Amsterdam and teaches
at the Master’s and MBA level at the University of Bologna.
After working for 10 years in the field of technological innovation – predominantly running applied research projects and a spin-off venture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Filippo realized the need for a deeper exploration of issues of ethical business and mindful leadership. Today these two topics are the subject of his teaching at the University of Bologna and consulting at the Great Place To Work Institute.
Filippo’s major intellectual challenge is related to inter-disciplinarity, specifically on how to de-ideologize social sciences and use common sense for social scientific research. In this respect, Filippo has always tried to beat the path of a polymath, taking on different research topics, balancing research with practice, experimenting new pedagogical approaches
Little Treehouse is a non-profit organization founded in 2013 to support initiatives focused on human rights, environment protection and communities in need with a primary focus on youth and future generations.
Our lean structure and committed team provide us with no additional costs, allowing us to allocate approx. 100% of funds directly to our projects.
Little Treehouse’s goal is to provide continuous support to our projects, not limited to financial relief. We believe that hands on means of support such as regenerative work, personal commitment and emotional care create strong connections, and lasting and self-sustaining change for good.
In order to shape a sustainable future, we need people on all levels from local to global who are capable of implementing transformation processes for the environment and sustainability. Also, developing structures and networks of such people that deal with sustainability challenges in different contexts and with different knowledge are essential.
The TES Academy addresses these actors and accompanies them to jointly identify and address topics of transformations that have a high potential to increase their implementation by international knowledge exchange and joint learning activities across countries.
Jeremy Fackenthal is an independent filmmaker and NGO director. After completing a PhD in Philosophy of Religion and Theology from Claremont Graduate University, he began using his philosophical background beyond the academy to raise questions and craft narratives. In recent years, Jeremy’s work has included video content produced for clients and shorter independent documentary projects. Jeremy most recently served as Managing Director of the Institute for Ecological Civilization, and he is currently exploring new nonprofit possibilities that wed sustainability and storytelling.
Shyam Wuppuluri is an independent researcher working in the domain of foundations of sciences and philosophy. He has long standing interest in the interdisciplinary approaches to sciences, deep ecology and sustainability. He is the recipient of prestigious Albert Einstein Fellowship 2021 from the Einstein Forum at Potsdam & Caputh and is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
As a primary editor, he has edited various highly interdisciplinary volumes to disseminate and address the issues underlying the foundations of sciences by gathering world’s leading scientists and intellectual leaders including Noam Chomsky, Sir Roger Penrose, Sir Martin Rees, Daniel Dennett, A. C. Grayling, Nicholas Humphrey, Gregory Chaitin, Gerard ‘t Hooft, Ian Stewart, Barry Mazur, Stephen Wolfram, Paul Davies, Tyler Burge, Doron Swade, Julian Barbour, Newton Da Costa, Francisco Antonio Doria, Reuben Hersh, Nicholas Maxwell and many others.
the school of nothing is investigating the realm of nothing.
As an applied research project it develops and implements artistic and scientific interventions in the public space and open performances | workshops for people being interested into exploring the qualities conntected to nothing, e.g. nothingness, silence, emptiness, darkness, pause, serenity, Lassenskraft, waiting, withdrawing, contemplation, doing nothing, leisure
Christiana Figueres, fr Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, at the Spirit of Humanity Forum, on the panel ‘Harmony among Nations and Global Institutions’.
Our philosophy as business coaches and transformation facilitators is rooted in an understanding of identity that integrates executive branding expertise with our experience in designing multiple leadership programmes for FTSE 50 companies, SMEs, social enterprises and as adjunct faculty members of a corporate university.
How an organisation communicates externally with customers from a product or service perspective is only one dimension of identity. The quality of relationships, credibility and trust is determined by the congruence between what is said on the outside and what is practised internally.
The ongoing dialogue between these internal and external relationships defines who we are. It creates a sense of identity ® that, when managed consciously, can act as a powerful resource for positive growth.
Organisations and individuals that have a clear understanding of who they are, what they stand for, and how they make decisions have more inner resilience, agility and access to creativity.
We help individuals, teams and organisations leverage identity as a leadership practice through a proprietary sense of identity ® framework and Strategic Identity Management™ coaching process.
Margaret and Matthias manage the overall client relationships. They co-create and deliver programmes with senior associates they trust and know well. When engaged on large projects CuriousLeaders collaborates with global partners to deliver on the scalability required.
The 3 core values that guide us are: Creative, Honest, Compassionate. We believe that:
Curiosity sparks transformation
Good decisions come from the head. Great decisions comes from head and heart
Change is constant. You can choose to run it or to be run by it
Working through communities of practice has never been more encouraged in organisations than it is now. Better gathering, sharing and using of data, information and knowledge in public organisations such as the European Commission are essential to deliver integrated policy work and overcome silo mentalities. This is highlighted explicitly in European Commission President von der Leyen’s work guidelines stipulating transparency and the ambition to become a digitally transformed, user-focused and data-driven administration. Communities of practice are an excellent instrument for fostering collaboration among internal and external stakeholders: they can bring groups with different knowledge perspectives together and can strengthen their capacity to work and learn creatively together. Thus, communities of practice harness the collective intelligence in organisations and help improve performance.
We want a Good Life in Togetherness.
Individualism, isolation and fear are among the plagues of western societies. They could be overcome by living a sense-making, happiness-oriented, future-building community life.
But where to start? We are convinced that the first step to salvation is knowledge. Not just our own knowledge, but the wisdom that comes from relying on the collective knowledge of the people we know and we are close to.
And we also think that we need to learn to be brave showing our vulnerability when we ask others for help or support.
Our dream is to use this place as a permanent laboratory of conviviality and reciprocity, where we can…
… learn, together with others, to share and develop manual skills, techniques and abilities.
… deepen our knowledge in reciprocity, to respond to the challenges of the future in an exportable and networked way.
… shape the opportunities to slow down, reflect, think and understand reality and ourselves in a continuous and deep way.
… re-learn to trust others and ourselves.
We believe that “exchange without money as a mediator should be a daily component of everyone’s life“.
This is why we propose to our visitors to explore together how to regulate our exchange of space and time in order to avoid the use of money as much as possible and lay the foundations for a relationship of true reciprocity (barters can be circular, not necessarily dual).
In case guests want to reciprocate the hospitality, they can:
1.Choose a way to help us maintain or manage these spaces, by picking from the list of objects and works still needed in the house.
2.Consider expanding our respective network and skills, by offering a workshop (or think of someone they know that could offer one).
3.If nothing we to exchange falls within their possibilities or preferences, then they can help us cover some running costs (for example leaving a “suspended fee” as cash offer for a future offer or some works or bringing a bag of pellets) or propose other exchange possibilities.
Marie Heidenreich is heading the SynCom Office. SynCom is the synthesis and communication platform for the Helmholtz research field ‘Earth and Environment’.
SynCom aims to synthesize research results and to build bridges across various disciplines in a cross-center and interdisciplinary manner.
Functioning as an interface between science and society, SynCom supports evidence-based climate and environmental politics by delivering practical know-how to stakeholders and politicians.
Her context of languages (German, Italian, English, French, Chinese) and professional experiences (business, international cooperation, community building) speaks of her longing to connect spaces through listening.
Her body-felt and mind-opening experience of flow in different trainings (Presencing Institute, Seele und Sein, Thomas Hübl, Art of Hosting) shifted her deeper into inner alignment and availability as basic drivers for growth.
She coordinates, together with four other women, the network future.bz.it in Nortnern Italy around the Agenda 2030, and tries to stay in service of the emerging field, driven by simplicity, curiosity and a sense of connection.
I am writing this text about myself and it is not exactly easy.
The most amazing compliment ever, was given to me by my teacher Gary Friedman who said he had never seen such integrity.
It is a very special and no light compliment but I handle it with great respect and care.
It describes how I try to approach my clients as they offer me their trust in the midst of their life crisis.
So with the appreciation of their confidence in me, I try to stay respectfull and be honest about myself. I keep them informed, I share my intuitions, I hold but do not control, I do not manipulate by using methods, and I try to envision their system outside in and inside out.
I love life, I love this world, and I deeply believe in the inner strength of our eco system.
I am mother of 2, an occasional farmers market apple seller to get some balance in my work life, a gardener and very happy about my bicycle :)))
Kailo Mentoring Group serves to integrate Ego & Soul through individual, couples, families, groups, & organizations. Erik work/plays with his life and business partner, Amelia Perkins (www.ameliaperkins.com)
Erik has been a Psychologist for over 35 years and spent over 30,000 hours exploring both the the conscious and unconscious patterns in people and organizations. He has consulted to some of the biggest corporations in the world on Emotional Intelligence as well as non-profits and family businesses.
With individuals, Erik mentors them in the Socratic Method with the assumption that the people seeking out his services are willing to take responsibility for creating the story of their lives. Erik believes that each individual has the responsibly to be their Unique Self. At the age of 67, he now only work/plays with people who are consciously focusing on their Agency in the world and their Connection. Erik spends most of his time in individual mentoring sessions, leading seminars, and mentoring ‘high performance teams’.
Erik loves his profession and his work in the world. While taking into consideration the ‘big picture’, most of what he does is practical and draws on his experience in participating and creating the forms and forums for transformation. Erik is an applied researcher and has gathered many ‘maps’ to guide himself and others into the unconscious epigenetic patterns that can rule lives if not explored and uncovered.
After demolition and resettlement in 2017, we are still in flux. During the slow recovery, we first focused on the establishment of a visualized online community, hoping that by finding like-minded partners, we can once again restore and rebuild the green art entrepreneurship park on the earth.
Felix is working as a research associate in the TranS-Mind Research group at RIFS after finalising his PhD at Leuphana University on “Political challenges of a textile transformation”. He focussed on interaction and learning spaces in collaborative governance initiatives between market, civil society and industry actors. Today he …
Heike Schroeder is Professor of Environmental Governance at the School of International Development, University of East Anglia. Her work focuses on global environmental politics, forest governance and REDD+, the international climate negotiations, non-state actors, urban climate governance, indigenous peoples/knowledge and sustainable development, transformative learning, trust and sustainable food governance. She is PI of the Indigenous-International Interactions for Sustainable Development (INDIS) project. She is also a member of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and a lead faculty member of the Earth System Governance project. Heike was a senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam in 2019.
From 2007 to 2011, Heike was a Tyndall senior research fellow and an Oxford Martin senior fellow in forest governance at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford. From 2003 to 2007, she was a researcher at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as the Executive Officer of a 10-year international research project on the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (IDGEC), a core project of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP).
Key Research Interests
Heike’s research interests include global environmental politics, forest governance and REDD+, the international climate negotiations, indigenous peoples/knowledge and sustainable development, transformative learning, trust, sustainable food governance and planetary health.
Thomas Legrand is a wisdom’s seeker, living in France next to Plum Village, the monastery of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Holding a PhD in economics, he works in the field of sustainability for UN agencies, NGOs and companies.
Holding a Ph.D. in (Ecological) Economics and having studied international development, political science, and management, Thomas Legrand works in the field of sustainability for UN agencies, private companies, and NGOs. His focus is on forest conservation, climate change, sustainable finance, and organizational transformation.
His spiritual journey began at the age of 23 with an encounter with native spirituality in Mexico, before embracing the wisdom of a wide range of traditions and practices, including meditation, energetic healing and Tai-chi-chuan. He lives with his wife and their two young daughters near Plum Village, the monastery of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in the South West of France, his country.
His spiritual search, his thought as a social scientist and his professional experience have gradually converged on the importance of spiritual wisdom in humanity’s ongoing transition. Searching for a way to mainstream this understanding in the political and sustainability conversation, he has dedicated much of the last 10 years to researching and reflecting how we can radically rethink our model of development. The result is this book.
HIS JOURNEY
“What do we have except the possibility to walk a path with heart?”
-Thomas Legrand
You can find more on Thomas’ journey in the book, in particular at the end of the introduction. It is part of the excerpt you can receive by clicking here. You can also read the following blogposts on his spiritual, scientific, and professional journeys.
Andreas is the CEO of the German Association to the Club of Rome. He is coordinating the COR networks activities in Germany and active as a keynote speaker.
Andreas Mues works for the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) where he has been involved particularly in the studies on nature awareness (Naturbewusstsein) and the connection between mindfulness and nature protection.
I am an independent cultural researcher and author, actively engaged in research, teaching and lecturing in Europe, the UK, Korea and the USA. My thematic focus includes art and sustainability, culture and sustainability, aesthetic education, social sculpture and intercultural dialogue.
We are a center bridging science, business, and “ancient wisdom” from different traditions to bring sustainability and equality to the (business) world.
He was one of the 20th Century’s most brilliant physicists. Albert Einstein called him his spiritual son. The Dalai Lama relied upon him as his “science guru.” So why is it that hardly any of us know the name: David Bohm?
By telling the little-known story of David Bohm and evoking the realms he explored in his research, INFINITE POTENTIAL takes us on a mesmerizing and immersive journey into the mystery of Consciousness––through the use of hypnotic music and rich visual tapestries. The film includes interviews with luminaries such as H.H. the Dalai Lama, esteemed artist Antony Gormley, Oxford philosopher and physicists Sir Roger Penrose, and many more who were influenced by Bohm’s revolutionary work.
Growing up in a poor Pennsylvania coal-mining town during the Great Depression, David Bohm possessed a rare and maverick intelligence that baffled his parents and peers. After earning a scholarship to go to college, Bohm got the attention of the greatest minds in science, including Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the Atomic Bomb, who became his thesis advisor but would eventually turn against him.
Bohm’s explorations led him to intuit a hidden order to reality––the Quantum Potential––that underlies both the microscopic world of subatomic particles and also the macro world of stars and galaxies. Bohm had turned to Eastern thought and the wisdom traditions of India to talk about something that underlies all of creation––a realm that mystics have known about for millennia and modern science is only just beginning to explore. Bohm’s revolutionary ideas were way ahead of their time––a threat to the scientific orthodoxy. And that’s why he was dismissed.
The present trajectory of life on this planet is unsustainable, and the underlying causes of our environmental crisis are inseparable from our social and economic systems. The massive inequality between the rich and the poor is not separate from our systems of unlimited growth, the depletion of natural resources, the extinction of species, or global warming. Social and environmental movements require an orientation that is neither too narrow and short-term, nor too abstract and long-term to offer concrete guidance. Formulating the requirements for the flourishing of life in all its forms ― an ecological civilization ― will provide the roadmap that leaders need and will ground a hope that stimulates the necessary reforms.
Vision
EcoCiv works internationally to design and scale solutions toward long-term sustainability, focusing on water, economies, and human communities. We conduct research, convene experts, and facilitate the quest for solutions. We then help implement solutions through engagement at both the local and global levels: multi-sector teams in city or regional “hubs,” combined with online forums for building networks and disseminating solutions. Other activities include consultations, think-tank gatherings, and policy engagement. The goal is to develop collaborations among government, business, and civic leaders and among scholars, activists, and policy makers.
Working at the intersection of theory and practice, we amplify narratives of hope that motivate, guide, and direct. As humanity works its way from social and environmental threat toward an ecological society, only the transformative vision of a positive new story will suffice. Where hopelessness arises, we call others to join us in walking toward ecological civilization, one step at a time.
You Matter More Than You Think is the starting point for an inquiry about quantum social change and its implications for climate change. The book explores how the metaphors and meanings of quantum physics can contribute to new understandings of the relationship between individual change, collective change, and systems change. It considers how paradigms and practices can change the way we relate to each other, the environment, the planet, and the future.
This is a book for those who are interested in social change, and open to the possibility that each of us can contribute to an equitable and thriving world. It is also for those who are concerned about climate change and may be feeling a deep anxiety about the future and if /how they matter. Most of all, it is about why you matter more than you think.
Alles Leben ist Bewegung und ein ständiges Ringen, um das rechte Gleichgewicht, um lebensfördernde Balancen und um Synthesen zwischen vermeintlich unvereinbaren Widersprüchen. Dabei haben wir ein feines Gespür dafür, wenn etwas „aus der Spur geraten“ ist und destruktive Entwicklungen für uns selbst, für das Miteinander und für das Leben auf diesem Planeten entstanden sind.
Ich habe in meinem Leben erfahren müssen, was es heißt, sich der Welt zu sehr kognitiv zu nähern. Als Universitätsprofessorin, Politik- und Kommunikationswissenschaftlerin hatte ich gelernt, meine mentalen Fähigkeiten mit aller Kraft in den Dienst der Wissenschaft zu stellen.
Doch ich musste erfahren, dass damit mein Leben in ein destruktives Ungleichgewicht rutschte, und nicht nur dies: Auch mein Menschen- und Weltbild wurden durch die mentale Perspektive verengt.
Ich begab mich also auf die Suche nach einem neuen inneren und äußeren Gleichgewicht, einem Gleichgewicht, das dem Leben dient.
Dazu entwickelte ich ein zweites Standbein, erschloss mir die Welten der transpersonalen und humanistischen Psychologie und Psychotherapie, vertiefte meinen Zugang zur spirituellen Dimension des Seins durch ausgedehnte Studienreisen nach Asien und erprobte mich seit Mitte der 90er Jahre, zuerst neben der universitären Tätigkeit und dann selbständig mit CommUnio.
Mit diesem reichen Hintergrund, in dem sich Unterschiedliches vereint, bin ich bis heute unterwegs und mit mir die vielen Menschen und Organisationen, die ich im Laufe meiner 20jährigen selbständigen Tätigkeit begleite und begleitet habe. Geholfen hat mir dabei, dass an meiner Wiege „Thron und Altar“ standen, repräsentiert durch zwei übermächtige Großväter, die so unterschiedliche Welten wie Macht und Liebe vertraten und eine Mutter, die sich mit hohem Engagement in den Dienst von Verständigung stellte.
Zugänge, die ich im Laufe meiner langen beruflichen Tätigkeit gewählt habe, sind vielfältig: Einzelarbeit, Lehrgänge, Moderationen, Mediationen, Vorträge, Publikationen. Doch immer geht es mir darum, gemeinsam Wege zu ebnen, in denen sich Stimmigkeit im Innen wie im Außen herstellt, eine Stimmigkeit, die sich aus der produktiven Synthese unterschiedlichster Sichtweisen, Interessen, Anliegen und Weltzugänge herstellt.
taken from https://www.communio-fuehrungskunst.de/ueber-uns
Prof Dr Dr Barbara Adam, FAcSS, FLSW is Emerita Professor at Cardiff University, Wales, UK. Social time has been the intellectual project throughout her academic career, which facilitated a unique perspective and produced path-breaking publications on the subject, resulting in five research monographs, five edited books and a large number of articles in which she sought to bring time to the centre of social and socio-environmental analysis. Two of her books have been awarded book prizes and she successfully competed for numerous social theory-based research grants. She held Fellowships in Italy and UK, the Max Weber Professorship at Munich University and the prestigious ESRC Professorial Fellowship (2003-2007), which enabled her to explicitly focus on the social relations of the future. In 1992 she founded the journal Time & Society, which she edited for ten years and has been supporting ever since as Consulting Editor. Her work is read and taught across the disciplines from the Arts and Humanities to the Social and Environmental Sciences.
taken from https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en/people/barbara-adam
Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
Associate Professor, School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation
Biography
David Manuel-Navarrete applies an existential perspective to study deliberate transformations in social-ecological and technological systems, such as cities or coastal communities, including the subjective dimension of such transformations. His research aims at enhancing societies’ capacity to purposely deliver structural changes that simultaneously reduce inequality and sustain the planet’s web of life. As a sustainability scholar, he focuses on promoting climate change adaptation, and tourism sustainability. His most recent research explores adaptation, resilience and transformation of water infrastructures in Mexico City, and the promotion of indigenous languages to advance sustainability in the Amazon.
Professor Manuel-Navarrete worked as a consultant for the United Nations, and as a researcher at King’s College London and the Free University of Berlin. He has conducted sustainability research and assessments in Argentina, Brazil, Central America, and Mexico. He teaches international development and sustainability and sustainability science.
Education
PhD, Geography, University of Waterloo, 2004
MS, Ecological Economics, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2000
BA, Environnmental Sciences, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 1998
To offer a global platform for leaders and change-makers seeking to contribute towards a lasting transformation in the world in which core human values such as love, respect, solidarity and compassion become integrated in our decision-making and relational processes, enabling systemic change in organisations, communities and nations. This is part of our ‘duty of care’ for the Earth and for Humanity at large.
Ihrer Vision einer nachhaltigen, sozialen und ökologischen Transformation nähert sich Fanny Langner auf multiperspektivische Weise. Sie ergänzt ihre akademischen Grundlagen in Philosophie (B.A.), Kunst, ökologischer Landwirtschaft und Global Change Management (M.Sc.) mit Achtsamskeitspraktiken als auch künstlerisch musischen Tätigkeiten. Als Mitglied des Performancekollektivs „gez. Euer Ernst“ (euerernst.de) schaffte sie Erfahrungsräume die philosophische, gesellschaftliche, spirituelle sowie nachhaltige Themen und deren künstlerische Vermittlung in einen Wirkungs-zusammenhang bringen. Sie arbeitet als Yogalehrerin, betreut psychisch labile Menschen und engagiert sich als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin an der Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde (HNEE). Als Veranstalterin von Musikevents und Phase Odyssey Bandmitglied versucht sie ihre Leidenschaft für Musik und die Magie des Zelebrierens zu teilen.
Ihre Verbindung zu sich selbst und ihrer Mitwelt hilft ihr sich zu erden. Es inspiriert zugleich auf spielerische Weise ihre Mitmenschen, neugierig auf die Natur und sich selbst zu werden.
Initially trained as an economist, I work as a senior outreach faculty member at Cornell University. I am affiliated with the Community and Regional Development Institute in Cornell’s Department of Global Development. I am interested primarily in community decision making and governance; the institutional, policy and personal changes needed for an energy transition in the US; and the responses of individuals and communities to the increasing risks posed by climate change.
Lukas investigates the cultivation of generative social fields through long-term whole-school co-creation processes based on a training program in 3 elementary schools with over 1,000 school kids in Berlin, Germany. The training program addresses in particular the schools’ 180 teachers by developing their mindfulness, empathy, and relational competence. Furthermore, Lukas works with Peter Senge and Mette Böll from the center for systems awareness to foster systems change within the education sector in California.
Helping humans reaching their human potential. With this calling in life I serve, cooperate and co-create to proesses of inner change and systems change towards sustainability transformations.
specking+partners advises on sustainability issues, and engages with corporations, charitable structures, wealthy individuals and their families. In this respect we support the enhancement of responsible behaviour both for business related and personal activities. As an independent Swiss-based company, we ensure that value-based practices can become part of the DNA of a project or an organization.
Together with our clients, we build long-term, holistic strategies for responsible engagement, philanthropic activities, sustainable investment and social entrepreneurship. We then work to support implementation of their strategies and to realize the desired impact.
Chimère Diaw is the Director General of the African Model Forest Network (AMFN) and a member of the International Networking Committee of the IMFN (International Model Forest Network). He is one of the Coordinating Lead Authors of the ongoing Africa Regional Assessment of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for IPBES, the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. A member of the Board of Directors of Ecoagriculture Partners, and of the LDC Independent Expert Group (IEG) on the UN Post-2015 agenda, he also is the convener in Cameroon of the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG), a network coordinated by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and active in 11 countries.
Chimère holds a PhD in Economic anthropology from Laval University, an MA in Rural Sociology from Michigan State University and a Master in Philosophy and Sociology from the University of Dakar. He has been a researcher and programs manager for 35 years, 20 of which as international scientist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and the AMFN. Chimère has led or contributed to several international programs on Adaptive Collaborative Management, Governance, Verification, Environmental Services and Rural Livelihoods, Alternative to Slash and Burn, Environmental Decentralizations and Criteria and Indicators of sustainable forest management. His research interests and publications include African history, migrations, and modeling of the share system in fisheries, tenure regimes and property rights, climate change mitigation and REDD, governance of biodiversity and multi-stakeholder landscapes, Model Forests, participatory action research and interactive social methodologies. Chimère has lived and worked in Senegal, the United States, Canada, Indonesia and Cameroon.
The International Model Forest Network (IMFN) is a voluntary global community of practice whose members and supporters work toward the sustainable management of forest‐based landscapes and natural resources through the Model Forest approach.
As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology) works at the intersection points of science, philosophy, and theology. As an activist (president of EcoCiv.org, President of IPDC), he works to convene, facilitate, and catalyze multi-sectoral initiatives toward ecological civilization.
Master’s in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School; MA in Natural Sciences, Cambridge University. Formerly, worked on health sector reform projects in Latin America, World Bank and the Ministry of Health of Bolivia. 2004-06, Founding Director, Forum of Young Global Leaders. 2009-2018 Co-Founder and President, EDGE Certified Foundation, a global scheme certifying organizations for closing the gender gap in the workplace. Facilitator and Strategic Advisor to non-profit organizations active in reforestation, wellbeing and women’s empowerment. Author of The Heart of the Labyrinth, a spiritual parable offering a message of Earth-centered wisdom.
Lanying is currently the Executive Deputy Dean, Institute of Rural Reconstruction of China in Southwest University at Chongqing. Here she has developed and implemented projects, training/workshops and study programs in the area of sustainable agriculture, environmental education, health education and participatory development approach for poverty reduction. Her own field of interests includes participation for better governance, rural education for individual development and collectivism as well as sustainable development for the poor and marginalized people to be out of poverty and inequality.
Drawing on over 25 years of experience in the reporting and analysis of UN negotiations on sustainable development, including consultancy roles with UN Secretariats, I combine research and policy interests in the fields of sustainable development, the commons, and the attention economy.
My collaborative work with John Woods and the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust led to the creation of Northern Ireland’s first high-level roundtable on wellbeing, and to the re-design of the NI Programme for Government (2015) incorporating an outcomes and indicators based framework to measure and achieve societal wellbeing.
In 2020, in collaboration with Dr Ciara Brennan, Newcastle University, Dean Blackwood, QUB, and James Orr, Friends of the Earth, I founded the Environmental Justice Network Ireland. This is a collaborative platform or ‘community of practice’ engaging the environmental legal profession, activists and policy makers committed to advancing environmental justice and the SDGs on the island of Ireland. See www.ejni.net
Please visit my blog at www.mindfulcommons.org
taken from https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/peter-doran
Jack Petranker holds a law degree from Yale and an M.A. in political theory from the University of California, Berkeley. A former Dean of the Tibetan Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, he has also served as North American Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (1988-92). His own academic work is in the fields of consciousness studies and organizational change. He has been director of Mangalam Research Center since its founding in 2009.
Mangalam Center explores new ways of bringing wisdom to the modern world. We embrace Buddhist, spiritual, secular, and integrated approaches to learning about our mind and ourselves, opening as many doors as possible to the means of healing and transformation.
Our goal is to communicate the heart of traditional teachings in an accessible way, while still maintaining their depth and authenticity. Recognizing the difficulty of translating ideas across time, cultures, and communities, we focus on having conversations and asking questions. We also emphasize bringing meditation or mindfulness practice into ordinary activities, to allow our own embodied experience to guide our understanding.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” This quote by Albert Einstein highlights our need for new formats of communication to address the knowledge-action gap regarding climate change and other sustainability challenges. This includes reflection, and communication spaces, as well as methods and approaches that can catalyze the emergence of transformative change and action. In this article we present and reflect on experiments we carried out at international climate negotiations and conferences.
(Taken from www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oekom/gaia/2021/00000030/00000003/art00010;jsessionid=bc027khsn74t1.x-ic-live-02)
In sustainability science, revising the paradigms that separate humans from nature is considered a powerful ‘leverage point’ in pursuit of transformations. The coupled social-ecological and human-environment systems perspectives at the heart of sustainability science have, in many ways, enhanced recognition across academic, civil, policy and business spheres that humans and nature are inextricably connected. However, in retaining substantialist assumptions where ‘social’ and ‘ecological’ refer to different classes of entity that interact, coupled systems perspectives insist on the inextricability of humans and nature in theory, while requiring researchers to extricate them in practice – thus inadvertently reproducing the separation they seek to repair. Consequently, sustainability researchers are increasingly drawing on scholarship from the ‘relational turn’ in the humanities and the social sciences to propose a paradigm shift for sustainability science: away from focusing on interactions between entities, towards emphasizing continually unfolding processes and relations. Yet there remains widespread uncertainty about the origins, promises and challenges of using relational approaches. In this paper, we identify four themes in relational thinking – continually unfolding processes; embodied experience; reconstructing language and concepts; and ethics/practices of care – and highlight the ways in which these are being drawn on in sustainability science. We conclude by critically discussing how relational approaches might contribute to (i) a paradigm shift in sustainability science, and (ii) transformations towards sustainability. Relational approaches foster more dynamic, holistic accounts of human-nature connectedness; more situated and diverse knowledges for decision-making; and new domains and methods of intervention that nurture relationships in place and practice.
(Taken from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/26395916.2020.1814417?needAccess=true&fbclid=IwAR2_Xw9Nv21rLb-7tp5zUpoO2IDTWuSHYX7MRNMYgCWTSmOjsxv0FHOesYw)
The Conscious Food Systems Alliance (CoFSA), convened by UNDP, is a movement of food, agriculture, and consciousness practitioners united around a common goal: to support people from across food and agriculture systems to cultivate the inner capacities that activate systemic change and regeneration.
It aims at establishing the cultivation of inner capacities as a key evidence-based approach to envision and create regenerative food systems, while building legitimacyand understanding for this approach.
CoFSA does this by:
Convening a Community of Practice and Learning: CoFSA brings together an intentional community of peers, supported by a collaborative digital platform, where individuals and organizations can connect, learn and exchange knowledge, support and inspire each other, and collaborate to build conscious food systems.
Pioneering the application of consciousness approaches and practices: across food systems, through a global portfolio of interventions, including the delivery of trainings, coaching and facilitation services, supported by research and learning frameworks.
Our Values
Bringing our whole selves to this work: emotional, embodied, and authentic
Willingness to undertake inner work
Equity, inclusivity and acknowledgement of power dynamics
Something new and important is afoot. Nonprofit and philanthropic organizations are under increasing pressure to do more and to do better to increase and improve productivity with fewer resources. Social entrepreneurs, community-minded leaders, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropists now recognize that to achieve greater impact they must adopt a network-centric approach to solving difficult problems. Building networks of like-minded organizations and people offers them a way to weave together and create strong alliances that get better leverage, performance, and results than any single organization is able to do.
While the advantages of such networks are clear, there are few resources that offer easily understandable, field-tested information on how to form and manage social-impact networks. Drawn from the authors’ deep experience with more than thirty successful network projects, Connecting to Change the World provides the frameworks, practical advice, case studies, and expert knowledge needed to build better performing networks. Readers will gain greater confidence and ability to anticipate challenges and opportunities.
Easily understandable and full of actionable advice, Connecting to Change the World is an informative guide to creating collaborative solutions to tackle the most difficult challenges society faces.
(taken from https://islandpress.org/books/connecting-change-world)
The IASS first hosted a Dialogue and Reflection Space at the climate conference in Katowice in 2018. The space attracted participants from a diverse range of professional backgrounds, countries and age groups and offered a safe space for discussions in smaller groups as well as in-depth conversation and reflection in the midst of this major event. Many of the participants praised the space for providing a supportive setting that generated valuable insights.
“The space provides a setting for genuine encounters that inspire creative thinking and broaden perspectives. The delegates to the conference bring a substantial and diverse potential with them, but opportunities for genuine exchange are often few and far between. The Dialogue and Reflection Space provides a framework for cooperation in which new ideas and effective strategies can emerge. This is an important contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement,” says IASS researcher Carolin Fraude.
Over the course of the two-week climate change conference, the IASS will be offering “Learning Journey” workshops twice daily. The two sessions, which can also be attended separately, build on each other and feature a co-creative approach spanning three phases in which the following three questions are addressed:
1) Why does a culture of cooperation need to be cultivated and developed further at the COP?
2) What culture do we need to make the COP more effective?
3) What can we do to promote this culture?
The programme at the space will be supported by a research team from the IASS in collaboration with colleagues from Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University and the University of East Anglia.
The results will be published on Twitter and a blog. The programme also includes unstructured time for personal conversations and diary-keeping.
“Das Wissen steht bereit, Umsetzungsmodelle ebenso, doch der große Wurf zur Nachhaltigkeit lässt auf sich warten. Anlass genug, bei der gängigen Übersetzung des Drei-Säulen-Schemas Ökologie – Ökonomie – Soziales anzusetzen und es auf Fehlstellen zu untersuchen. Spiritualität gehört zum Menschsein, der Umgang mit und die Lösung von ökologischen Problemen kann hier eine Erweiterung erfahren, die angesichts der aktuellen Entwicklung dringend geboten ist. Nachhaltige Entwicklung kann es nicht geben, wenn nur der Verstand der Menschen oder ihre Bereitschaft zu moralischem Handeln angesprochen werden, so die These dieses Buches: Die Menschen müssen auf einer tieferen Ebene des Menschseins erreicht werden – in ihrem Herzen. Konkret geht es dabei um die Verknüpfung von Leitwerten und dem menschlichen Streben mit einer ausgewogenen Wirtschafts- und Lebensweise, wie sie sowohl im Christentum als auch im Buddhismus gefordert und angestrebt wird. Ob tibetisches Kloster oder Benediktinerabtei: Diese Publikation führt zusammen, was Parallelen besitzt, und eröffnet neue Horizonte für die religiöse Beschäftigung mit Nachhaltigkeit.”
“Auf diesem Blog dreht sich alles um die Verbindung von Spiritualität und nachhaltiger Entwicklung, um das Innen Wachsen und Außen Wirken. Welchen Beitrag kann die eigene Innenschau angesichts der zahlreichen globalen Herausforderungen leisten? Was brauchen wir, um wieder im Einklang mit der Natur zu leben und zu wirtschaften? Der Blog dient als Inspiration für alle Menschen, die das Leben lieben und denen die Zukunft unsere Welt am Herzen liegt. Mein Ziel ist nichts Geringeres, als die Leser*innen wieder mit ihrer Liebe zu unserem Planeten zu verbinden. Denn geht diese Liebe In Aktion (LIA 😉 ), so wird der Grundstein für eine zukunftsfähige Entwicklung gelegt.”
“In seinem ersten, weltweit beachteten Bericht zur Lage der Menschheit (»Die Grenzen des Wachstums«, 1972) prognostizierte der Club of Rome den ultimativen Kollaps des Weltsystems in den nächsten 50 Jahren. Seitdem hat sich viel verändert und wir verfügen über genügend neues Wissen für die erforderlichen Veränderungen zum Erhalt unserer Welt. Sehr wohl sind laufende Trends aufzuhalten und sind wir in der Lage, bestimmte Philosophien und Überzeugungen ad acta zu legen. Somit können wir uns auf eine aufregende Reise in die Zukunft machen.
Der hier vorliegende neue Bericht des Club of Rome formuliert die Agenda für alle gesellschaftlich relevanten und möglichen Schritte der nächsten Jahre: faktenorientiert und debattenstark.”
Das aus dem Buddhismus stammende Konzept der Achtsamkeit bettet sich nach und nach in die verschiedenen Lebensbereiche der westlichen Kultur ein. Was bedeutet dieser Kontextwechsel in einer von Konsum geprägten Gesellschaft? Welche Potenziale der Meditation an sich und des “mindfulness-movements” im Allgemeinen lassen sich hinsichtlich einer ökologisch-nachhaltigen Zukunft festmachen? Und vor allem: welche Gefahren birgt dieser Prozess? In der Bachelorarbeit “Die harte Landung der Achtsamkeit in der westlichen Konsumkultur” werden die Wechselwirkungen, welche zwischen den westlichen Adaptionen der Achtsamkeit und den Entwicklungen der Konsumgesellschaft bestehen, analysiert und kritisch beleuchtet. Die Verfasserin nimmt dabei abwechselnd eine anthropologische, philosophische und soziologische Betrachtungsweise ein.
Karen O’Brien is an internationally recognized expert on climate change and society, focusing on themes such as climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation including how climate change interacts with globalization processes and the implications for human security. She is interested in how transdisciplinary and integral approaches to global change research can contribute to a better understanding of how societies both create and respond to change, and particularly the role of beliefs, values and worldview in transformations to sustainability. She is passionate about what potential there is in quantum social theory and the implications for climate change responses. She currently leads a Norwegian Research Council Topforsk project called AdaptationCONNECTS (Adaptation: Combining Old and New kNowledge to Enable Conscious Transformation to Sustainability), that aims towards developing new understandings of whether and how transformations can contribute to successful adaptation to climate change. She has been heavily involved in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Global Change Programmes and the transition to Future Earth, a 10-year global change research initiative. She is the co-founder and partner in cCHANGE, an Oslo-based company. cCHANGE is a beacon for individuals and organizations seeking a new perspective, inspiration, knowledge, and tools on climate change and sustainability transformations.
Das Paulo Freire Zentrum bietet Akteur:innen und Institutionen unterschiedlicher Disziplinen an, ihre Arbeit kritisch zu reflektieren und setzt sich für kritische Entwicklungsforschung ein. In dialogischer Bildungsarbeit werden hier Weltprobleme im Zusammenhang mit lokalen Problemen bearbeitet. Das Zentrum bildet einen Knotenpunkt, in dem an Projekten zu entwicklungspolitischer Bildung, globalem Lernen, Friedenspädagogik etc. gearbeitet wird.
Das Lebensziel des Namensgebers Paulo Freire war der Versuch, die Unterdrückten durch Volksbildung zu befreien, indem er in den 1960er und 1970er Jahren für Solidarität und Gerechtigkeit kämpfte. Seiner Ansicht nach ging die Befreiung der Unterdrückten mit einer Befreiung vom Kapitalismus, welcher auf Egoismus und Gewinn beruht, einher.
Our purpose is to collectively inspire, support and serve conscious evolution.
EL Circle Mission Statement:
United by a shared commitment to strategically engage our collective field of potential, we serve our purpose by providing opportunities for synergistic engagement among evolutionary leaders who are forging a movement for the conscious evolution of humanity.
The Evolutionary Leaders Circle gathers annually in retreat to come into communal relationship with one another, deepening our collective consciousness and strengthening our mutual intention, thus setting the foundation for the emergence of the next steps of our evolutionary journey.
The retreat balances silence, relaxation, collaborative inquiry, and sharing amongst peers, inspiring and fostering new pathways of consciousness, capacity, collaboration, and community among us.
Together we explore ideas, perspectives and modalities that support an evolutionary worldview, pushing the edge of our collective thinking, knowing, and evolution. We seek to make insights that emerge from our exploration accessible to the public through diverse media, educational, and other relevant platforms.
Our engagement with one another inspires cooperative partnerships within the EL Circle and also enhances and amplifies the work we are already doing in our various fields of endeavor.
The EL Circle strives to inspire and support evolutionary leadership and visionary action throughout the world by giving voice to conscious, transformational and evolutionary ideas that meet the challenges of our time.
EL How We Engage Statement
We are a network of people who feel deep caring and a sense of urgency about the state of our world, and who each dedicate our lives and work to expressing a passionate commitment to both the inner work of human transformation and the outer work of social transformation.
We come together to catalyze and contribute to the evolution of one another and everyone whose lives we touch, and to magnify our ability to be of benefit. We aspire to pioneer the processes by which evolutionaries themselves continually evolve holistically, personally and in our service to all life.
We are committed to mentoring, coaching, inspiring and loving one another dynamically. Our convergence helps us, individually and collectively, to become more and more authentic, aligned, humble, cooperative, courageous, vulnerable, co-creative, innovative, and effective. Our engagement with one another inspires synergistic collaborations in self-organizing partnerships, in service to the emergence of a movement for the conscious evolution of humanity.
Humanity is not prepared to live in a climate altered world. And no policy, plan or initiative happening today to reduce or respond to climate change matches the scale of this global existential threat.
For our team, the climate emergency is both the result and the accelerator of a deeper ecological crisis, which stems from a vision of the Earth as resources to tap. We need to transform that vision and all resulting practices now to limit, address and cope with the crisis. We propose to move away from exhausting ourselves, others and nature for some temporary relief or pleasure, and start protecting and regenerating all the ecosystems we host and belong to. Only then can we ensure that humanity cuts down greehouse gas emissions and becomes more resilient to unavoidable climate instability. We do not have much time to limit the damage that is underway. And even if we had more time, the team has not found a more fulfilling nor joyful work than fostering resilience and regeneration.
What do we do?
We believe that a change has to happen within individuals’ minds, in how they relate to living beings, time, and space, to foster the transformation needed to respond to the current crisis. We also believe that individuals are resilient, in the sense that they can recover from hurt and limiting beliefs, and have the ability to adjust to change easily. Last, we believe in creativity and daring actions to transform the way humanity thinks and acts, and give rise to regenerative and climate-positive initiatives.
We co-design projects with a variety of partners who are open to experiencing and growing their inner resilience as they engage into the regeneration of communities and/or ecosystems through context-specific initiatives. We mobilize ancient wisdom and modern science, work across disciplines and generations, integrate new technologies when impactful, and value art as a channel for transformation. Our three main areas of work foster inspiration, global connection, and responsible experimentation, through Tero magazine, the Tapestry programme for local communities, and our Resilience Nests.
Humanity is not prepared to live in a climate altered world. And no policy, plan or initiative happening today to reduce or respond to climate change matches the scale of this global existential threat.
For our team, the climate emergency is both the result and the accelerator of a deeper ecological crisis, which stems from a vision of the Earth as resources to tap. We need to transform that vision and all resulting practices now to limit, address and cope with the crisis. We propose to move away from exhausting ourselves, others and nature for some temporary relief or pleasure, and start protecting and regenerating all the ecosystems we host and belong to. Only then can we ensure that humanity cuts down greehouse gas emissions and becomes more resilient to unavoidable climate instability. We do not have much time to limit the damage that is underway. And even if we had more time, the team has not found a more fulfilling nor joyful work than fostering resilience and regeneration.
What do we do?
We believe that a change has to happen within individuals’ minds, in how they relate to living beings, time, and space, to foster the transformation needed to respond to the current crisis. We also believe that individuals are resilient, in the sense that they can recover from hurt and limiting beliefs, and have the ability to adjust to change easily. Last, we believe in creativity and daring actions to transform the way humanity thinks and acts, and give rise to regenerative and climate-positive initiatives.
We co-design projects with a variety of partners who are open to experiencing and growing their inner resilience as they engage into the regeneration of communities and/or ecosystems through context-specific initiatives. We mobilize ancient wisdom and modern science, work across disciplines and generations, integrate new technologies when impactful, and value art as a channel for transformation. Our three main areas of work foster inspiration, global connection, and responsible experimentation, through Tero magazine, the Tapestry programme for local communities, and our Resilience Nests.
Founder and Director of the Swiss-based foundation Education 4 Peace (E4P)
Created in 2002, the Foundation works internationally to promote the incorporation of skills in self-awareness, deep listening, and mastery of emotions into the educational curriculum of youth, including sports education. His earlier experiences first as a volunteer and then as director of an organization that operates hotlines for emotional support and suicide prevention and his successful career as a business consultant specializing in communication, marketing and organizational development have greatly contributed to the work of E4P. From 2001-2010, Mark was chairman of the International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services (IFOTES), with 600 centers in 28 countries. He initiated many activities to promote listening skills, as well as the first international congress on the theme of Emotional Health in 2007, co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). He has led the E4P’s groundbreaking work with international and national football federations to officially introduce self-awareness, teach listening skills and empathetic communication that pave the way for resilience and relational consciousness. He is the co-author of Master of your Emotions and Football, a Path to Self-Awareness.
The Heschel Center for Sustainability develops and implements the vision of sustainability: a just and cohesive society, a robust and democratic economy, and a healthy and productive environment to all of its residents. The center bridges theoretical knowledge and practical methods, and creatively spreads the message of sustainability, assisting change makers from every sector of society to promote significant change in Israel.
Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank Genossenschaft setzt sich zum Ziel, Menschen zu begleiten, die sich in den Dienst von Mensch und Umwelt stellen. Wir fördern einen bewussten und verantwortungsvollen Umgang mit Geld und engagieren uns dafür, Geldprozesse zu durchschauen.
Gestützt auf die Erkenntnisse der Anthroposophie, arbeiten wir mit Menschen und Institutionen zusammen, die sich für Mensch, Tier, Pflanze und Erde einsetzen.
Geld ist weder Ware noch Spekulationsobjekt.
Zentrale Aufgabe der Freien Gemeinschaftsbank ist es, zwischen Menschen zu vermitteln, die Geld zur Verfügung stellen können, und Menschen, die Gelder für das Erreichen ihrer Ziele benötigen. Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank fördert verantwortungsvolle und zukunftsgerichtete gemeinnützige Initiativen. Geld soll dabei der Entwicklung des Menschen dienen.
Geld ermöglicht sozial, ökologisch und ethisch verantwortbares Wirtschaften.
Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank fördert Projekte, die Mensch, Tier und Umwelt zugute kommen. Sie versteht sich als gemeinnützige, nicht gewinnorientierte Bank. An profitmaximierenden Unternehmen ist sie nicht interessiert.
Geld arbeitet nicht, es sind immer Menschen, die ihren Zins erwirtschaften.
Den Zinssatz bei ihren Spargeldern können die Anleger bei der Freien Gemeinschaftsbank bis zu einem bestimmen Maximalzinssatz selber bestimmen. Jedes Jahr verzichten viele Bankkunden auf jegliche Guthaben-Verzinsung und ermöglichen damit günstige Kreditkonditionen für Kreditnehmende. Diese richten sich – so weit möglich – nach der wirtschaftlichen Situation des Kreditnehmers.
Geld wird nach Möglichkeit so eingesetzt, wie es der Anleger wünscht.
Anleger der Freien Gemeinschaftsbank haben die Möglichkeit zu wählen, in welchem Kreditbereich sie ihr Geld einsetzen möchten. Die Einleger wissen, wofür ihr Geld eingesetzt wird.
Geld ist mit Transparenz nicht unvereinbar.
Grosse Bedeutung misst die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank dem transparenten und solidarischen Umgang gegenüber all ihren Anspruchsgruppen bei. Sie veröffentlicht beispielsweise in ihrem Jahresbericht sämtliche Kreditnehmende.
Geld besitzt verschiedene Qualitäten.
Die Freie Gemeinschaftsbank fördert das Bewusstsein für die verschiedenen Geldqualitäten “Kaufen”, “Leihen”, und “Schenken”.
Janna Hoppmann isthe founder of Climate Mind. She suports people and organizations in developing psychologically strategies for dealing with challenges related to climate change.
In her work as Canada Research Chair, Dr. Vanessa Andreotti focuses on analyses of historical and systemic patterns of reproduction of inequalities and how these limit or enable possibilities for collective existence and global change (especially in educational contexts). Dr. Andreotti conceptualizes education as an expansion of frames of reference and fields of signification.
Cultural organizations are uniquely positioned to become leaders for a sustainable future by decreasing their impact on the environment and increasing their impact on their communities.
Ki Culture is the only non-profit organization in the world dedicated to making this a reality. We provide solutions for cultural institutions and tools to educate the public on all issues connected with sustainability.
We help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) through tangible actions, effective communication, and education. Our original programs make sustainability easy to implement, while our resource centers make it accessible. We develop and support exhibitions and outreach programs that inform and empower people with solutions.
Ki Culture promotes sustainability through culture, holistically and globally.
Caitlin Southwick is the Founder and Executive Director of Ki Culture. She holds a Professional Doctorate in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Amsterdam. Caitlin has worked in the conservation field and in museums around the world, including the Vatican Museums, The Getty Conservation Institute, and Easter Island. She was a professional member of the American Institute of Conservations Sustainability Committee and is the Secretary of the Working Group on Sustainability for the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
The Heschel Center is Israel’s leading advocate for a sustainable Israel: a just society with a robust democratic economy and a healthy environment, now and for future generations. Founded in 1998, we are based in Tel Aviv, and have a national reach and presence, with a network of change-makers spread all over Israeli society that are committed to integrate sustainability practices and values among their communities.
Poisoned air, climate disruption, growing gaps between rich and poor, isolation and discrimination against the other, despair and violence, are all examples of how unsustainable policies and practices are rife and deeply imbedded in Israeli society. Our vision is a healthy world, where people and planet flourish with dignity.
The twin challenges of climate change and social justice lie at the heart of the human agenda in this century. The Heschel Center provides the inspiration and ideas while building collaborative platforms to empower effective leadership for transition to a sustainable Israeli society that can rise to those challenges.
What we do
Through creating a home for leaders and developing and disseminating ideas and skills, the Heschel Center:
Creates frameworks through which potential change agents can become sustainability leaders, and support the implementation of their initiatives.
Connects theoretical knowledge with practical skills, and spreads the vision of broad sustainability in creative ways.
Heschel’s flagship initiative, The Sustainability Leaders Fellows Program, now concluded its 19th cohort of 14 new Fellows, continues to be the leading training program for social-environmental leaders in Israel. With 340 alumni, the Fellowship represents leadership in diversity. The program targets potential change makers in positions of influence – business, politics (including several MKs), media, free professions, social change; Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews, center and periphery—providing them an in-depth learning process along with the tools to develop joint projects that have a real and lasting impact. The successful alumni network implements our vision of promoting sustainability through a widening interlinked community, whose work we catalyze and nurture
The Center for Local Sustainability works directly with municipalities, regional councils, and their leadership and professional staffs in national and local training programs tailor made for their realities and needs, and has created 20 Local Sustainability Centers in the social and geographic periphery of Israel.
The Center for Sustainability Studies provides intensive transformative learning courses for leaders, professionals and change agents from all over Israel, currently including: Strategic Planning for Sustainability, Community-Based Sustainable Education, Regional Fellows programs, and tailor-made programs for different organizations and institutions such as the Israeli Scouts, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the Society of Nature Protection in Israel.
The Center is focusing its efforts on developing a new online platform to engage a more massive amount of people and bring them to the world of sustainability.
The Israel 2050 Project (The Heschel Climate Project)
Probably our most ambitious wide-scale collaboration yet is the multi-sectoral participatory process for the Israel 2050 plan, which Heschel has spearheaded as part of the climate initiative. Inspired by the Paris Climate Accords, Heschel headed the 2016 Maof Seminar, which led to our recruiting relevant officials in the Israeli government and convincing them to champion the Israeli Climate Plan 2050, which includes a complete transition to renewable energies. After engaging with various stakeholders to join the process, we organized the largest climate convention in Israel’s history, with a separate event that included 11 roundtables, and that has laid the foundation for the 2050 plan.
The Heschel Center has succeeded in recruiting leading strategic partners in government, civil society and industry: five central government ministries (Energy, Transportation, Industry, Treasury, Environment), the OECD, the IDI (Israel Democracy Institute), and the Manufacturers Association of Israel. Through our work with key people in the government, we have convinced the government to be the lead partner, and to adopt the program as a government initiative, with all that entails. As part of our plan for a broad-based process, we have enlisted a wide range of supporters from civil society, academia and the commercial-industrial sector. Additionally, we have prepared a professional knowledge base and relevant materials that will serve the working groups in the multi-sectoral participatory process of fulfilling the Israel 2050 plan. We have also developed a methodology for locating and successfully utilizing experts from abroad who can share their experience and best practices from processes similar to those we are trying to promote.
Today, the Heschel Center is focusing on bringing the voices of the underserved – people with disabilities, youth at risk, the elderly, etc – to the 2050 planning process and ensuring that the plans are bettering their conditions.
In addition, the Heschel Center has launched its Renewable Energy Project, aiming to develop a plan for Israel to transform to a 100% renewable energy economy. The plan includes an important component of proving the economic case for a weak municipality to earn income by providing renewable energy for its residents.
Where we’ve been:
We have trained hundreds of entrepreneurial leaders and created effective networks of change agents amongst all Israelis (Jews and Arabs, secular and religious, center and periphery) in a broad range of fields. We have incubated and launched dozens of innovative social ventures in areas as diverse as renewable energy, local sustainability, and environmental justice.
After a period of challenge and transition, Heschel Center 2019 has an inspired new leadership, and an energetic staff made up of some of our veteran visionaries, along with new blood, who come with innovative skills and ideas to take the organization forward, and ensure our place as the premier institution promoting a broad based social, environmental and economic vision for Israel.
Where we’re going:
We seek to create alliances and financial support, both inside Israel and abroad, to put this vision of sustainability which we believe is the key to Israel’s future, squarely on the agenda of Israeli society and the Jewish people.
Sustainability represents the call for the “triple bottom line” of profits, people, and planet, which has been adopted in the realm of corporate social responsibility (CSR) worldwide. For too long, the environment has been a narrowly-defined niche issue, and the focus of much work has been reactive and confrontational in nature. We represent a broad, proactive agenda, integrating economic, political and social change, and training and partnering with key players in all those realms.
While there are any number of organizations in Israel devoted to advancing specific aspects of sustainability—environmental NGOs, social change organizations, economic institutions—only Heschel is doing the big-picture conceptualization of what defines sustainability in Israel and how to achieve it.
The Heschel Center is a registered non-profit (“amuta”) that depends on contributions to do the work that is so critical for Israel’s future. To donate click here.
Join us to help improve Israel’s present and ensure Israel’s future as a healthy, prosperous, just and democratic society for all.
My name is Tomas Björkman and I am an applied philosopher and social entrepreneur.
One of the strongest personal drivers in my life has always been to unlock the hidden structures of the world around me. Curious and exploring, I constantly strive for a better understanding of science, people and social phenomena. Based on my understanding of human and societal needs in a world that is in many ways falling apart, I have committed myself to facilitating the co-creation of a more conscious society.
I want to give momentum to the right kind of changes
I am by no means the only person trying to become more conscious about the problems in the world. Many are also actively doing something about it. My main contribution is to bring change-makers together by creating arenas and initiatives with the goal of stimulating the right kind of development at both an individual and a societal level. The overall goal is to co-create a future at a higher level of individual, cultural, societal consciousness.
In 2008, I started my personal journey by founding Stiftelsen Ekskäret(Ekskäret Foundation) together with a number of future-oriented thinkers, social entrepreneurs and change-makers who became members of the board or creative partners. The Foundation’s strategic vision is to “support a sustainable world where people are creating more well-being for themselves, each other and the planet”. I strongly believe that personal development is a prerequisite for societal change.
Under the umbrella of the Ekskäret Foundation, we have created primarily two venues for events, Learning Labs and exploratory meetings etc.: the workshop facility at the island of Ekskäret (literally: the island where the oak-trees grow), located in the Stockholm archipelago, and the co-working space Ekskäret Klustret in central Stockholm.
The workshop facility on the island of Ekskäret welcomed its first curious and creative visitors in 2011. The facility provides a breath-taking venue and is a perfect arena for exploring existential questions and personal development – for teenager as well as adults. All activities on the island are carried out according to the principles of the Foundation. Ekskäret Klustret, a creative, activity-based co-working space located in the very heart of Stockholm city centre, opened its doors in 2016.
I believe that providing physical and digital meeting venues will create fertile soil for change. Gathering change-makers under one roof will stimulate sharing of ideas and creativity and lead to the co-creation of new initiatives and projects. It will also expand the networks of all participating entrepreneur and generate greater momentum for their important work.
I like to think of these two arenas as important incubators for co-creating positive changes. They are physical manifestations of the idea that a more conscious and sustainable society is possible, and we do watch and guide the ripple effects that result.
More recently I have taken the initiative to create K9 Co-living, Stockholm; Perspectiva Institute, London; the Co-creation loft, Berlin and the digital initiatives 29k.org and ‘Emerge’: www.whatisemerging.com.
ARTPORT_making waves is an international curatorial practice that raises awareness about environmental issues with a focus on climate change through art exhibitions, educational programs, video projects, sustainability & corporate responsibility consulting, as well as collaborations linking the arts, science, and politics with the aim to inspire social change…
Marie-Luise Beck ist seit 2012 Geschäftsführerin des Deutsches Klima-Konsortiums. Projekte wie die Online-Vorlesung zum Klimawandel auf Deutsch und Englisch sowie der K3 Kongress zu Klimakommunikation entstanden unter ihrer Leitung. Zuvor war sie in dem Projekt „Forschungsforum Öffentliche Sicherheit“ an der Freien Universität Berlin verantwortlich für den Dialog zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik. In den Jahren 2000 bis 2009 arbeitete sie als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin und Büroleiterin bei verschiedenen Abgeordneten des Deutschen Bundestages. Dort steuerte sie ab 2007 den Aufbau der Parlamentsinitiative „Zukunftsforum Öffentliche Sicherheit“, dessen Vorstand sie heute angehört. Ihr Studium der Biologie, Germanistik und Erziehungswissenschaften absolvierte sie an der Marburger Philipps-Universität mit dem Abschluss Erstes Staatsexamen.
I am originally an Earth Scientist with emphasis on geothermal systems and behaviour and fate of pollutants in the natural environment. Since 2000 I have been working on issues related to sustainability.
MAIK HOSANG researches interdisciplinary relationships between people,
Nature and culture. He has a
Professorship for cultural philosophy, social and cultural change at the Zittau / Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. He
is co-creator of the interactive philosophy-experience world »Sophia im
Spiegel «and author of several books.
Sustainability – Self – Silence
Silence Spaces is a collective of four people, which resulted out of sustainable higher education at the Eberswalde University for sustainable development. During the M.Sc. program we realised, that the inner dimension is under represented when sustainability efforts come into action. Hence, we created a space for the self to empower sustainable behavior in silence and finally helping to transform mindsets and societies. Silence Spaces are physical as well as symbolic spaces. They are free of cyber activities, talking, reading, writing or any kind of input as long as there is not a a conceptualized learning journey taking place. In Silence we learn how to drop into ourselves, observe, reflect, relax – deep learning can take place and this environment can help us to deal more sustainable with ourselves instead of exploiting our own resources. Finally, Silence Spaces want to empower each single individual to invite inner change in order to initiate and shape sustainable outer change – and Silence is the container where this processes can origin from. Silence allows to LISTEN to our inner needs, become more empathic and caring towards oneself as well as the surroundings.
The inspiration for Relational Uprising was born from our 20 years of learning at the intersection of deep social justice organizing work and somatic healing and education.
Before launching as Relational Uprising, the core curriculum for the Relational Culture framework was incubated, developed and launched in collaboration with Mark Fairfield, Relational Gestalt scholar and social worker with published groundwork being laid since 2000 in group development, harm reduction and shared leadership, and founder of the Leadership Institute at the Relational Center, an innovative Los Angeles-based non-profit dedicated to building capacity for psychotherapists to shift culture toward one that values empathy, diversity, and interdependency, and that sponsored in 2012 our inaugural project called the Culture of Radical Engagement. Since then, we have had direct experience working with over 1,200 activist leaders from over 200 movement-building organizations and communities.
In the Fall of 2016, the Relational Uprising training project was launched in the east coast with the sponsorship of The Watershed Center in Millerton New York, a social justice retreat center for changemakers, where we currently hold our foundational residential training series.
The poet lives and writes at the frontier between deep internal experience and the revelations of the outer world. There is no going back once this frontier has been reached; a new territory is visible and what has been said cannot be unsaid.
Poetry is a break for freedom. In a sense all poems are good; all poems are an emblem of courage and the attempt to say the unsayable; but only a few are able to speak to something universal yet personal and distinct at the same time; to create a door through which others can walk into what previously seemed unobtainable realms, in the passage of a few short lines.
What is sustainability? Often, environmental aspects are in the foreground, while the social dimension is neglected. A transformation towards a more sustainable society, though, needs to consider the social and individual dimension as inner change causes outer change – and vice versa. We see the inner dimension underrepresented in public spheres.
We raise the awareness, that we need more than a technological understanding of sustainability, which cares primarily about the ecological consequences of our actions. We call for a shift in consciousness, too, which influences our thinking and action.
To think critically and acting according to it, is asked from each one of us. We believe that these capacities can be found in Silence. It offers a container for subjective transformation processes – by pausing consciously and taking part at learning journeys on (self)transformation. Deep inner change towards sustainability can’t happen in times of overwhelming stress and acceleration.
Silence Spaces in public places allow a transformation on both levels with the emphasis on internal spaces. The potential to become a part of the solution of grievances lies in every one of us and is able to unfold here. Silence Spaces are physical as well as symbolic spaces. They are free of cyber activities, talking, eating or any kind of input as long as there is not a learning journey taking place. In Silence we can drop into ourselves, observe, relax and reflect. We can gather strength and become observers when we exploit ourselves or witness exploitation of others and the environment. We need an economic and political shift and therefore promote spaces where critical thinking can happen, which is needed to bring along system change. The time for cool headed action is now.
Darya Gerasimenko is a Professor for Sustainability Science at Samara (State Aerospace) University (SSAU) focusing on social innovation and circular economy, and a Lecturer in Economics at the University of St. Gallen (HSG). She holds a PhD in Political Economy (of Industrial Policies and International Trade) from the University of St. Gallen (2015). As a Research Scientist in Circular Economy at the Chair for Green Economy at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) together with the partners from various institutions she has co-designed and co-facilitated first awareness led social lab “Beyond Waste: circular resources lab” 2018 for Switzerland. Darya is also a certified Qigong/meditation trainer from Huang Ting TCM (Beijing, China; E-Mei School) and was teaching it at UniSport of St. Gallen University in 2015-2016. She is an education & research innovator with various courses (regular university courses as well as adult education) within awareness led format with application of mindfulness and unity consciousness calibration work. She is a designer and a catalyst of practical social spaces for enhanced cross-sectoral innovation capacity in various cultural contexts. Her research interests are Societal Innovation for Circular Economy, Innovation in Emerging Economies, Awareness led Social (Living) Labs, Partnerships in Ecosystems, Awareness led Innovation (Mindfulness & Meditation), Unity Consciousness for Innovation.
The Institute for Ecological Civilization works internationally to support systemic approaches to long-term sustainability by developing collaborations among government, business, and religious leaders and among scholars, activists, and policy makers. We build effective partnerships across social sectors through consultations, think-tank gatherings, and policy engagement.
Wir verfolgen das Ziel, jungen Menschen in einer seelischen Krisensituation einen tragfähigen Wohn- und Arbeitsort in Form einer therapeutischen Wohngemeinschaft (TWG) zu verschaffen.Wir wollen einen Ort schaffen, an dem neben einem Wohnkonzept weitere Therapie, Prozesse der Nachreifung und gesunde Begegnungen möglich sind. Zielsetzung ist, den jungen Menschen durch das Erleben von sinnvoller Tätigkeit, die pädagogisch und psychotherapeutisch begleitet wird, eine Lebensplattform zu bieten, die gleichzeitig therapeutisch und entwicklungsfördernd ist.Eingebettet in ein haltgebendes, strukturschaffendes pädagogisches Jugendwohnen sollen mit Hilfe der intensiven therapeutischen Arbeit die jungen Menschen lernen, die Anforderungen des Alltags zunehmend selbstständig und selbstsicher zu bewältigen.
This invitation-only workshop will convene fifteen leading Chinese environmentalists, international sustainability scientists, grassroots organizers, and spiritual activists to share their knowledge and expertise working on Ecological Civilization. We will employ a highly participatory process of creative inquiry to explore the following question:
“How can we integrate personal, social, and ecological transformations toward Ecological Civilization? What strategic steps can we take to cultivate such an integrated understanding among key stakeholders?”
This workshop will examine how a relational approach to Ecological Civilization may better align its philosophical and political dimensions across sectors, cultures, and contexts. We will invite guests who offer case studies that bridge theory and practice and who are interested in taking a relational approach to their work. The workshop will apply methods that integrate knowledge, experiences, and skills (knowing, being, and doing) in sessions designed to consider case studies from three different orientations: forward, inward, and looping (FIL).
Workface is a network of currently around 1 million entrepreneurs all across China organized in dezentralized learning communities that meet once a week. We cultivate a practice along the three aspects serve – learn – support.
The IASS first hosted a Dialogue and Reflection Space at the climate conference in Katowice in 2018. The space attracted participants from a diverse range of professional backgrounds, countries and age groups and offered a safe space for discussions in smaller groups as well as in-depth conversation and reflection in the midst of this major event. Many of the participants praised the space for providing a supportive setting that generated valuable insights.
“The space provides a setting for genuine encounters that inspire creative thinking and broaden perspectives. The delegates to the conference bring a substantial and diverse potential with them, but opportunities for genuine exchange are often few and far between. The Dialogue and Reflection Space provides a framework for cooperation in which new ideas and effective strategies can emerge. This is an important contribution to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement,” says IASS researcher Carolin Fraude.
Over the course of the two-week climate change conference, the IASS will be offering “Learning Journey” workshops twice daily. The two sessions, which can also be attended separately, build on each other and feature a co-creative approach spanning three phases in which the following three questions are addressed:
1) Why does a culture of cooperation need to be cultivated and developed further at the COP?
2) What culture do we need to make the COP more effective?
3) What can we do to promote this culture?
The programme at the space will be supported by a research team from the IASS in collaboration with colleagues from Chalmers University of Technology, Lund University and the University of East Anglia.
The results will be published on Twitter and a blog. The programme also includes unstructured time for personal conversations and diary-keeping.
The Anthropocene is an existential crisis facing humanity, wherein human beings worldwide are confronted with the fact that not only are we in the midst of an unprecedented ecological crisis that endangers the basic living conditions of humankind, but that we are the culprit.
This narrative has elicited increasing and widespread feelings of fear, anxiety, and disillusionment in citizens of every nation on the planet. Einstein said that we cannot solve a problem with the same line of thinking that created the conditions for it. Much has been written about the Anthropocene from scientific and ecological perspectives; this thesis will approach the issue from a philosophical standpoint in an attempt to address the ideological frameworks premised on control and domination of one another and our environment that brought about our current predicament. To understand from whence these ideas originated, we will examine Plato’s Cosmology, specifically his theory of Forms, Reason and Necessity, and the ruler/ruled dynamic. Having considered the impact, evolution, and consequences of Platonic ideals in the development of the western political tradition, we will turn our attention toward contemporary philosophical concepts in search of new frameworks and solutions. Using the phenomenological method, we will consider the non-egoistic existential philosophy of Karl Jaspers and the political philosophy of Hannah Arendt.
The works of Jaspers and Arendt have been selected for several reasons. If humanity is indeed experiencing an existential crisis, Jaspers provides an existential antidote through striving toward non-egoistic Existenz in pursuit of higher consciousness. We will discuss paths toward realizing one’s Existenz such as existential communication, cultivating interrelated freedom, and the loving struggle. Next we will turn to Hannah Arendt’s critique of Plato’s philosophy and the western political tradition, specifically addressing her concepts of plurality, ‘the fact that men, and not Man live on the earth and inhabit the world;’ natality, our unique ability to begin new processes; and the pre-socratic polis, the political space which emerges through people acting in consort (HC, 7). Arendt’s concepts of action and natality offer us hope that we can always embark on a new course.
The Anthropocene imposes its existential question on all people at once, demanding each person to ask, why exist? What does it mean to be a human being in this context? The Anthropocene has awakened our awareness to the fact that not only humans inhabit the earth, but also millions of other species. Plurality seems to be a law of the planet and the foundation of the resilience of entire ecosystems. For human beings, it is also the foundation and condition of politics. To act with others, we must engage people from a spectrum of viewpoints to build a common world that is symbiotic rather than antithetical to our environment, the earth, and the other people and creatures who inhabit it. The reflections of this thesis provide guidance on how the concepts of Jaspers and Arendt can inform and support us in our efforts to move beyond the disturbed human relationships that have contributed significantly to the emergence of the Anthropocene and its existential threats to human and non-human life.
Claus Dierksmeier was appointed director of the “Weltethos-Institut” (Global Ethic Institute) in 2012 to an endowed chair (sponsored by the Karl Schlecht Foundation). Since summer 2018 he has been working at the Institute for Political ScienceP as a professor for “Globalization Ethics with special consideration of the Global Ethic Idea”.
The general focus of his work is the ethics of globalization with regard to its economic and political applications. The current focus is on a secular foundation of a global ethic based on an idea of “qualitative freedom”. His courses are mainly in the field of political theory.
taken from https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/faculties/faculty-of-economics-and-social-sciences/subjects/department-of-social-sciences/ifp/institute-of-political-science/people/chair-of-globalization-ethics/
Ich interessiere mich für Emotionen und Bewusstsein – und welchen Einfluss Meditation und Achtsamkeit darauf haben können. Ich forsche dazu mit Methoden der Psychologie, Neurowissenschaft und Phänomenologie. Ich betreibe Meditation seit vielen Jahren und unterrichte sie in verschiedenen Kontexten. Gerne helfe ich Ihnen oder Ihrem Unternehmen dabei, einen einfachen und hilfreichen Zugang zu Meditation und Achtsamkeit zu finden.
“Catalyzing a culture of spirituality, healing and connection through content and community.
Who We Are
The culture of the future is conscious. It acknowledges spirit. It’s designed around healing. It’s based on our interconnection with one another. It celebrates humanity’s role as part of a living planet and cosmos. Since 2007, Evolver has been an innovation hub for this emerging consciousness culture. We produce a podcast, publish articles, offer online courses, and organize events in our home city of New York and across the country. Our botanical dispensary, The Alchemist’s Kitchen, is dedicated to the power of plants.
Our Core Values
Love of nature and deep caring about its preservation, and its natural balance
Strong awareness of the planet-wide issues of sustainability and a desire to see more action on them
Belief that change is the constant
Thinking global, acting local
Investing time as volunteers with one or more good social causes
Wellness of mind, body, and spirit are high priority pursuits
Optimistic about the future
Concern and support of the wellbeing of all women and children
Love and respect for the animal kingdom
Design science, innovation in technology and artisanship are desirable
“ATB started in July 1992 in the schools of Auroville as a programme to help children increase their capacity for attention, concentration and relaxation, and to enhance their ability for self awareness and their sense of responsibility. Nowadays, it is offered to adults as well as to children.
Through a wide variety of exercises and games, ATB offers individuals opportunities to come to know themselves better, to explore the complexity of their being, and find ways to integrate and harmonise this complexity around the inmost centre of their being.”
“Can we hold hope that positive psychology will be able to help people evolvetoward their highest potential?” The classification described in this bookbegan with this question, posed by Neal Mayerson to Martin Seligman in 1999.The Mayerson Foundation was concerned that inadequate progress was beingmade from well-worn problem-fixing approaches and that an approach basedon recognizing people’s strengths and aspirations might prove more effective.Mayerson turned to Seligman to explore the intersection of the emerging fieldof positive youth development and Seligman’s new push to articulate a newpositive psychology. It soon became clear that two prior questions needed tobe answered: (1) how can one define the concepts of “strength” and “highestpotential” and (2) how can one tell that a positive youth development programhas succeeded in meeting its goals?”
“This book seeks to provide a scholarly and multidisciplinary approach on the topic of contemplative practices for the development of well-being, wisdom, healing, and stress management that includes state-of-the-art science, practice, and applications of contemplative practices in the professional workplace, educational settings, pastoral care, and medical, psychological, or other health care interventions. The chapters articulate current findings and practice in contemplative practices from a wide range of religious and spiritual traditions and from experts in the integration of contemplative practices and psychology, nursing, pastoral care, business, and so forth in order to achieve well-being.”
“During the last decade, the sustainability position in multinational corporations has grown in influence. Much literature has explored how corporations can play an important role in solving the environmental challenges facing the planet. However, until now, there has been little research on sustainability leadership at the individual level. In this book, Schein explores the deeper psychological motivations of sustainability leaders. He shows how these motivations relate to overall effectiveness and capacity to lead transformational change and he explores the ways in which the complexity of sustainability is driving new approaches to leadership.
Drawing on interviews with 75 leaders in more than 40 multinational corporations and NGOs, Schein explores how ecological and post-conventional worldviews are developed and expressed in the context of global sustainability practice. By empirically grounding key theories from developmental psychology, integral ecology, and eco-psychology in sustainability leadership practice, the author encourages us to think about leadership in a different way.
A New Psychology for Sustainability Leadership will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience of educators, students, corporate executives, social science researchers, and concerned citizens. The insights from this book can be usefully integrated into leadership curriculum and development programs to help the next generation of leaders respond to global challenges.”
“Formerly a research psychologist in the USA, the author conducted a qualitative study of sixteen long-term practitioners of the Integral Yoga working in the fields of business management, education, health care, and the arts. Initial chapters frame his research methodology and examine some general findings regarding the participants’ practice of the Yoga in work. Results of the study in each field are based largely on interviews with the participants, and include textual references from the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and the author’s reflections on central themes and common experiences. The final chapter identifies the various principles and insights regarding the application of Integral Yoga in these four professional fields and presents some of the broader implications of the study.”
“Abstract: An extensive data search among various types of developmental and evolutionary sequences yielded a `four quadrant’ model of consciousness and its development (the four quadrants being intentional, behavioural, cultural, and social). Each of these dimensions was found to unfold in a sequence of at least a dozen major stages or levels. Combining the four quadrants with the dozen or so major levels in each quadrant yields an integral theory of consciousness that is quite comprehensive in its nature and scope. This model is used to indicate how a general synthesis and integration of twelve of the most influential schools of consciousness studies can be effected, and to highlight some of the most significant areas of future research. The conclusion is that an `all-quadrant, all-level’ approach is the minimum degree of sophistication that we need into order to secure anything resembling a genuinely integral theory of consciousness.”
“The study was commissioned by HIE Moray, a Highlands and Islands Local Enterprise Company, to measure the Ecological Footprint of the Findhorn Foundation and Community. The ecological footprint method has been used to determine the extent to which the Findhorn Foundation’s sustainable practices are reducing the Community’s environmental impact.”
“The aim of the Auroville Film Festival is to connect with people and cultures within and beyond Auroville and to further the aspiration of human unity by showcasing films that develop the theme of human unity. We feature films that are created in and around Auroville, as well as international films that explore the theme of human unity.
The Auroville Film Festival wants to turn film-viewing in Auroville, a relatively passive activity, into a creative expression using digital media and, in the process, to foster a deeper understanding and exploration of the aspirations of Auroville. Through the film festival, the community is engaged in an interactive expression through digital films.”
“Sadhana Forest started its ecological revival and sustainable living work on December 19th 2003.
The vision of its founders, Yorit and Aviram Rozin, is to transform 70 acres of severely eroded, arid land on the outskirts of Auroville. In a spirit of human unity, their aim is to introduce a growing number of people to sustainable living, food security through ecological transformation, wasteland reclamation, and veganism. Our energy and resources are focused on the creation of a vibrant, indigenous Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF).
Sadhana Forest won the third place in the Humanitarian Water and Food Award (WAF) 2010. The ceremony took place in the Marble Hall of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, on November 25th, 2010. Shri Ashok Kumar Attri the Ambassador of India to Denmark honored Sadhana Forest by attending the ceremony.
This award is an international recognition of the quality of the ecological and humanitarian work done by Sadhana Forest in India and Haiti.”
“Films for the Earth: sharing knowledge and raising awareness with the most moving films about sustainability.
Films for the Earth is an educational initiative awarded by the UNESCO which creates settings, in which important films are showed to move gathered people and to develop visions and aims for a more sustainable society. You are on the most comprehensive website about films and sustainability, ecology and environment.
Films for the Earth means: hundreds of volunteers and contributing companies, active members and thousands of fans!
Find film screenings, free environmental movies for passing on, nature movies or watch right now films on the website!
Films for the Earth is an international centre of excellence for environmental documentaries and a network of environmental country sections. We want to reach as many people as possible with selected films, pass on knowledge about sustainability and inspire them to act.
We know the best films about sustainability and how they can be used. We make this expertise available in an advisory capacity but also online, on our most comprehensive film and sustainability directory in the world. In three countries we reach over 100,000 people a year with our international festival, school events and member network. Films for Earth inspires, amazes, creates awareness and moves!”
“The ancient Icelandic word for intuition is “innsæi,” but in Iceland it has multiple meanings. It can mean “the sea within” which is the borderless nature of our inner world, a constantly moving world of vision, feelings and imagination beyond words. It can mean “to see within” which means to know yourself, and to know yourself well enough to be able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. And it can mean “to see from the inside out” which is to have a strong inner compass to navigate your way in our ever-changing world.
In the inspiring and thought-provoking InnSæi – the Power of Intuition, Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir and Kristín Ólafsdóttir go on a soul-searching, global journey to uncover the art of connecting within in today’s world of distraction, disconnection and stress. They meet with world-renowned scientists like Marti Spiegelman, an expert in neuroscience and indigenous consciousness who believes that we are only using a fraction of our capacity as human beings, with devastating consequences for the planet; artists like Marina Abramovic, the “grandmother of performance art” who teaches that “in order to create something new human beings need to go into the unknown”; and spiritual leaders like the captivating Malidoma Patrice Somé, a West African elder and author who reasons that “intuition binds us together. Without it we lose our sense of purpose and belonging.” They also meet an extraordinary group of British schoolchildren who are learning how to better cope in today’s world by unlocking the power of nature and mindfulness.
Illustrated with gorgeous animation and stunning imagery, InnSæi is a film like no other, and one that offers radical insights into how we think and sense the world today.”
Auroville is the largest and longest-standing intentional community in the world, practically researching into the evolutionary potential of humankind, developing award-winning transformational practices across fields of culture, economics, governance, education, environment, and health, recognized by UNESCO, the Indian Government, and major industries such as Tata. Visiting researchers can bridge this future-facing body of experimentation with developments in their fields worldwide, for the benefit of humanity as a whole.
WHO WE ARE
The Bridge promotes exchange between Auroville and visiting researchers similarly dedicated to the progress of human society.
We curate presentations and forums that facilitate exchange and the intiation of collaborative projects between Aurovilian and visiting experts.
WHO ARE YOU?
Are you an Aurovilian or visiting expert – in any field? We invite you to offer a presentation of your work.
Contact: thebridge@auroville.org.in
Are you an Auroville community member, volunteer, or visitor? You are welcome to attend our public events series!
Waste is a serious and growing global problem. The way we use and discard it is quickly destroying the earth and damaging our health faster than most people realise. Our planet can’t handle it, and neither can we.
Presently, when we think of waste we follow a linear model. A product is created, we purchase it and, when we’ve used it, we throw away whatever’s left. However, this approach generates an amazing amount of ‘unseen’ waste long before consumers touch it. Conservative experts claim that each kilo of garbage we dispose of in our bins produces 40 kilos of waste upstream (extraction, production and distribution).
After waste is generated, it is typically transported from our lives without much thought. For us, it’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’. For our public systems, it’s a nuisance to be dealt with cheaply and quickly. For future generations, it’s one of the biggest mistakes we are making.
We urgently need to raise awareness, change behaviour and inspire an estimated 7 billion+ people to generate less waste.
Rachel has worked for over 20 years in social and environmental change as Director of a social enterprise, trainer, consultant and communications expert. In recent years she has worked in Ceredigion locally on community engagement and domestic energy efficiency. She has developed and delivered consultancy and training interventions for Welsh Government, WWF, Ceredigion County Council, Ogilvy Mather amongst others. Her work and research interests are supporting effective and human centred change through developing the psychological capacity of policy and other change makers and leaders. This includes utilising the capacity and understanding of mindfulness and behavioural insights to support effective decision making and project/policy design.
Climate Compassion is a way of responding to the socio-ecological challenges of our times withcompassionate action. We aim to be a node of mutual flourishing, that shifts culture toward a life-sustaining society. Climate compassion extends beyond environmental climate to a social climate of equity and justice through cultivating inclusion, love, respect, and dignity for all.
Through community events, workshops and trainings, Climate Compassion inspires widening circles of compassionate action, rippling from self-compassion to taking action for the benefit of our human family and the web of life, for current and future generations.
We offer:
Community events, such as salons featuring thought leaders that provide an opportunity to break bread and develop meaningful connections among participants
Resilience Incubators that help to develop the resilience practices to sustain us through the challenges of the transition to a life-sustaining society
Workshops and Trainings on a variety of topics, from Bystander Intervention to transformative practice and leadership
Consulting for organizations engaged in life-enhancing work
Taken from https://www.climatecompassion.org/about
Evolution at Work offers over a decade of experience in guiding personal and organizational journeys into self-organization
The shift to self-organization is a transformational and multi-dimensional journey. No two journeys are the same, and this work requires differentiated approaches to learning and development. Everything Evolution at Work offers includes the following three approaches:
Teaching: Presenting a unique combination of theoretical background and practical stories drawn from real-life experience, we help you gain a deep understanding of the Whats, Whys, and Hows of your experience.
Facilitation: Taking a holistic approach to learning, we guide you through exercises that cultivate an embodied confidence with the processes, exercises, and practices that support sustainable self-organization.
Holding Space: We commit to being fully present with what is needed now, without judgment. Love, care, and compassion are at the heart of our work.
Karen Litfin, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of political science at the University of Washington. She received her Ph.D. from UCLA in 1992. Karen’s first two books were Ozone Discourses: Science and Politics in Global Environmental Cooperation (Columbia University Press, 1994) and The Greening of Sovereignty in World Politics(MIT Press, 1998). She has also written on the politics of earth remote sensing; the political implications of Gaia Theory; the relationship between climate science and politics; the ecological politics of sacrifice; the global ecovillage movement; and contemplative pedagogical practices. For links to some of these publications, please click on “Research” tab.
Karen’s latest book, Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community, traces her yearlong journey to ecovillages around the world in language that is at once intellectually and emotionally engaging. The book explores these micro-laboratories of deep sustainability through four broad windows—ecology, economics, community, and consciousness—or E2C2, and gleans their lessons for a viable human future at every scale, from the neighborhoods to cities to countries to global governance. Click here for her video.
In her teaching, Karen takes an innovative “person/planet politics” approach rooted in two questions: What does it mean to come of age at the dawn of the Anthropocene, as we learn that prevailing institutions, practices and values are unraveling the tapestry of life? And how does one serve as a mentor under these conditions? Karen is currently working on a book based upon her twenty years of experience with contemplative pedagogical practices in environmental and global education.
taken from https://www.polisci.washington.edu/people/karen-litfin
Whidbey Institute is a home for transformational learning and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Our mission is to nurture the conditions for transformational learning, and our purpose is to grow the human capacity to respond generatively to the challenges of our time in service to a future in which people and planet thrive together.
We partner with a network of program leaders working in the areas of generative leadership, ecosystem vitality, community resilience, and more to offer one-day and multi-day workshops, conferences, and retreats. Our 106-acre conservation forest campus on South Whidbey Island is open to the public and features integrated gardens and a four-mile trail network.
Setting up a project like AMA was a keen interest of mine already before starting at the IASS. After the first years of developing our program on our core topics like air pollution and climate change, and connecting to the spiritual and religious communities through dialogues and workshops, the time was finally ripe to kick off a pre-AMA project with Tom Bruhn, Zoe Lüthi and other colleagues. Watching that grow into what the current team has made out of AMA today has been deeply fulfilling, and I’m pleased to continue to interact with the team however I can connect to and support their efforts.
Background & expertise
PhD in Atmospheric Science
Habilitation in Physics
Research focus on air pollution and climate geoengineering
Additional research: the Anthropocene and Earth-system science
Transdisciplinarity & co-creation
Various facilitation & moderation forms
Leadership experience and deep interest in Taoist leadership principles
Black belt in Aikido
My responsibilities:
Advisory role, mainly reflecting on major developments with the team
Connecting to like-minded colleagues and stakeholders
Representing AMA and its principles at academic and public events
Emerge is an independent, non-profit media platform highlighting the initiatives, individuals and ways of thinking that are sowing the seeds of a new civilisation.
We are exploring how to act wisely in a world that seems out of control. We aim to explore the emerging cultural narratives of our time by collecting useful content from across the web, profiling change makers and thinkers, publishing thought-provoking commentary and producing original videos and podcasts.
We are living in times of profound transition where our ways of working, communicating and governing are quickly transforming. Many of our received wisdoms, habits and perspectives are becoming obsolete. What will emerge in the vacuum created by this disruption is not yet clear, but some critical questions hang in the balance:
Will we manage to avert ecological crisis? Will our new technologies enable powerful collaboration, or create intense polarisation? What does it mean to live a meaningful life in relationship with ourselves and others?
Nobody knows what the world will look like in 20 years time. At Emerge we believe that we all have a part to play in weaving a new story for humanity and our planet.
In fact, we are already doing it.
By combining live events with the power of the internet, Emerge is a hub for people and initiatives searching for solutions to pressing global challenges, asking the question: What new patterns of living, working and existing together are currently emerging?
We are a network and a movement that celebrates people and projects, and we offer an invitation to each of us to discover our role in this new story.
What We Believe
The challenges facing our world today are more complex and species-threatening than ever before in human history. The global threat of climate change and the social impacts of digitalisation and globalisation are currently far more complex than our collective capacity to comprehend. In order for us to move forward, our thinking about global problems has to evolve to match their complexity.
Our personal psychology is of huge consequence to the outside world. If we are going to transform as a society then the personal development of individuals must be taken seriously as a societal, as well as an individual, concern.
There is no one ‘true’ way of seeing the world. In order to move forward we need to transcend binary thinking.This means moving beyond left and right political divides, thinking in terms of individual and collective responsibility, national and global identity, honoring individual identities and recognising the need to focus on a greater “we”.
Our world is socially constructed in more ways than we habitually tend to think. Human beings are dependent on and connected to the natural world, but when it comes to human society we are the creators. This means that we have more power than we realise to change it.
The emerging future will be co-created by all of us. The world is learning to come together in new ways and each of us has a vital role to play. Emerge is a place where all are called forth to bring our gifts to the greater circle.
Across the world, there are hundreds of initiatives, projects and persons who are already tackling real world problems from this place of deeper awareness. Our aim is to bring awareness to this growing movement and connect the dots between the people and projects contributing to this emergence.
This is a time of profound collaboration and we see you as a vital part of this mission. We’d love to weave your voice and vision into all that is being created and keep you updated on the launch of new projects, events and initiatives around the world.
The AMA project is a science-based reflection and empowerment hub for change agents engaging in inner transformation in the context of socio-ecological transformation. Institutionally the AMA project is operating as a transdisciplinary research project at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam. Beyond its research work, the AMA project acts as a network catalyst for an emerging global community that aims at cultivating ethical and virtuous qualities of the human mind as drivers of socio-ecological transformations to sustainability.
Konsequenter, weil die Anfrage eines Kernkraftwerksbetreibers unsere ›Wasserlinie offensichtlich und die Arbeit mit einem Öko-Pionier uns glücklich gemacht hat. Seit dem gönnen wir uns den Luxus, nur mit Kunden zu arbeiten, die uns am Herzen liegen und die an ›nachhaltigen Transformationsprozessen Interesse haben.
Wir wollen nichts weniger als unsere Berufung leben und gemeinsam mit ausgewählten Kunden ein klein wenig die ›Welt retten. Denn die Welt ist unsere Freundin…
MANEMO ist ein kunterbunter Haufen mit ausgeprägten Persönlichkeiten und vielfältigen Kompetenzen: wir treten den Beweis an, dass eine ›ökosoziale Marktwirtschaft jetzt und hier schon gelebt werden kann.
Working to inspire for sustainability, especially sustainable business. Knowing that the great transformation needs a change of mindset. Connecting interested people and organisations and initiatives already on their way. Hoping to contribute to the growth of the critical mass with the mindset for the anthropocene.
WEAll is a new global collaboration of organisations, alliances, movements and individuals working together to change the economic system to create a wellbeing economy: one that delivers human and ecological wellbeing. It is registered as a UK Trust, hosted by registered English charity The Equality Trust.
Text from https://wellbeingeconomy.org/how-will-we-change-the-system
Gaia Initiative is a non-profit organization which advocates a shift in the core values of the society.
Gaia Initiative undertakes various forms of educational activities for different players in the society as well as supporting programs for corporations.
The 21st century requires not only “money” and “efficiency” but also the 3rd element, G-axis (Gaia – axis), as the core values of the society. It is nothing new. It is nothing difficult. It is to remember what we have forgotten while busy pursuing economic outcome – to be conscious about and thankful to your life and Gaia. Keep it in mind everyday and express it in your action.
Personal life is no longer measured by income, size of your house, school names, and positions. More people choose a lifestyle in which their achievement is not necessarily expressed in numbers. More people choose to buy environmentally-conscious products. More people are interested in where vegetables for dinner come from. People always want to do something that makes your family smile. However small it is, your action matters.
Text from http://www.gaiainitiative.org/en/about_gaia.html
Das Ziel von HEED besteht darin, die Gründerkultur in Deutschland zu stärken und Studierenden die Entwicklung zu innovativen und unternehmerischen Persönlichkeiten zu ermöglichen. Dadurch soll ein gesellschaftlicher Wandel vorangetrieben werden, der Risikobereitschaft nicht mehr stigmatisiert, sondern als einen positiven Wert erachtet.
Um dies zu erreichen, tauscht HEED Hörsaal gegen Werkstatt und versteht sich als ein Innovationslabor, das seine Wirkung durch das empathische Zusammenspiel kreativer Menschen an einem inspirierenden Ort entfaltet. Der von HEED entwickelte Innovationsprozess ist ganzheitlicher als traditionelle Ansätze. Er stellt den Menschen ins Zentrum und bildet den gesamten Produktlebenszyklus ab, von der Invention über die Produktion bis zur Distribution. Möglich wird dies durch die Synergie von Kompetenzen, die sich aus der Zusammenarbeit aller drei Fakultäten der Hochschule Pforzheim ergibt (Technik, Wirtschaft & Recht und Gestaltung). Gemessen an der Zahl der in den drei Fakultäten Lehrenden und der in ihnen angebotenen Studiengänge ist dieses Zusammenwirken einzigartig.
Konkret arbeiten in HEED je nach Aufgabenstellung unterschiedlich zusammengesetzte multidisziplinäre Teams aus Studierenden aller drei Fakultäten der Hochschule Pforzheim zusammen, um miteinander und voneinander zu lernen. Begleitet und beraten werden sie nicht nur von multidisziplinären DozentInnen-Teams der Hochschule Pforzheim, sondern auch von externen ExpertInnen, beispielsweise erfolgreichen Startup-GründerInnen, u.a. im starTUB-Format, Ein besonderer Stellenwert kommt dabei Maßnahmen zur Persönlichkeitsbildung zu.
Die praktische Arbeit in Projektseminaren geht Hand in Hand mit einer Forschungstätigkeit, die Möglichkeitsbedingungen von Kreativität, Innovation und verantwortungsbewusstem Entrepreneurship untersucht. Die Ergebnisse dessen werden veröffentlicht und in die Lehre zurückgeführt.
Text taken from www.hs-pforzheim.de/forschung/institute/heed/
Wellbeing inspires welldoing: the profound connection between how our relationship with ourselves deeply influences the way we are in the world.
We are hearing changemakers around the world express the pressing need for support with their wellbeing. Our work highlights how wellbeing needs to be fundamentally prioritised both for each individual changemaker and because of how it shapes the way social change happens.
The Wellbeing Project is a global initiative focused on shifting the culture of the social change field to one oriented towards inner wellbeing and catalysing an infrastructure of support for everyone in the field. The Project is co-created with leading social change institutions and is a community of many of the key global and regional social change leaders and organisations.
We see an incredible opportunity to cultivate a social change culture that is more human-centred and at the same time unlock more of the extraordinary collaboration and innovation we need to address our great social and environmental challenges.
We are inspired by a sense of caring and compassion for all the people who work to build a better world, as well as to support the many causes and movements for which we all work.
The Wellbeing Project is cultivating a shift in the culture of the field toward one that is healthier and supportive of inner wellbeing for all those working to effect social change. The project is structured in four pillars which all play a vital role and contribute to the larger mission of supporting and growing the wellbeing movement.
The Wellbeing Project is co-created with Ashoka, the Esalen Institute, the Fetzer Institute, Impact Hub, the Skoll Foundation and the Synergos Institute.
We may be living through times of unprecedented change, but in uncertainty lies the power to influence the future. Now is not the time to despair, but to act […]
This multifaith and interspiritual website, founded by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, is devoted to resources for spiritual journeys. The site’s name reflects a basic understanding: spirituality and practice are the two places where all the world’s religions and spiritual paths come together. While respecting the differences among traditions, we celebrate what they share in common.
Launched in 2006, Spirituality & Practice consolidates nearly 50 years of the work of co-directors Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat and their various publications and projects, including Cultural Information Service, Living Room Learning, Values & Visions, and the Spiritual Literacy Project. A small but devoted staff has joined the Brussats to add new types of content and voices to the website.
CIStems, Inc., the nonprofit organization behind Spirituality & Practice, was originally organized in 1972 with the purpose of increasing positive uses of the arts/media by religious and community groups. Publications included reviews of books, films, and TV programs, providing insights on their deeper meanings and ways to use them for lifelong learning by teachers, preachers, and community leaders. Special projects included Viewer’s Guides to TV programs and Values & Visions Discussion Guides to movies and books.
The Center for Building a Culture of Empathy is a leader of the global empathy movement. Our mission is to build a movement for creating a global worldwide culture of empathy and care. We do this through a variety of means. First is by community organizing and by collecting, curating and organizing all the material we find on the internet on the topic. A current focus is on; designing a free online empathy training course, building an academic empathy training literature wiki, and holding public activist Empathy Tent Pop-ups..
In 1989, the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) was established in Siam (Thailand) by Sulak Sivaraksa and a group of Buddhist and non-Buddhist thinkers and social activists. INEB operates as an autonomous organization under the Bangkok-based Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation. Over the years the network has expanded to include members, both individuals and organizations, from more than 25 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. From this diversity, an understanding of socially engaged Buddhism has emerged which integrates the practice of Buddhism with social action for a healthy, just, and peaceful world.
Vision and Objectives
Promotes understanding, cooperation, and networking among inter-Buddhist and inter-religious social action groups
Acts as an information resource related to areas of social concern
Facilitates conferences, education, and training based on Buddhist values and practices that support and strengthen socially active individuals and groups
Social Issues of Concern and Engagement
INEB’s philosophy and practice is based on compassion, social justice, non-violence, and co-existence as put forth by Gautama the Buddha. The core mission is to confront and end suffering using analysis and action guided by the Four Noble Truths.
The Berkana Institute and our partners share the clarity that whatever the problem, community is the answer. We prepare for an unknown future by creating strong & sustainable relationships, by wisely stewarding the earth’s resources and by building resilient communities. We rely on our experience that most human beings are caring, generous and want to be together. We have learned that people can get through anything as long as we’re together. Berkana was founded in 1991 to create communities of support and inquiry for those working to create a future of promise and possibility that benefits all people. We are based in the U.S. and operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
We work from an evolving, coherent theory of change. Since 1991, we have been learning from life (living systems) about how to create systems that are interdependent, adaptive and resilient. Everything we do is a conscious experiment to better understand two of life’s robust capacities: self-organization–life’s process for creating order (effectiveness) without control, and emergence–life’s means for creating system-wide change, taking things to scale. Read Lifecycle of Emergence: Using Emergence to Take Social Innovation to Scale by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze.
We work at the level of community. The Berkana Institute works in partnership with a rich diversity of people around the world who strengthen their communities by working with the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions and environments. Berkana and our partners share the clarity that whatever the problem, community is the answer. We prepare for an unknown future by creating strong and sustainable relationships, by wisely stewarding the earth’s resources and by building resilient communities. We rely on our experience that most human beings are caring, generous and want to be together. We have learned that human beings can get through anything as long as we’re together.
We focus on four key activities. In many ways, Berkana’s work is quite straightforward. We name trailblazing leaders and communities, connect them to one another, nourish them with relationships, learning, resources, and support, and illuminate their stories as important examples of the future taking place right now
The Sustainability Institute (SI) was established in Lynedoch Ecovillage in 1999 to provide a space for people to explore an approach to creating a more equitable society.
At the core of the SI’s work has been finding ways of living that sustain rather than destroy the eco-system within which all society is embedded. Our focus on children led to the founding of the Creche, now called the Lynedoch Childrens House, and AfterCare programmes. Our partnership with the School of Public Leadership at the University of Stellenbosch built up our Masters and PhD programmes in Sustainable Development.
Today, the SI is an international living and learning centre providing learning experiences in ecology, community and spirit.
Our learning programmes start in the Lynedoch Childrens House, are extending through our partnership with SPARK Schools in Lynedoch, are practically oriented in our Learning for Sustainability FET College and promote both research and practice through our University of Stellenbosch degrees. Our research and practice maintains a strong focus on sustainable African futures, through our student and faculty research and our growing research consulting programme.
We are looking to build our understanding and learning in core areas we recognise as critical in supporting the transition to equitable, just and thriving futures.
Our focus on flourishing food systems, social innovation, optimal resource flows and transformative learning from birth, supported by meaningful partnerships, will continue through embedded and relevant research, teaching and practice.
“The pollution of the planet is only an outward reflection of an inner psychic pollution: millions of unconscious individuals not taking responsibility for their inner space.”
Launched in 2011, within the grounds of the Nan Tien Buddhist Temple, in Wollongong, New South Wales, Nan Tien Institute (NTI) is a private, not for profit, higher education provider offering studies in the areas of arts, health, mindfulness and wellbeing.
Today NTI operates from its own state-of-the-art Campus, which incorporates contemplative pedagogy and fosters an environment for holistic learning, allowing students to contribute to the advancement and integration of knowledge, culture and ethical understanding, both within their own lives and within the lives of others.
Accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, Nan Tien Institute offers postgraduate programs in Applied Buddhist Studies and Health and Social Wellbeing, as well as customised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs and special interest subjects across the areas of mindfulness, meditation and health.
NTI also has an English Language Centre, located in the heart of Sydney – providing a pathway for international students.
The Great Transition Initiative is an online forum of ideas and an international network for the critical exploration of concepts, strategies, and visions for a transition to a future of enriched lives, human solidarity, and a resilient biosphere. By enhancing scholarly discourse and public awareness of possibilities arising from converging social, economic, and environmental crises, and by fostering a broad network of thinkers and doers, it aims to contribute to a new praxis for global transformation.
Petra Kuenkel is a full member of the Club of Rome, an accomplished author and a leading strategic advisor to pioneering international multi-stakeholder initiativesthat address complex sustainability issues. In 2005 she co-founded the Collective Leadership Institute a not-for-profit social enterprise that promotes the scaling-up of collaboration skills globally for change agents who have the sustainability of this world and the future of humankind as their focus. With more than 1800 Alumni the institute has built collaboration competence for change agents from public sector, private sector and civil society around the globe.
With the Institute and her ground-breaking conceptual work in stakeholder collaboration and collective leadership she brings a strong female voice not only to the Club of Rome, but also to the way international initiatives for sustainability and large systems change are designed. Her focus is on empowering people to make multi-stakeholder collaboration effective in addressing complex global and local challenges. She advocates for an approach to tackling complex sustainability challenges that models successful patterns of collaborative human interaction.
Her mission is to identify and disseminate knowledge about success factors for individual and institutional collaboration at scale – to find solutions to complex challenges such as water scarcity, environmental degradation, climate change impact, social tension, or unsustainable value chains. She raises awareness for the potential of collaborative inventiveness and invigorates the human competences to change the current state of affairs towards an agenda of sustainability.
As an expert of dialogue she contributes her profound experience for making dialogue and stakeholder engagement action-oriented to ensure real-time change in people’s behaviour as well as tangible results. She is a pioneering thinker on re-inventing leadership as a collective competence of a group of leaders that catalyse positive change for the common good.
She fosters mind-set change among decision-makers and has developed a methodology for invigorating human competences that foster result-oriented and value-based collaboration for the common good. Petra Kuenkel is part of an international think tank on large system’s change and co-founder of the Partnering Alliance, an initiative aiming at improving the quality of partnering for sustainability between the public sector, the private sector and civil society.
Prior to the founding of the Collective Leadership Institute she facilitated value-based leadership development programs for executives from multinational companies and held a management position at an international development Organisation.
Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most widely recognized fraternal organization in the world. Founded in London, England in 1717, its current worldwide membership totals 3.6 million members, 1.6 million of which are in North America. With 120,000 Masons and 530 local Lodges, Ohio has one of the largest Masonic memberships of any state in the country.
As a fraternal organization, Freemasonry unites men of good character who, though of different religious, ethnic, or social backgrounds, share a belief in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of mankind.
The traditions of Freemasonry are founded upon the building of King Solomon’s Temple, and its fraternal ceremonies use the working tools of the stonemasons to symbolize moral lessons and truths. For example, Masons are reminded at Lodge to “meet upon the level of equality, act by the plumb of uprightness, and part upon the square of virtue.”
Like most organizations, one will get out of Freemasonry what he is able to put into it. However, membership in Freemasonry is not meant in any way to interfere with an individual’s commitment to his faith, family, or occupation. Freemasonry is not and never can be a replacement for these important institutions, but rather it is a positive environment that reminds every Mason of his duty to God, his community, his family and himself.
Freemasonry provides opportunities for sincere, honest, forthright men who believe in God and desire to contribute to the improvement of their communities and themselves. Through our Masonic Fraternalism, we reaffirm our dedication and unity to become involved citizens who have a strong desire to preserve the values that have made and continue to make America great.
The Club of Rome is an organisation of individuals who share a common concern for the future of humanity and strive to make a difference. Our members are notable scientists, economists, businessmen and businesswomen, high level civil servants and former heads of state from around the world. Their efforts are supported by the Secretariat in Winterthur, Switzerland, the European Research Centre registered in Constance, Germany and National Associations in more than 30 countries.
The Club of Rome conducts research and hosts debates, conferences, lectures, high-level meetings and events. The Club also publishes a limited number of peer-reviewed “Reports to the Club of Rome”, the most famous of which is “The Limits to Growth“.
The Club of Rome’s mission is to promote understanding of the global challenges facing humanity and to propose solutions through scientific analysis, communication and advocacy. Recognising the interconnectedness of today’s global challenges, our distinct perspective is holistic, systemic and long-term.
The UniverCity of Compassion (UCC) is a space for discovering and nourishing ideas for compassionate action, within the setting of a self-organized community of learning. The UCC is an initiative of Sadhana Forest, a reforestation project and conscious living community which offers the framework for collective learning. The term UniverCity comes from the understanding that living is learning.
For years there was this deep sense of insecurity inside…or rather a wrongness about my existence that I did not know how to describe. I tried to live the values of the culture, follow the roadmap to success imparted to me through community, family and school. I was determined to be an “acceptable” kind of woman, even though I was obviously not. So I got educated, went into business, wore suits, thought rationally, competed against others and was successful for a time, but then my life fell apart.
I had been looking outside— in what I did, what I had, who I knew—for who I was, but it didn’t work. The best way to say it was the outside was not connected to the inside so I was living someone else’s idea of me (who I wonder?) I was not free and did not know how to live what I valued. I had no idea if there was a more natural way for me to be.
It became clear that the only way I could understand was to explore from the inside…to renounce what the culture valued and reconnect to my inner knowing. I now know this unknown inner dimension of myself as the feminine…. so I started with a simple question that guided my journey. What is the feminine?
I ask some remarkable people who embody these traits to find out how they would describe the feminine, to get a sense of how being connected to this part of themselves informs their lives and how it is lived in balance with their masculine aspect.
This is my personal inquiry, but I have a sense that this film is also about our collective journey towards wholeness because I am simply a microcosm of the macrocosm…and so are you.
We believe that to create impactful and far reaching change and to adapt to living sustainably with our planet we must address humanity’s disconnect from nature and the underlying imbalances and inequalities that have caused the problems we face.
The Bhumi Project is an international Hindu response to the environmental challenges facing our planet. It is facilitated by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies in partnership with the GreenFaith.
The Bhumi Project stands for respect, compassion and service for our environment.
Our aims are:
To educate, inspire, inform, and connect Hindus interested in service to Mother Earth.
To develop long term sustainable plans for environmental care.
To build a base of global partners and friends who encourage best environmental practice.
Peter Doran points to the way buddhist concepts are being corrupted by the commodifying pressures of capitalist culture, and outlines the ways in which true mindfulness practices can help us resist the growing demands of the ‘attention economy’.
the Manitou Institute & Conservancy’s greater mission is to: preserve and protect biodiversity in ecologically sensitive areas, conserve greenspace, protect watersheds, preserve and protect prehistoric and historic sites “sacred sites”, and land which has special recreational, scenic, agricultural, wildlife habitat, spiritual and/or environmental value, promote ecologically sound development and land use, by methods including but not limited to Covenants & Restrictions, Conservation Easements, an active Environmental & Architectural Team and Guidelines, work with local, county, state and federal agencies and other nonprofit organizations to protect and preserve the unique and important natural resources in this locale; to provide education and training opportunities to youth and adults to: promote Earth stewardship, community service, sustainable lifestyles, and appropriate technologies, and assist in preservation and promotion of indigenous culture and arts, ancient medicinal practices and the world’s religious and spiritual traditions; to study, research, preserve, protect, grow out, distribute, and provide education and networking about endangered, non-hybrid seed genes vital to the future food supply, and natural, medicinal plant species, which optimize human health and wellbeing; to network and maintain outreach systems, linking this organization with related projects, organizations, agencies and individuals; and to implement sustainable community housing models.
We envision a world where everyone understands we are all part of one human family, and feels a sacred sense of connection to ourselves, each other, and our planet.
In the world we seek, everyone is committed to courageous compassion. By boldly loving, we can be a powerful force for good in the face of fear, anger, division, and despair.
The Fetzer Institute is a growing community of people who see we’re part of something more. We believe the connection between the inner life of spirit and outer life of service and action holds the key to lasting change.
We explore the mysteries of ourselves and our universe through spiritual and scientific inquiry. We work for personal and societal transformation—encouraging the spiritual growth of all people and supporting inclusive communities and institutions around the world.
We aim to inspire and serve a global movement grounded in connection that transforms the world into a more loving home for all.
Eco-chaplaincy is a form of inter-religious and secular ‘spiritual’ chaplaincy designed for people engaged in environmental and social justice work; coined by Sarah Vekasi, M.Div. in 2005.
Eco-chaplains support organizations, activists, organizers, individuals, and communities who are engaged in helping life continue on Earth in this time of great turning.
Just as a patient in a hospital or a soldier in war can receive support from their chaplain; organizations, activists and community members can turn to an eco-chaplain.
Yoga and Backpacking Trips in Yosemite. Yosemite journeys for mind, body and spirit. Our retreats and backpack trips harness the transformational power of nature to inspire deep connection with your own inner wisdom.
Creation Justice Ministries (formerly the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program) represents the creation care and environmental justice policies of major Christian denominations throughout the United States. We work in cooperation with 38 national faith bodies including Protestant denominations and Orthodox communions as well as regional faith groups, and congregants to protect and restore God’s Creation.
Welcome to the website of SpiralEcology, a cultural transformation collaborative. We invite you to explore ‘deep ecology’, walking, and other workshops, where we invite you to connect more deeply with self, world, and Earth.
In these deeply polarized times, we feel the wounds on the body politic, the body of the earth, and our own bodies, all at once. It is ever more important that we come together as women, allow all these wounds to breathe, and, finding their beauty as well as their pain, let them germinate into something entirely new, born to us and to our communities.
Every year we work with a myth or fairy tale, because tapping into archetypal wisdom deepens our understanding of ourselves and our world. This year we will be examining the Norwegian tale Prince Lindworm, the tale of a queen who gives birth to boy twins, one human and one a serpent. She conveniently puts the birth of the serpent twin out of her mind, and when he comes of age he challenges her entire kingdom to examine its “forgetfulness.” The results are dramatic, and transformative.
Please join us at Menla Retreat Center (http://menla.us), Phoenicia, New York, April 3-8, 2018 where, through body work, dreamwork, meditation and the expressive arts, we will investigate what remains hidden in our unconscious and bring it to light, in the warm embrace of our women’s circle. Please register at www.reclaimingourlives.com. Scholarships are available for first-time attendees.
The book guides the reader through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, towards a life-sustaining society.
White Awake combats white supremacy by focusing on educational resources and spiritual practices designed to facilitate white people’s engagement in the creation of a just and sustainable society.
Our goal is the end of white supremacy. To this end White Awake supports people who’ve been socialized as “white” with the kind of intellectual and spiritual development necessary to:
reject the toxic social conditioning that comes with membership in a dominant group and connect with life affirming cultural expressions
see through the use of racism as a manipulative device that materially benefits a small number of powerful elites
sustain our engagement in cross-racial coalitions to resist current abuses of power and create a truly equitable, life sustaining society.
White Awake emphasizes mindful awareness, spiritual practice, respect for individual experience and wisdom, and the reality that we are all learning. The country of origin of the work is the United States, and the materials in this site deal primarily with the historcal and current conditions of racism and colonization this country.
“This book is a tour de force. No one has attempted to bring together such a wide range of people and movements under the rubric of Spiritual Ecology. The result is deeply engaging for scholars and activists alike. Sponsel has given us a gem.” Mary Evelyn Tucker, Forum on Religion and Ecology,Yale University
The On Being Project is an independent non-profit public life and media initiative. We pursue deep thinking and social courage, moral imagination and joy, to renew inner life, outer life, and life together.
We make audio, digital, live event and other offerings towards the generative possibilities of a tender, tumultuous global moment. We look behind and beyond the news cycle, attending to the human change that makes social transformation possible across generational time.
On Being has its origins in a public radio show called Speaking of Faith, which was created by Krista Tippett and launched nationally at American Public Media. A journalist and former diplomat who had studied theology, Krista saw a black hole in media where intelligent conversation about religion, meaning, and moral imagination might be.
In 2010, On Being was born. In 2013, Krista and a founding production team of three spun out of APM. In 2017, Krista and a growing team of comrade-leaders opened the new chapter of mission-driven innovation that is The On Being Project. We’re based in a studio/work/public event space on Loring Park in Minneapolis, with community, colleagues, and partners around the world.
The Civil Conversations Project (CCP), which began in 2011 and has become a front edge of our evolution, is an emergent approach to conversation and relationship across the differences of our age. It is an offering towards renewing common life through grounding virtues and spiritual technologies like generous listening, adventurous civility, and hospitable questions. Civil Conversations are increasingly happening in live public events on the road while On Being’s Better Conversations Guide is finding its way into far-flung settings.
CCP was also at the heart of the inaugural On Being Gathering at the 1440 Multiversity in California in 2018.
Our newest adventure, the On Being Impact Lab, is the home of our Fellows Program, the future Spiritual Innovation Laboratory, extensions of the Civil Conversations Project into communities, classrooms and neighborhoods — and more to come.
We believe that collaborative discovery will be a key to living into the generative possibilities of this moment — not just in the halls of the academy or scientific laboratories, but in the everyday living laboratories of our communities, our friendships, and our minds.
Go Wild Institute weaves science, myth and spirit to awaken our Nature and find wonder and balance within the great web of life. We rekindle an innate sense of belonging to the natural world. We specialize in fun experiential programs that delve into Earth Wisdom, Ethnobotany and Deep Ecology for people of all ages and walks of life.
Jen Myzel sings of personal and planetary healing. Medicinal music is a message from the heart of the world; it is a dance of the soul, a grieving love song for a world in crisis, and a celebration of the immense beauty that surrounds us right now.
Jen Myzel is both songstress and facilitator of The Work that Reconnects, whose themes are woven throughout the music. Her deepest prayer is to help heal self and world through song, live a simple life in harmony with nature, and inspire others to do the same.
The nature-based journey of soul initiation is the way
to personal revelation, visionary leadership,
and cultural regeneration.
The primary goal and method of all Animas programs is the encounter with soul. Founded in 1980 by wilderness guide and depth psychologist Bill Plotkin, the Institute is one of North America’s longest-standing organizations offering contemporary wilderness rites. “Animas” is plural for “souls” in Spanish. In Jungian psychology, the Anima is the Inner Woman in a man; the Animus, the Inner Man in a woman. The Anima and Animus refer to the mysterious energies within our psyches that guide us on the journey of descent to soul. Animas Valley Institute is located in southwest Colorado in the valley of El Rio de las Animas Perdidas — The River of Lost Souls.
The Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways (GCILL) is an informal umbrella created to support short-term and long-term projects that educate and inform people about indigenous ways of knowing and wisdom for modern times—spirituality that raises human consciousness and harmonious relationship with Mother Earth.
We live in a world of difference. Yet, we are interdependent. Nowhere is learning to live with difference more important than religion.
Too often, religion is misused as an instrument for division and injustice, betraying the very ideals and teachings that lie at the heart of each of the world’s great traditions. At the same time, religious and spiritual traditions shape the lives of billions in wise and wonderful ways. They gather people in communities of shared beliefs and practices. When these diverse communities work in harmony for the common good, there is hope that the world can be transformed.
Over the years, the Council has initiated dialogues and nurtured relationships among people of difference. In doing so the Parliament has provided a framework for expressing many visions of a just, peaceful and sustainable future. In the process, religious and spiritual communities have discovered a shared commitment to ethical principles.
This shared commitment has opened the way for a new era of cooperative action among the world’s religious and spiritual communities as well as civil and political societies. The well-being of the Earth and all life depends on this collaboration.
GreenSpirit is a network of people who celebrate the human spirit in the context of our place in the natural world and Earth’s own evolutionary journey. Our radical vision brings together the rigour of science, the creativity of artistic expression, the passion of social action and the wisdom of spiritual traditions of all ages. Attracting those of many faith traditions, we are a body of people who believe that human life has both an ecological and a spiritual dimension. Together we:
* celebrate all existence as deeply connected and sacred
* understand humanity as integral to the planetary landscape rather than its distinguishing feature
* find inspiration in the traditions of Earth-based peoples and Celtic spirituality
* are exploring the unfolding story of the Universe and promote common ground between people in the context of this vision
* seek to redress the balance of masculine and feminine and befriend darkness as well as light
* create ceremonies and celebrations which connect us more consciously with the cycle and seasons of the Earth
* seek a more just, sustainable and peaceful way of life in harmony with the Earth
Rather than dominating and parasitizing the biosphere, with non-human life harmed and ever-increasingly hemmed in by humans’ industrial development, an ecological civilization would thrive within a preserved and restored expanse of unfragmented wild nature.
Profound changes are called for. Indeed an entirely new historical course is needed. Changes to be explored in depth include the following:
● achieving large-scale protection, restoration and rewilding of air, land and water;
● rejecting the anthropocentric construction of nature as resources;
● designing and implementing steady-state economies;
● reassessing the connections between cultures and bioregions;
● superseding the paradigm of consumerism;
● stabilizing and then lowering our global population;
● increasing the sustainability of urban living;
● rethinking food production.
We also consider necessary changes in ways of thinking and consciousness. In particular we welcome new natural and cultural narratives and cosmological stories that awaken us to Earth’s sacredness, celebrate its abundant and diverse life, and rekindle humanity as a plain citizen of the ecosphere.
Integral human development includes all dimensions in the life of each person, including the physical, intellectual, pyschological, ethical, and spiritual dimensions. In particular, the spiritual development of each and every human person is crucial for sustainable development. It is recognized that spiritual growth is impossible for people living in misery. However, the extreme poverty of many is mostly a consequence of the spiritual underdevelopment of people living in abundance. Therefore, the mission of Mother Pelican encompasses the full range of social and ecological justice issues, but is specifically focused on how they relate to spirituality and the practices of various religious traditions. Gender inequalities that emerge from religious patriarchy are explored as major obstacles to integral human development, solidarity, and sustainability.
Samdhana, in Sanskrit, means a peaceful coming together, a giving back.
The Samdhana Institute’s vision is for a region where natural, cultural and spiritual diversity are valued and environmental conflicts are resolved peacefully, with justice and equity for all parties.
Achieving this requires that communities who directly manage their local natural resources, local and indigenous peoples have clear rights, have ready recourse to justice, have strong and skilled leadership, as well as stable financial resources and access to appropriate technical support.
Samdhana is a community of fellows who after learning with farmers and indigenous peoples, are committed to inter-generational and universal values of nurturing people, nature and culture. It was formed in 2003 by a small group of rights, environment and development practitioners who share a commitment to ‘giving back’ what they have learned to the next generation with their knowledge, experiences, and extensive local and global networks.
The Samdhana Institute offers an institutional home and living community for those who wish to devote more of their time and energy to the work they are most passionate about.
The Foundation works in remote, rural villages to bring about holistic community growth and development serving the needy communities. The Foundation serves to bridge the gaps between larger national initiatives and local grassroots requirements. It focuses on social mobilization, capacity building and empowerment processes wherein communities make the main decisions for change they want effected in their villages.
The difficult terrain and the scattered nature of our communities make it very challenging for many communities to access social services and markets. The incremental cost of reaching the benefits of development is particularly challenging for remote and isolated communities. Tarayana Foundation with its focus on grassroots development lends itself well in serving the small and remote communities, one community at a time. Tarayana strives to improve rural livelihoods by promoting participation in mainstream development initiatives and enhancing income generating activities. Social mobilization and empowerment of local communities to take charge of developmental initiatives in their own localities have also gained importance over the years.
Der Mensch und seine Aktivitäten werden zunehmend zu einem bestimmenden Faktor in der geo-biologischen Entwicklung der Erde. In existenziellen Aspekten übersteigen die menschliche Eingriffstiefe und deren Folgen erkennbar die natürliche, von der Evolution bedingte Dynamik. In der Fachwelt wird deshalb derzeit der von Paul Crutzen eingebrachte Vorschlag diskutiert, ob das Erdzeitalter des Holozän durch das Zeitalter des Anthropozän abzulösen ist. In der Öffentlichkeit findet dieser Vorschlag zunehmend Aufmerksamkeit.
Zugleich bleiben die Menschen unauflöslich Teil der äußeren Natur und in die Naturzusammenhänge eingebunden. Sie unterliegen unaufhebbar den Naturgesetzen. Sind die modernen Ansprüche von Freiheit und Humanität dauerhaft mit den Gesetzmäßigkeiten der Evolution vereinbar? Ist der Mensch überhaupt fähig, das Erdsystem verantwortlich zu erhalten und zu steuern?
Damit ergibt sich die Notwendigkeit, das Verhältnis von Humanität und Ökologie neu zu bestimmen: Was bedeutet das Anthropozän für die Zukunft humanistischer Werte und Gesellschaftsformen?
Vielfältige Fragen zum gesellschaftlichen Naturverhältnis stellen sich, die die Entgegensetzung von Humanität und Natur hinter sich lassen: Was ist eine Ökologie des Menschen? Was bedeutet Menschlichkeit, das uns Menschen Gemäße, bezogen auf die Ko-Evolution von Pflanze, Tier und Mensch? Wieviel spontan sich entwickelnde und wirkende Natur braucht, wünscht oder duldet der Mensch? Wie abhängig ist er vom Boden?
Welche Herausforderungen bringt das Anthropozän für die jetzt beginnende Große Transformation zu einer postfossilen nachhaltigen Entwicklung mit sich? Welche Arten von Techniken können dabei eine Rolle spielen? Wie weit müssen wir ihnen vertrauen oder sie fürchten?
Alle an diesen Fragen Interessierten sind herzlich nach Tutzing eingeladen; Fachleute der unterschiedlichen Disziplinen ebenso wie Multiplikatorinnen, Engagierte und Neugierige. Kommen Sie zum Austausch und zum Feiern in die Akademie!
Menschenzeitalter, gestalten wir es in human-ökologischer Perspektive.
Die Buddha-Stiftung möchte Menschen die zentralen und ursprünglichen Einsichten des Buddhismus und deren praktische Anwendung im Leben in einer verständlichen Form zugänglich machen.
Das Fundament bildet dabei die Idee des „säkularen Buddhismus“, d.h. einem Verständnis des Buddhismus als Möglichkeit einer Lebenspraxis , die ohne kulturhistorisch entstandene Dogmen oder Glaubensinhalte auskommt.
Die Buddha-Stiftung fördert Angebote buddhistischer Meditation als Alltagspraxis, insbesondere als Methode zur Entwicklung von Einsicht, Achtsamkeit, Offenheit und zur Bewältigung von Stress im Alltag.
Die Buddha-Stiftung fördert den Dialog zwischen Buddhismus, Philosophie, Wissenschaft, Kunst und Religionen sowie den Dialog zwischen den verschiedenen buddhistischen Traditionen.
Die Buddha-Stiftung fördert wissenschaftliche Forschung zur Wirkungsweise von Meditation in der medizinischen Therapie.
Die Buddha-Stiftung fördert humanitäre Projekte im In- und Ausland.
Gegründet von Dr. Jochen Weber und Dr. Regina Tröscher-Weber 2002.
ICH oder WIR? Unsere Fähigkeit zur Empathie spielt auf dem Weg zu einem anderen, humaneren Kapitalismus eine Schlüsselrolle. Der Homo oeconomicus, eingespannt in die Pole von Selbstsucht und Mitleid, kann an sich arbeiten und sein Mitgefühl gezielt trainieren – zum Wohle der Gemeinschaft und zum Wohle der Gesamtwirtschaft. HEED, das von der Karl Schlecht Stiftung geförderte Institute for Human Engineering & Empathic Design der Hochschule Pforzheim, nimmt diese Thematik auf: In dem öffentlichen Forum „Das Wir-Potenzial. Innovation durch Empathie“ am 12. und 13. April 2018 beleuchten führende Vertreter aus Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Kultur das Thema Empathie facettenreich.
Mit:
Matthias Bolz, Psychologe und Labor Manager für soziale Neurowissenschaft am Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften in Leipzig
Robert Eikmeyer, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter für Kunst- und Designtheorie an der Hochschule Pforzheim
Uwe Jean Heuser, Leiter des Wirtschaftsressorts der ZEIT und Autor von “Humanics”
Wolfgang Henseler, Professor für intermediales Design an der Hochschule Pforzheim und Managing Creative Director von SENSORY-MINDS
Robert Besta, Schauspieler, verkörpert in Serien wie Tatort und Polizeiruf 110 häufig das Böse
Eva Köppen, Beraterin für ko-kreative und mensch-zentrierte Innovationsprozesse und Autorin von “Empathy by Design”
Fritz Breithaupt, Professor an der Indiana University Bloomington und Autor von “Kulturen der Empathie” und “Die dunklen Seiten der Empathie”
Das Forum findet in der Aula der Fakultät für Gestaltung, Holzgartenstraße 36, 75175 Pforzheim statt. Für externe Gäste fällt eine Tagungsgebühr in Höhe von 250,- € an. Studierende und Angehörige von Hochschulen sind frei. Um Anmeldung bis 2. April 2018 wird gebeten. Details zum Programm und zur Anmeldung unter HEED.
“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” This quote from Plutarch is as true today as it was two thousand years ago. Still, the misconception of education as a vessel-filling activity remains. In this column, I outline an idea that could reshape our universities while also prototyping new ways of addressing urgent societal challenges. The kindling of the flame that Plutarch talked about has never been more relevant than now.
Let’s start with 2017
Last week my column focused on 2017:
The year 2017 mirrored the epochal year 1917 by putting a new challenge in front of us: the challenge of vertical development.
By “vertical development” I mean the capacity to deal with disruptive change, which requires us to let go of the past and to let come the future, to shift our awareness from one state to another. In the language of tech: vertical development is about suspending your habit of installing yet another app and instead upgrading your entire operating system.
From that perspective we can interpret the current global surge of terrorism, fundamentalism, xenophobia, Trumpism, and autocracy as expressions of the same underlying phenomenon: the missing capacity as a society to respond to challenges in generative ways, by evolving ourselves “vertically,” by upgrading the way we listen and attend, the way we converse and think, and the way we organize and coordinate in the context of larger systems.
Last week I suggested that such an upgrade of our societal operating system (OS) should include advancing and transforming our economies, our democracies, and our education systems. It is the latter that I focus on in this column: how to how to reinvent our institutions of higher education through their transformation from an ivory-towered into a distributed eco-system for societal renewal.
Vertical Literacy: Addressing the Knowing-Doing Gap
The difficulties we have in meeting today’s global challenges, such as implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) worldwide, are not caused by a knowledge gap. We have all the knowledge we need. The problem is a knowing-doing gap: a disconnect between our collective consciousness and our collective actions. In most societal systems we collectively create results that (almost) nobody wants. Examples: the ecological divide (the self-nature disconnect), the social divide (the self-other disconnect), and the spiritual divide (the self-self disconnect—that is, the disconnect between my current and my emerging future self).
These gaps and divides are amplified by the silo structure of our key institutions and the mindset of the decision makers that operate inside them. To address these issues at their root requires two things: new platforms for cross-sector co-creation and an upgrade in the operating system that people use to collaborate—practices that facilitate a shift fromego-system to eco-system awareness.
Figure 1 maps the landscape of options for such an operating system. In our research we have identified four different operating systems—in other words, four fields of attention that social systems can operate from: habitual, ego-systemic, empathic, eco-systemic.
Since I have presented the Matrix of Social Evolution in much more detail elsewhere, allow me here to stick to its essence: the matrix shows that we are stuck with our collective knowing-doing gap because we try to solve level 4 problems with an operating system that runs on OS 1.0, 2.0, or OS 3.0. But, as we learned from Einstein, you cannot solve problems at the same level of thinking and consciousness that created them.
The result of that mismatch is on display every single day: more problems lead to more felt pressure and frustrations, which lead to more destruction and “absencing” (to use the language of last week’s column), which in turn lead to more problems, felt pressure, frustrations, and so forth. That in a nutshell is our vertical development challenge: how to move from the vicious cycle of reacting to disruption powered by OS 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 to a generative response that is powered by 4.0—that is, by a process of co-creating the future.
The lack of vertical literacyis the main problem in our universities and schools today. Talk to experienced CEOs and CPOs (chief people officers) of major companies and ask them what they need. They commonly say: people, teams, and leaders that can make our organization thrive in a world of VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity). By that, I believe they mean people and capacities that can take their organization into the 4.0 world in which they respond to disruption by co-sensing and co-shaping the future. Then go to universities and talk to faculty and deans of management and engineering schools. Many, maybe most, are rather illiterate when it comes to vertical development. They think mostly in terms of horizontal development—for example, about adding another skill here or another app or course there. They do not think in terms of upgrading the entire educational OS—of our students, our learners, and our societal systems.
But if you think about it, if we follow Plutarch, I believe that the only reason universities exist in the first place is to provide vertical developmental literacy. Especially now. If you want the app, you just go to an online learning store like edx.org and get your free knowledge download. Done! You don’t need a physical university for that. The primary reason we have universities and other institutions of higher education today is to support the development of vertical literacy. That means creating a learning environment in which the learner can step into his or her highest future potential in the context of hands-on societal challenges. In our experience, this requires us, as learners, to upgrade the way we pay attention and listen, to upgrade the way we converse, dialogue, and think, to upgrade the way we organize and coordinate in the context of VUCA shaped environments. Everything else is secondary. Vertical literacy gives us the vocabulary and capacities to:
become a blackbelt in listening with our minds and hearts wide open
turn a conversation from debate to generative dialogue
shift organizational fields from competing silos to generative eco-systems
invent new coordination mechanisms that operate from shared awareness.
Ten Principles of the New University
How do we build vertical literacy at scale? Well, not by placing learners inside lecture halls. And also not by separating out humanities, social sciences, and STEM into separate universes. That much we know. What it will take is nothing less than a complete reinvention of schooling and higher ed based on a new set of principles. Here is a first cut at a list of core ideas:
(1) Co-initiate: Put the learner into the driver’s seat of profound societal change. The learner is not a consumer. She or he is a partner in making the world a better place.
(2) Co-sense: Move the outer place of learning from the lecture hall to the real world. This isn’t just about action learning but also includes immersion journeys to the global hotspots of societal renewal across cultures.
(3) Embodiment: Move the inner place of learning from the head to the heart, and from the heart to the hand. The essence of learning in this century revolves around activating the intelligence of the heart and then putting it to use in serving the needs of others and the whole.
(4) Science 2.0: Bend the beam of scientific observation back onto the observing self. At the intersection between the old, dying civilization and the one that is being born is the transformation of science. Science 2.0 must integrate first-, second-, and third-person data by bending the beam of observationback onto the observing self.
(5)Systems Thinking: Make the system see itself. Systems thinking is a core capacity of vertical literacy. Students must learn methods to make the system see itself.
(6) Systems Sensing: Make the system sense itself. This is the core capacity to unlock collective creativity. Learners must become literate in “aesthetics” in its original meaning (aistesis means to sense): the cultivation of all our senses.
(7) Systems Inversion:Transform the system through eco-system activation. All societal sectors go through similar institutional changes: from perpetuating systemic silos to cultivating generative social field in the context of their eco-systems. Learners need to be literate in facilitating this shift.
(8) Know Thyself: To create vertical developmental literacy, we need to integrate science, social change, and self. Deepening our self knowledge requires us to access not only the intelligence of the open mind (curiosity), but also the intelligences of the open heart (compassion), and open will (courage).
(9) Tend the Fire: To patiently elicit and draw out the unique qualities and expression of each person with perseverance and in support of his or her highest possible future.
(10) The Fourth Teacher: Use nature and social fields as gateways. The Reggio Emilia approach is known for seeing the environment as the third teacher. Building on that we see the cultivation of profound learning relationships to nature and to social fields as gateways to the deeper sources of knowing (”the fourth teacher”).
Five Building Blocks
How can we build a 21st-century university that embodies these principles of vertical literacy, i.e., of awareness-based systems change? The answer will vary across contexts, cultures, and geographies. But in our experiments we have found the following five building blocks to be critical (Figure 2).
(1)Cross-Sector Innovation Labs
Create cross-sector Innovation Labs that bring together key stakeholders and innovators who need each other in order to evolve the system they operate within. With our colleagues and partners, we have refined a lab process that generates remarkable results.
(2)Cross-Intelligence Capacity Building
Create massive online-to-offline mechanisms for complementing the labs and building the deeper capacities at scale (that means at marginal costs close to zero). With the u.lab MOOC we have prototyped a mechanism that combines the democratization of access to knowledge with the activation of the deep learning cycle. Some of the early key learnings from u.lab, which has attracted more than 100,000 registered participants from 185 countries since its launch in 2015, can be found here.
(3)Awareness-Based Action Research: Deep Data Imaging
Although “big data” has been useful in many parts of our daily lives, the algorithms that increasingly shape our reality have also became a liability that undermines some of society’s foundations (as discussed in last week’s column). We need to progress from big data to deep data. By deep data I mean data that advance vertical literacy by making us look at ourselves in a mirror, individually and collectively, by making us aware of our own patterns and blind spots, by making us see ourselves through the eyes of another or of the whole. An example of big data is your Facebook feed: Facebook filters out all news that it thinks does not match your world view (i.e., it keeps us stuck in our own echo chambers). Examples of deep data mirroring are the case clinics and global mindfulness practices described in the u.lab link above.
This New World
The current capitalist system is broken. Get updates on our progress toward building a fairer world.
Another mechanism for generating deep data (i.e., data that help us to see ourselves and to deepen our awareness) that we have developed over the past decade is Social Presencing Theater (SPT). SPT practices help complex stakeholder groups to see themselves and their evolutionary patterns through the mirror of the whole, thereby shifting their individual consciousness from ego-system to eco-system awareness. We are now working to develop SPT as a research methodology that allows people to visualize and understand the deep (and mostly invisible) structures of social change. We see the potential for SPT “scans” to do for social field research over the next decade what MRI scans did for mindfulness and neuroscience over the past decade.
(4)A Community of Eco-System Catalysts
The fourth building block deals with people. The best concept is worth nothing if the faculty do not embody these new forms and the principles of student-centered learning. The requirements of today’s tenure-track system put faculty on pathways that keep them far from the experiences that are most relevant to reinventing the type of education described here. We need a new faculty track for reflective practitioners who are more deeply involved in major projects of societal transformation and who can share their knowledge-in-action with students while also helping learners deepen their own capacities for embodied knowing.
(5)Places, Platforms, and Practices for Making the System Sense Itself
The fifth building block concerns places, platforms, and core practices. The piece most needed here is places: high-quality spaces that are designed and structured to build vertical literacy.
Figure 2 summarizes these five building blocks that, if put into place, could prototype and accelerate the journey of higher ed institutions toward 4.0 worldwide—a journey that in many microcosms of higher ed has already begun to take shape.
Five Bold Initiatives to Actualize the New University
While I have been holding the vision of such a new university for some years, it is only now that I feel it is completely doable. To advance the journey toward realizing it, we—the core team of the u.lab and Presencing Institute community—will launch five major initiatives throughout 2018.
(1)4.0 Labs: Co-shaping the Future by Activating Generative Fields
We will convene 4.0 Labs at both the country and the regional level. We are currently working with the government of the Netherlands and Scotland on prototyping a country-level lab. We intend to launch the European 4.0 Lab in June 2018. Each of these 4.0 Labs will co-define its own focus at the outset. With the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) we are discussing how to use 4.0 Labs to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on a country level.
The key idea of all these labs is very simple: the next wave of innovation in food, farming, finance, health, learning, and leadership will be highly interrelated and sourced from a shared co-creative 4.0 territory (see Figure 3 below). Since no one can do this alone, we need to create cross-sectional infrastructures that support these initiatives on that journey.
(2)u.lab 2x: Transforming Our Economy
Our second initiative will be launched in March 2018. A joint eco-system of sites and platforms among HuffPost and PI will capture and share the new economic narrative that is shifting the economy from ego to eco. Starting in April, each month our online platform will present inspiring, interactive, 60-minute live-broadcasts. Between the monthly live sessions we will hold global community cafés where change makers from across sectors, systems, and cultures can join the conversation. These will incorporate video-based discussions in small breakout groups and help us to move from traditional media and social media to more interactive and engaging forms of conversation, and from there to globally distributed ways of co-generating future media that change the world for the better.
(3)Social Field Research Summer School
The third initiative focuses on launching a research project that blends SPT practices, , and data-driven third-person research to investigate the deep structures of social fields. The focus in 2018 will be on establishing the research group and integrating these methodologies. Starting in 2019 an annual Berlin Summer School for Social Field Research will invite 50 leading awareness-based action researchers from around the world to work with each other and with senior thought leaders and investigators in their fields. The intention is to run the Berlin Summer School for 10 years in order to do for awareness-based field research what the Mind and Life Institute did for mindfulness and neuroscience: establish a new domain of research and replicate it worldwide.
(4)Eco-system Catalyst Masterclass
The fourth initiative, the masterclass for eco-system catalysts, will target the most advanced practitioners and activators of social eco-systems of innovation in order to help them advance their skills, mirror and support each other on their journey of Self, and interweave their respective innovation ecologies across regions, sectors, and cultures. This masterclass will be a year-long journey limited to 50 participants. The first cohort will start its journey in Boston in October 2018. As a group they will activate and cultivate a globally distributed innovation ecology. From that group we expect a new breed of young faculty to emerge who are literate across all of the intelligences discussed above.
(5)u.school
The fifth initiative focuses on upgrading our place- and web-based infrastructures to better serve the evolving needs of our rapidly growing global community. One key focus is on finding physical campus areas for all of the above (which together will constitute the “u.school”). The first conversations for such a campus are happening in Berlin. The longer term intention is to establish campus areas in all major cultures and geographies. These u.school campuses will partner with multiple universities to co-deliver a curriculum in vertical societal literacy across all system levels (Figure 1 matrix) and then create open source resources that allow for the replication of this curriculum in universities worldwide.
Reinventing the Idea of the University
The classical university was based on the unity of research and teaching. The modern university has been based on the unity of research, teaching, and application. The emerging 21st-century university, I believe, will be based on the unity of research, teaching, and civilizational renewal. To transform higher education into its most advanced evolutionary state requires nothing less than a full inversion of its traditional discipline structure toward 4.0 ways of innovating and learning.
The purpose of education is not to fill vessels. It’s also not to spurn people who diligently rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. The purpose of the 21st-century education and university is to help us develop what matters most: vertical literacy—the capacity to sense and actualize our highest future possibility in the face of disruption.
All the elements for making this happen at scale already exist. By connecting them we can activate a vibrant global eco-system of 4.0 Labs, place-based hubs, change maker communities, research initiatives, distributed media producers, and eco-system catalysts—in short, a living ecology that can protect the flame that Plutarch was talking about and that we need to pass on from one generation to the next. For it is this flame—the flame of the creative human spirit—that at no point in the history of our planet has been so at risk, so attainable, and so necessary for addressing our ecological, social, and spiritual divides. We need intentional places to kindle, cultivate and evolve that flame.
At the entrance to the Academy of Athens there was an inscription that said: Let no one enter here who does not know math and geometry. What should the inscription be at the entrance to the new university that we aspire to create today, 2,400 years later? Maybe it could read: Let no one enter here who does not know that the issues outside are a mirror of the issues inside; i.e., let no one enter here who isvertically illiterate. The new university comes into being—the flame is kindling—wherever and whenever we bend the beam of collective attention back onto ourselves, whenever we shift our awareness from ego to eco in order to regenerate our economic, democratic, and educational systems from that awareness and source.
Die Zeit ist reif, ein neues Fest im Jahreslauf zu schaffen. So viele Jahre und Jahrhunderte haben wir von der Erde nur genommen, mit viel Gier und wenig Dank. Nun ist es an uns, etwas zurückzugeben: unser Bekenntnis, dazu zu gehören, unsere Dankbarkeit, Erde zu sein.
Das Erdfest versteht sich als eine Feier der Lebendigkeit, die in Gegenseitigkeit geschieht. Es will zur Partnerschaft mit der mehr als menschlichen Welt inspirieren.
Als Termin schlägt diese Initiative drei Tage im Frühsommer vor. Die Natur steht in voller Blüte, die Tage sind lang und hell, alle treibt es nach draußen. Überall können dann »Erdfeste« stattfinden: Menschen kommen aufmerkend, die Sinne öffnend zusammen, in Freude an der Natur. Eine solche Haltung wirkt und strahlt aus. In Gemeinschaft können so auch die Probleme unserer Zeit angesprochen und Ideen für eine naturverbundenere Gesellschaft entwickelt werden.
We deeply believe that consciousness and ethical leadership are fundamental for global transformation. Conscious leaders have high levels of awareness, and act with compassion to share their knowledge, network and experience with others.They lead from an inner source of wisdom and authentic power, and can be found in any position in our societies.
In order to inspire as many people of faith as possible to take action with significant environmental impacts, Faith in Place’s programs are designed to be adaptable and engaging. We respect theological and social diversity and strive to make our programs relevant to faithful people of any religion, age, race, and socio-economic class.
In living out our principles, we often host conversations on race and the environment, and many of our programs have been created out of ideas that emerged in these discussions. Faith in Place works for all people of all faiths throughout Illinois, helping each faith community apply their own unique culture, history, context, and theology with practical steps for them to better care for the Earth.
Urban Adamah is an educational farm and community center in Berkeley, California, that integrates the practices of Jewish tradition, sustainable agriculture, mindfulness and social action to build loving, just and sustainable communities.
The world faces crises ranging from economic instability and growing inequality; energy, water and food shortages; global warming and loss of ecological integrity. These are all symptoms of a system that is unsustainable.
A global movement has formed to present the world with a new way of organizing ourselves, doing business, and rising to meet the crises. In July 2011, the United Nations issued a Resolution titled “Happiness: Towards a holistic approach to development” (65/309). Introduced by the Kingdom of Bhutan, co-sponsored by 68 countries and adopted by consensus, this resolution called on the nations of the world to shift from a development path of increasing GNP to one that ensures a path to wellbeing and happiness for all life.
Together with our collaborative network, we are searching for a new narrative that will illuminate how our economy and financial system can operate to promote a more just, regenerative, and thus sustainable way of living on this earth.
We believe our finance-driven economic system is in urgent need of a new story, with a new roadmap. This new story must be aligned with the laws (not theories) of natural systems and our current scientific understanding of how the world works, which is remarkably aligned with the compassion and mindfulness embodied in all wisdom traditions.
Capital Institute is working to tell this new story and to construct this new roadmap. We are diagnosing the financial system from within. Together we are redefining wealth and reimagining finance in service of the emergence of an ecologically and socially regenerative economy that promotes equitable development and shared well-being while respecting vital ecosystem function.
Our work began on a hillside in Vermont in 2003, stewarded by the vision and hard work of founders Peter Forbes and Helen Whybrow. The manifestation of the retreat center and Whole Thinking program was made possible with the help of many people, specifically CWC’s founding board: Gil Livingston, John Elder, Danyelle O’Hara, Torri Estrada, Diana Wright and Scott Chaskey.
Based at Knoll Farm for over a decade, we hosted hundreds of people in our Whole Thinking retreats and workshops. Over time, we saw a need to evolve our mission and scope to serve people in diverse communities where they live, and to move beyond our bucolic space. We set out to explore doing our work in other parts of the country and began a conscious leadership transition that would allow the work to evolve with integrity to serve a more diverse constituency. Our 2006 statement on Land, Race, Power, and Privilege documents our aspirations to be a diverse, multicultural organization that served people across sectors, differences, and geographies.
In 2010 we developed our Breakthrough Vision which set in motion a transition of leadership and methodology to further diversify our organization and to better serve change-makers in working in urban, suburban and rural communities across the country.
Fueled by our new vision, Center for Whole Communities rapidly expanded our work from the hillside in Vermont to leading retreats and workshops in Washington D.C., New Mexico, Ontario, Colorado, Maine, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Michigan, British Columbia and New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, and New York City. We have successfully evolved our work to engage more collaboratively with organizations and communities in the places where they live and work.
In the winter of 2015 we moved to our current office in Burlington, Vermont in the ecotone of the Burlington city-scape and the waters of Lake Champlain.
Seeding the co-evolution of Earth and her inhabitants
The Institute for Mindful Agriculture (IMA) will help re-shape agricultural theory and practice to create a world where individuals are once again strongly connected to the source of their sustenance and where food is grown in active dialogue with nature and distributed in a socially just manner.
To meet its responsibilities in the future, this new agriculture will require us to consciously develop mindful life practices. Only then will it be able to support the co-evolution of Planet Earth and her inhabitants.
Spiritual Ecology is a spiritual response to our present ecological crisis.
It is a developing field that joins ecology and environmentalism with the awareness of the sacred within creation. It calls for responses to environmental issues that include spiritual awareness and/or practice. The principles of spiritual ecology are simple: In order to resolve such environmental issues as depletion of species, global warming, and over-consumption, humanity must examine and reassess our underlying attitudes and beliefs about the earth, and our spiritual as well as physical responsibilities toward the planet. Thus, ecological renewal and sustainability necessarily depends upon spiritual awareness and an attitude of responsibility.
Spiritual Ecology is an initiative of Kalliopeia Foundation.
The teachings of our ancestors give us a way of life that allows us to be personally fulfilled and helpful to our families and communities.
The Association for Tribal Heritage is dedicated to supporting the Native American traditions in a global society. We believe Native American communities can bridge the two worlds and live a traditional way of life, while expanding the horizons of this modern world.
The Biodynamic Association awakens and enlivens co-creative relationships between humans and the earth, transforming the practice and culture of agriculture to renew the vitality of the earth, the integrity of our food, and the health and wholeness of our communities.
The Eco-Dharma Centre is situated in a beautiful and wild part of the Catalan Pyrenees. We offer courses, events and retreats which support the realisation of our human potential and the development of an ecological consciousness honouring our mutual belonging within the web of life – drawing on the Buddhist Dharma and the emerging ecological paradigms of our time.
Our courses and retreats take place in a context of sustainable low-impact living, closely woven within the web of elemental nature. These meditation retreats, study seminars and training camps are intended to help people to empower themselves to make changes in themselves and the world consistent with a life-affirming vision.
We seek to develop practices which honour the inseparability of the transformation of the self and the world; to support the shift from a destructive industrial growth society to a life-affirming future; to contribute to the creation of a movement of renewal and resistance; to evolve spiritual practice where courageous compassion and a deepening realisation of our radical interconnectedness helps us to live in solidarity with life.
To create a unique place of reflection, learning and action where nature, culture and spirituality blend in a harmonious way towards happiness and compassion for the world.
Welcome to the Global Oneness Project. We believe that stories play a powerful role in education. Founded in 2006, as an initiative of Kalliopeia Foundation, we are committed to the exploration of cultural, environmental, and social issues. We house a rich library of free multimedia stories comprised of our award-winning films, photo essays, and articles, accompanied by companion curriculum for teachers.
Trained as a Buddhist scholar and educated at Oxford University, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche wanted to create a place where students could study Eastern and Western religions, writing, psychology, science, and the arts while also receiving contemplative and meditation training.
The Sophia Institute is a center of learning that provides innovative programs that foster the rise of the Feminine, cultivating wisdom and mindfulness, for a more just, sustainable, and flourishing world. Sophia offers retreats, lectures, classes, and special events, featuring nationally and internationally renowned leaders and teachers.
The Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association (DDMBA) is committed to serving humanity by working to relieve the various forms of human suffering — physical, emotional and spiritual. It’s programs range from international dialogues on peace building in regions of conflict to classes on methods of cultivating peace within. One of DDMBA’s primary functions is to support scholarly research in the field of Buddhism, particularly the Chan tradition, instructing and encouraging Buddhist practitioners through its centers in the United States.
DDMBA’s international activities include the organization of seminars and conferences that enhance understanding and respect between different cultures and religions. It also initiates programs for environmental protection, leadership training for young adults, and it provides charitable aid to those in need.
The basis of GPIW’s work is the dynamic expression of unity, emerging from the heart of wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions, and our own hearts, into a community. We believe this narrative can help animate social and economic structures and systems that better reflect humanity’s natural evolution toward greater wholeness. An essential part of this shift is the coming into a balanced and sacred relationship with the earth and all living beings. Feminine wisdom and the power of love can serve as the fulcrum for this inner and outer transformation.
Recently a group of IASS researchers has been exchanging ideas on the question of how inner transformation processes can contribute to sustainability – and, conversely, on the question of how societal transformations can enrich not just the ‘outside world’ but also people’s ‘inner lives’. The research project “A Mindset for the Anthropocene” is investigating these connections, establishing a platform for debate, and promoting transformative mindsets in sustainability contexts. The Alaya project is a practical approach to cultivate this idea.
Wir brauchen ein verändertes Verständnis von Natur und Umwelt. Es erfordert, nicht nur an die eigenen Kosten und Nutzen zu denken, sondern Natur als ein unersetzbares Gut zu sehen, welches auch für unsere Nachwelt zu bewahren ist. Die ökologische Krise ist somit auch eine ethische Herausforderung!
Für etwa 80% der Weltbevölkerung spielt Religion eine Rolle in ihrem Leben. Die Integrität der Natur zu achten und zu bewahren ist eine wesentliche Botschaft aller Religionen. In der gemeinsamen Erkenntnis der Religionsgemeinschaften hinsichtlich der Bedeutung des Lebens und der Natur liegt somit ein Schlüssel zu einem nachhaltigeren Umgang mit der Natur.
Interreligiöses Zusammenwirken im Bereich Naturschutz dient darüber hinaus dem besseren Kennenlernen untereinander und dem Frieden miteinander und der Natur.
This group work arose in North America in the late 1970s, during a time of escalating concerns about nuclear weaponry and the hazards of nuclear power. Chellis Glendinning, Joanna Macy and Fran Peavey observed that when people share with others their feelings of fear, anguish or despair, their power to act for change is released. Thus began “despair and empowerment” work (phrase coined by Chellis). Joe Havens and Sarah Pirtle added the concept of “the turning” – the natural release of energy and insight that arises out of the mutual acknowledgement of shared feelings.
Rapidly the efforts of these people and many others (including Barbara Hazard, Tova Green and Kevin McVeigh) synergized to develop a model that used counseling methods, spiritual principles, ritual and myth, laughter and tears, reverence and irreverence to help individuals break out of the numbness of despair and denial. Joanna Macy’s 1979 article “How to Deal with Despair” and her 1983 book, Despair and Personal Power in the Nuclear Age, were vital to the spread of the work. Workshops, ranging in length from an evening to a week, in churches, classrooms and police armories, drew many thousands of people from within and beyond movements for peace, justice, and a safe environment.
8 Shields is a global movement worldwide that utilizes a finely tuned, tried and true mentoring model that has proven to create healthy and vibrant natural leaders, and nature-based intergenerational mentoring communities around the world. Thank you for your support in helping to hand down a legacy of health, well-being, and harmony with the natural world and each other to future generations. Re-awaken those 8 attributes in people and in turn help heal the widespread disconnection and loss of culture worldwide.
Die Akademie bietet Raum und Gelegenheit zum Lernen und Erfahren. BesucherInnen sind eingeladen, Wissen und Können aufzunehmen, anzuwenden und weiterzugeben. Ebenso gibt es hier Raum und Zeit für Denkprozesse, für die Reflektion eingeübter Gewohnheiten und für das Hinterfragen verfestigter Vorstellungen.
Wir leben in Zeiten globaler Herausforderungen. Das hat auch Auswirkungen auf den Einzelnen. Doch wie lässt sich ein sozialer und ökologischer Wandel erreichen? Das Netzwerk Ethik heute verbindet die persönliche und gesellschaftliche Ebene: die Arbeit an sich selbst mit solidarischem Handeln.
Unsere Philosophie basiert auf der Überzeugung, dass wir uns selbst auf einer kontinuierlichen Entdeckungsreise befinden. Wir können nur vermitteln, was wir selbst verkörpern.
I don’t seek, I find
Seeking, that is starting from old stocks
and the drive to find what is familiar in the new.
Finding, that is the entirely new, new also in motion.
All ways are open, and what is found is unfamiliar.
It is a venture, a sacred adventure.
The uncertainty of such ventures can only be taken on by those,
who feel safe in insecurity, who are lead in uncertainty, in guidelessness,
who let them be drawn by the target and don’t define the target themselves.
Such openness towards new insights, external and internal,
that is the nature of the modern human who despite all the fear of letting go
nevertheless experiences the blessing of being held in the opening of new possibilities.
Ecopsychologists have suggested that mindful awareness of our interdependence with nature may not only help us regain our lost, ecologically embedded identity (Roszak, 1992) but may also help us behave more sustainably, closing the documented gap between proenvironmental attitudes and behaviors. We suggest more specifically that, in contemporary consumer culture with its dearth of proenvironmental norms and cues, mindful attentiveness may be necessary to develop sustainable habits. To explore the connection between mindfulness and sustainable behavior, we measured 100 adults attending a Midwestern sustainability expo on two mindfulness factors: acting with awareness and observing sensations. As predicted, acting with awareness was significantly positively correlated with self-reported sustainable behavior. This finding is consistent with the idea that, until sustainable decisions become the societal default, their enactment may depend on focused consideration of options and mindful behavior. In contrast, observing sensations did not predict behavior. This calls into question the notion that feeling connected to the world outside of ourselves is a precondition for sustainable action. We call for more research to further test the validity and generalizability of our findings.
Recent imaging results suggest that individuals automatically share the emotions of others when exposed to their emotions. We question the assumption of the automaticity and propose a contextual approach, suggesting several modulatory factors that might influence empathic brain responses. Contextual appraisal could occur early in emotional cue evaluation, which then might or might not lead to an empathic brain response, or not until after an empathic brain response is automatically elicited. We propose two major roles for empathy; its epistemological role is to provide information about the future actions of other people, and important environmental properties. Its social role is to serve as the origin of the motivation for cooperative and prosocial behavior, as well as help for effective social communication. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Few studies have examined how changes in materialism relate to changes in well-being; fewer have experimentally manipulated materialism to change well- being. Studies 1, 2, and 3 examined how changes in materialistic aspirations related to changes in well-being, using varying time frames (12 years, 2 years, and 6 months), samples (US young adults and Icelandic adults), and measures of materialism and well-being. Across all three studies, results supported the hypothesis that people’s well-being improves as they place relatively less impor- tance on materialistic goals and values, whereas orienting toward materialistic goals relatively more is associated with decreases in well-being over time. Study 2 addition- ally demonstrated that this association was mediated by changes in psychological need satisfaction. A fourth, experimental study showed that highly materialistic US adolescents who received an intervention that decreased materialism also experienced increases in self-esteem over the next several months, relative to a control group. Thus, well-being changes as people change their relative focus on materialistic goals.
Is the global communications revolution fostering a new global consciousness? What is the extent of humanity’s global ecological awareness and concern? Is there a shift underway toward “postmodern” social values? Is a new kind of experiential or first-hand spirituality emerging? Is there a shift underway toward more sustainable ways of living?
Humanity is facing increasingly complex environmental and sustainability challenges. Current coordination mechanisms, problem-solving strategies, and modes of scientific inquiry, teaching and learning appear insufficient to address these challenges. As a result, inner transition (embodied in notions such as mindfulness and compassion) is emerging as a potential new area of exploration. The “Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program” was set up to explore this new area and create space and opportunities for learning, networking and knowledge development on this topic. In this context, special attention is given to the issue of – what we call – ‘mindful climate adaptation and risk reduction’.
taken from https://www.lucsus.lu.se/research/urban-governance/contemplative-sustainable-futures
Christine is an expert in sustainable city development with focus on inclusive climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction/ management, climate policy mainstreaming, urban resilience and transformation.
Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) is a charity whose aim is to inform, create, train and support the teaching
of secular mindfulness to young people and those who care for them.
AISCHU ist ein erfahrungsorientiertes, wissenschaftlich fundiertes Rahmencurriculum für die Implementierung der Haltung der Achtsamkeit in den schulischen Unterricht (von der 5. Klasse bis zum Abitur)
We are working to make Stanford a compassionate place. This includes having students, faculty, and staff sign on and reaffirm the Charter for Compassion, and to collaboratively create a Five Year Compassionate Action Plan signed by President Hennessy, VPUE Harry J. Elam, Jr., VPGE Patricia J. Gumport, and the ASSU Undergraduate Senate.
While science has made great strides in treating pathologies of the human mind, far less research exists to date on positive qualities of the human mind including compassion, altruism and empathy. Yet these prosocial traits are innate to us and lie at the very centerpiece of our common humanity. Our capacity to feel compassion has ensured the survival and thriving of our species over millennia. For this reason, the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University School of Medicine was founded in 2008 with the explicit goal of promoting, supporting, and conducting rigorous scientific studies of compassion and altruistic behavior. Founded and directed by Dr. James Doty, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery, CCARE is established within the Department of Neurosurgery. To date, CCARE has collaborated with a number of prominent neuroscientists, behavioral scientists, geneticists and biomedical researchers to closely examine the physiological and psychological correlates of compassion and altruism.
We are a global community exploring the potential for secular mindfulness training and practice to contribute to more sustainable, caring and socially just societies. We believe the human capacity for mindful awareness is vital for effective responses to social, economic and environmental challenges; and that mindfulness practice, courses and communities need to be responsive to the social and political context of individual stress, wellbeing and change.
The Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at MIT is dedicated to inquiry, dialogue, and education on the ethical and humane dimensions of life. As a collaborative and nonpartisan think tank, The Center focuses on the development of interdisciplinary research and programs in varied fields of knowledge, from science and technology to education and international relations
The Forum on Religion and Ecology is the largest international multireligious project of its kind. With its conferences, publications, and website it is engaged in exploring religious worldviews, texts, ethics, and practices in order to broaden understanding of the complex nature of current environmental concerns. The Forum recognizes that religions need to be in dialogue with other disciplines (e.g., science, economics, education, public policy) in seeking comprehensive solutions to both global and local environmental problems.
The objective of the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University is to create a new academic field of study that has implications for environmental policy and environmental humanities.
Psychology and Consumer Culture provides an in-depth psychological analysis of consumerism that draws from a wide range of theoretical, clinical, and methodological approaches. The contributors to this edited volume demonstrate that consumerism and the culture that surrounds it exert profound and often undesirable effects on both people’s individual lives and on society as a whole. Far from being distant influences, advertising, consumption, materialism, and the capitalistic economic system affect personal, social, and ecological well being on many levels.
Authors address consumerism’s effect on everything from culture, ethnicity, and childhood development to consciousness, gender roles, identity, work stress, and psychopathology. Contributors provide a variety of potential interventions for counteracting the negative influence of consumerism on individuals and on society. The book makes a strong case that, despite psychology’s past reticence to investigate issues related to consumerism, such topics are crucial to understanding human life in the contemporary age.
The Center for Spirituality in Nature offers relaxed and engaging experiences in nature, which provide the time and space for those who want spiritual connection to be a more regular part of their lives. We also offer a variety of resources and practices that help individuals and communities regularly explore, and respond compassionately to, our deep theological, spiritual and ecological connections with the earth, all its creatures and the Divine.
Kairos Earth seeks to renew a widespread understanding of the natural world as a bearer of the sacred and to restore this awareness as a foundation of both religious practice and practical action to conserve the Earth.
The understanding of Nature and the sacred as inseparable is common to all the world’s great religious traditions, but from most current practice of religion and of environmental conservation in America, one might never know it. Christianity here has largely turned its back upon Nature as a source of abundant joy and wonder filled with spiritual guidance, insight, and inspiration. At the same time, the environmental movement has largely forgotten how to speak of Nature as holy, putting its faith instead in languages of economics, technology, and politics – vernaculars in which fear and anger often replace joy, relative value drives out absolute goodness, despair replaces hope, and which inspire fear, distrust, and discontent – inward movements that lead to devastation rather than renewal.
‘Walking the talk’ is a collection of interviews and stories from young adults on how the younger generation are engaging with faith, spirituality and social action amid the challenges of our times.
Spirituality in a time of global crisis
Young people are growing up under the influences of globalisation, consumerism, social media and new technology. They face a future beset with multiple challenges to our planetary stability, such as global ecocide, the rise of religious extremism and the refugee crisis. The millennial generation are reported to be the least religious that our world has ever known. And yet some surveys show they are simply rejecting organised religion in favour of self-organised spirituality that draws on many different sources.
This edited collection of stories asks: How are young people engaging with faith, religion and spirituality at this time of crisis and transition?
Generation Y are doing faith differently!
For a start, young people have a more global interconnected outlook. They also have more flexible religious identities. They draw on the wisdom of the different religious practices that are available around them and they relate to each other’s traditions more openly. Many have a deep concern for the Earth, economic justice and a values-based way of life. They are co-creating their own non-hierarchical spaces – either within traditional religious institutions or completely outside them. They build community together and share what nourishes their souls. Most importantly, they cannot separate faith from the need to respond to what they see around them. Spirituality belongs to the inner life but is also the driving force for social action, for building a just and sustainable future.
Facing challenges
Young people face many, many challenges – often including a lack of understanding from their elders. Today’s faith leaders also face a major challenge in meeting the needs of this generation and staying in relationship. There is a great need for the talents and unique perspective of the younger generation to be better supported and better understood.
This book will explore these themes through stories, lively interviews and case-studies of new emerging youth-led communities. The book also asks what all this tells us about the evolution of faith in the future and humanity’s changing relationship with the sacred.
The calling for us to reconcile our relationship with the Earth, our common home which is in deep crisis, could not be more urgent. Moving beyond mainstream approaches, spiritual values can provide the foundation from which to respond and rebuild, and create real and lasting change. Join us for this special two day workshop!
We inspire and equip individuals and communities to contribute, in their own particular contexts, to activating a global culture of peace.
They have a project called Spiritual Ecology:
“The ecological crisis also reflects something deeper and more intimate: a spiritual crisis — one of perspective, meaning, solidarity, and practice. And therein, perhaps, lies not only our indictment, but our hope.” – Andrew Zolli
In a time of ecological unravelling and conflict, spiritual values have the potential to provide the foundation from which to respond, rebuild and reconcile our relationship with the earth, our common home.
Spiritual Ecology is an emerging field that joins ecology and environmentalism with a deeper awareness of the spirit, sacredness or divinity within all creation. It calls for responses to the environmental crisis that go beyond technological, political or economic solutions, but that create a deeper shift in our underlying beliefs, attitude and relationship with the earth. The five core values include: interconnectedness, reverence for nature, compassion, service and stewardship.
WEBSITE: Each year, The Buckminster Fuller Institute invites scientists, entrepreneurs, planners, designers, architects, activists, artists, and students from all over the world to submit their innovative solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing problems. A $100,000 prize is awarded to support the development and implementation of one outstanding strategy.
WEBSITE – Grant Guideline: We ignite change. We support transformative leadership and courageous storytelling, inspiring action toward a peaceful, just, sustainable future.
The status quo is not shifting rapidly enough toward a peaceful, just, and sustainable world. Our mission highlights a sense of urgency and a willingness to take risks in order to transform the way we live. Bringing forth a positive future requires innovative ways of understanding and naming the problems we face, as well as new methods for collaborating to solve them. Implicit in our mission is support for progressive and democratic social change.
WEBSITE: The Mindfulness Initiative is a policy institute that grew out of a programme of mindfulness teaching in the UK Parliament. We now work with politicians around the world who practice mindfulness and help them to make capacities of heart and mind serious considerations of public policy.
The Mindfulness Initiative helped the Mindfulness All Party Parliamentary Group (MAAPG) carry out an inquiry into how mindfulness could be incorporated into UK services and institutions.
Bringing scientists, practitioners, commissioners of services and policymakers together in a series of Parliamentary events, the Mindful Nation inquiry held eight hearings on topics including the workplace, mental health, education, criminal justice and pain management. Working papers from these discussions served as the foundation for the Mindful Nation UK report, which summarises evidence-based recommendations.
WEBSITE: Die KfW Stiftung ist eine operativ tätige Stiftung. Sie setzt sich mit den großen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen auseinander – Globalisierung, Umwelt- und Klimaschutz und demografischer Wandel.
Wir fördern Initiativen, die bestehende Muster aufbrechen, entwickeln Konzepte für alternatives Handeln und bieten Plattformen für grenzüberschreitenden Austausch. So schaffen wir Raum für anderes Denken, gestalten Vielfalt in Ökonomie, Ökologie, Gesellschaft und Kultur und übernehmen Verantwortung.
WEBSITE: Kalliopeia Foundation is responding to a call – a global challenge – to take spiritual as well as physical responsibility for our common home. Our projects and those we support engage with contemporary issues at their root, with the understanding that ecological, cultural, and spiritual renewal are interdependent.
Nachhaltigkeit durch Achtsamkeit?, Vienna, Dienstag, 20. Juni 2017
WU Matters. WU Talks. Nachhaltigkeit durch Achtsamkeit? Über Mindfulness, Megatrends und Managementmoden
Infos & Anmeldung:
„Mindfulness“ ist in aller Munde. Weisen die vielen Diskussionen und Events zum Thema Achtsamkeit auf einen Megatrend hin? Oder haben wir es mit einer Modeerscheinung zu tun? Und warum ist das Thema für die Nachhaltigkeit relevant? Bei der 14. WU-NachhaltigkeitsKontroverse beleuchten hochkarätige Expertinnen und Experten diese und andere Fragen aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Es geht um die Rolle von Achtsamkeit in Management, Personalführung und Nachhaltigkeit und gesellschaftstheoretische Perspektiven auf das Thema. Eine Übung und Interventionen werden einen direkten Einblick davon vermitteln, was Achtsamkeit praktisch bedeuten kann.
Diese NachhaltigkeitsKontroverse ist eine Kooperation des Kompetenzzentrums für Nachhaltigkeit mit der Executive Academy.
Vortragende:
– Karin Bauer, Der Standard
. Dr. Ingolfur Blühdorn, Institut für Gesellschaftswandel und Nachhaltigkeit, WU
– – Thomas Klien, Achtsamkeitstrainer
– . Michael Müller-Camen, PhD, Institut für Personalmanagement, WU
– Helga Pattart-Drexler, M.A., WU Executive Academy
WEBSITE: “Damit ein gutes und konstruktives Zusammenleben möglich ist, benötigen alle menschlichen Gemeinschaften eine Basis an Grundwerten, die sie teilen. Das gilt für die Familie, die Schule oder das Wirtschaftsunternehmen genauso wie für die Gesellschaft im Allgemeinen. Heute, in Zeiten des Internets, einer global agierenden Politik und Wirtschaft und zunehmend multikultureller Gesellschaften, braucht es einen Grundkonsens über Werte und Normen, der unabhängig von Kultur, Religion oder Nationalität gilt.
Die Idee eines Weltethos geht zurück auf den katholischen Theologen Hans Küng. Bei seinen empirischen Forschungen rund um den Globus stellte er fest, dass allen Weltreligionen und philosophisch-humanistischen Ansätzen bereits grundlegende Werte- und Moralvorstellungen gemeinsam sind. Die Goldene Regel beispielsweise, nach der man sich seinen Mitmenschen gegenüber so verhalten soll, wie man selbst behandelt werden möchte, findet sich in allen Traditionen wieder. Ebenso die Forderung, dass alle Menschen menschlich behandelt werden müssen und Werte wie Gewaltlosigkeit, Gerechtigkeit, Wahrhaftigkeit sowie Partnerschaft von Mann und Frau. Für unsere globale Gesellschaft muss ein solcher gemeinsamer Wertekanon also nicht erst entwickelt werden, denn er existiert bereits: Wir nennen ihn „Weltethos“. Jedoch muss dieser Wertekanon immer wieder neu bewusst gemacht, gelebt und weitergegeben werden.”
WEBSITE: “Das Netzwerk Achtsame Wirtschaft e.V. (NAW) vermittelt und entwickelt das Potenzial buddhistischer Lehren für die verschiedensten Bereiche unserer Wirtschaft. Ausgangspunkt ist hierbei das Verständnis und die Schulung des eigenen Geistes. Zu diesem Zweck werden Seminare und Retreats durchgeführt, Publikationen verfasst und Initiativen ergriffen.
Im Netzwerk treffen sich Menschen, die nach sinnvollen Alternativen zum heutigen Wirtschaftssystem suchen, sich für Themen wie Achtsamkeit in der Arbeit, beim Konsum und im Umgang mit Geld interessieren und in ökonomische Zusammenhänge wirken.”
WEBSITE: “Angaangaq ist ein Ältester der Eskimo-Kalaallit aus Westgrönland, der von seinem Volk in den höchsten Rang des Schamanen berufen wurde. Er ist seit vielen Jahren als traditioneller Heiler tätig. Sein Einsatz für Umwelt und indigene Themen führte ihn in über 60 Länder der Welt.”
WEBSITE: “As long as the current structures of society and economy depend on “growth,” however, some people fear that a slowdown of economic growth could lead to social instability. Thus, at present almost all governments base their national policies on “economic growth” and “GDP growth.”
We are now at a point where humanity cannot avoid facing the“dilemma of economic growth.” If we do not continue to pursue economic growth in our current economic and social systems, we will have instability of employment and livelihoods. On the other hand if we consider the real limits to the Earth’s energy and other resources, ability to absorb carbon, and so on, we know that we cannot continue forever with economic growth. In recent years, researchers, politicians, and others are taking up these topics in a big way.”
BiNKA (German acronym for education for sustainable consumption through mindfulness training) is an inter- and transdisciplinary research and development project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
It aims to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and sustainable consumption in an intervention study.
BiNKA is a cooperation of the Technische Universität Berlin and the UNESCO Chair of higher education for sustainable development at the Leuphana University Lüneburg. Project management is located at the Technische Universität Berlin, in the department of vocational education/economics and sustainable consumption. Three partners in practice, two project partners and several network partners are also part of the cooperation. The project is funded for three years (2015 to 2018) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
As the initiator and coordinator of AMA, I feel a deep commitment to the project‘s original intention and ambition. I care particularly about community building and see my conceptual work as a support for community empowerment. I love the diversity of perspectives that we aspire to integrate and the challenges that this aspiration means for my own development. I believe in the intrinsic goodness of all humans and tend to see the unity and connectedness behind apparent cultural or disciplinary differences.
My Background and Expertise:
PhD in Physics (self-assembly in nano-structures)
Facilitation & Moderation (Art of Hosting, Design Thinking…)
Complex systems dynamics (self-organization, emergence)
Transdisciplinarity & co-creation
Anthropocene, earth-system science
Climate change, geoengineering
My responsibilities:
Facilitating the team; creating structures, containers and visuals
Coordinating the website, database, and board of curators
Vision and strategy development
Holding space for the formation of trusting relationships & networks
Presenting AMA to the public
Administrative and strategic coordination within the IASS
WEBSITE: Since the first Dialogue with the Dalai Lama, Mind & Life has held 32 others that bring together scientists and contemplatives on a wide range of critical subjects: addiction, ecology, ethics, attention, neuroplasticity, destructive emotions, altruism, economics, and more. Additionally, over the past 26 years, Mind & Life’s work has extended beyond the Dialogues. The Institute has become a direct funder of individual research via its grant and scholarship programs. It convenes an annual Summer Research Institute, as well as the field’s marquee biennial conference: the International Symposium for Contemplative Studies. In the process, Mind & Life has become more than just a leader in the field of contemplative science; it has become an incubator for discovery in all of the fields this new science touches.
My mission is to promote human flourishing. The last several years my research in philosophy and sustainability has focused on how our inner lives affect our actions, and how contemplative practices can help to positively influence how we interact with and transform our human systems. I am fascinated by that mysterious interplay between the individual and the larger social and institutional structures. The ecological crisis reveals fundamental flaws in the way we relate to one another and our environment. It is also by definition a turning point, an opportunity for us to develop a symbiotic relationship with the earth and each other.