Approaches and Implications of using Complexity Theory for dealing with Social Systems

There exist an increasing awareness within the scientific community for the need
to deal with the complex dimension of social systems. This paper examines three
approaches to incorporate complexity theory into the practice of social sciences. The first
approach consists of supplementing the modernist program with chaos theory. The
second one proposes a metaphoric application of complexity theory to describe social
systems. The third approach is based on Post-Normal Science. Both the first and the
second try to fit complexity theory into the paradigms used up to now in social sciences.
Although this exercise can provide some interesting methods for understanding of social
systems, it is argued that a fundamental change in the way Western society conceives
science is necessary. Complexity analysis (or synthesis) should not only consist of adding
more or different syntactical rules to the mathematical formal systems used to model the
causal relations perceived in the outside world. Rather, it should imply a generalization of
the scientific formalisms in order to include semantic relations, subjectivity, and context
dependency. Even more, this generalization should go as far as to include into the
umbrella of science a plurality of systems of knowledge in order to better understand the
multidimensionality of social systems. The legitimation of a broader spectrum of formal
systems of representation and communication of reality, will affect profoundly the
collective and individual way in which Western societies perceive the world, and the very
evolution of human beings as species.

Double coupling: modeling subjectivity and asymmetric organization in social-ecological systems.

Social-ecological organization is a multidimensional phenomenon that combines material and symbolic processes. However, the coupling between social and ecological subsystem is often conceptualized as purely material, thus reducing the symbolic dimension to its behavioral and actionable expressions. In this paper I conceptualize social-ecological systems as doubly coupled. On the one hand, material expressions of socio-cultural processes affect and are affected by ecological dynamics. On the other hand, coupled social-ecological material dynamics are concurrently coupled with subjective dynamics via coding, decoding, personal experience, and human agency. This second coupling operates across two organizationally heterogeneous dimensions: material and symbolic. Although resilience thinking builds on the recognition of organizational asymmetry between living and nonliving systems, it has overlooked the equivalent asymmetry between ecological and socio-cultural subsystems. Three guiding concepts are proposed to formalize double coupling. The first one, social-ecological asymmetry, expands on past seminal work on ecological self-organization to incorporate reflexivity and subjectivity in social-ecological modeling. Organizational asymmetry is based in the distinction between social rules, which are symbolically produced and changed through human agents’ reflexivity and purpose, and biophysical rules, which are determined by functional relations between ecological components. The second guiding concept, conscious power, brings to the fore human agents’ distinctive capacity to produce our own subjective identity and the consequences of this capacity for social-ecological organization. The third concept, congruence between subjective and objective dynamics, redefines sustainability as contingent on congruent relations between material and symbolic processes. Social-ecological theories and analyses based on these three guiding concepts would support the integration of curren

Heads of Climate Base Camps

The Heads of Climate Base Camp is a recurring immersive leadership program organized by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and led by Thomas Bruhn from the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS). Launched in 2023, the initiative brings together Heads of Climate from multinational companies for a multi-day, in-person experience designed to strengthen climate leadership, foster peer exchange and deepen collaborative capacity.

Hosted annually in Potsdam, Germany, at RIFS (2023, 2024 and 2025), the Base Camp combines strategic dialogue with experiential learning formats that encourage reflection, trust-building and systems thinking. The program creates a confidential space for senior climate leaders to share best practices, discuss common challenges and co-develop solutions that accelerate corporate climate action.
In January 2026, the concept expanded with the first APAC Heads of Climate Base Camp in Hong Kong.

Ostara

Ostara brings together communities of change-makers to radically reimagine our collective future.
Climate breakdown, ecosystem collapse, and growing inequality are deeply interconnected and systemic. Yet, despite decades of effort, progress has remained incremental.
We create spaces to dream beyond the limits of our current systems, and reimagine the world together. From business leaders, policy makers and scientists, to Indigenous voices, farmers and youth representatives — we convene diverse actors to address entrenched issues and incubate transformative solutions.
What makes our work distinct is how we hold the space between worlds: between inner and outer, Indigenous and Western, human and more-than-human, imagination and action. We draw credibility from decades within established systems while walking alongside those giving form to what is emerging.

The Patterns of Aliveness Theory.

This chapter argues that approaches to navigating complex world making and transformative change for sustainability are more effective when they are anchored in a profound understanding of life processes. The chapter takes the concept of systems aliveness as a quality element of a pattern approach one step further. It advances 13 propositions regarding essential features of life enhancement in systems that can also inform a better understanding of enlivening human co-creation. The propositions lay the basis for the Patterns of Aliveness Theory, which shows how six essential organizing principles allow life to emerge, thrive, and re-create itself in natural as well as social systems. The chapter suggests that these principles must be taken into account in the practice of leading collectively and shows how they become the foundation of a conceptual architecture for stewarding sustainability transformations.

The systems view of life: A unifying vision.

Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of ‘systemic’ thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management, and our global ecological and economic crises are also discussed. Written primarily for undergraduates, it is also essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for a broad range of professions – from economics and politics to medicine, psychology and law.

Hospicing modernity: Facing humanity’s wrongs and the implications for social activism

This is not strictly an academic book, but an educational experiment full of dancing stories, metaphors, allegories, creative maps, and exercises that ask you to sit at the limits of our modern desires and imagination. Half-serious warning: don’t read it if you are seeking clear-cut answers, easy solutions or self-validation. Two sample chapters are available here. ISBN: 9781623176242 “Beyond a mere critique of modernity, this is a book written for us as people who struggle with the everyday manifestations of modern power. Clear, creative, and cogent, the work offers cutting-edge philosophy at the same time that it furnishes usable guidance for how to cope with the coming perils of colonialism and capitalism. It’s a book for the future, yet written to meet us where we are at right now as individuals living with trauma and facing ethical dilemmas about what it means to take meaningful actions under conditions of complexity.” — KYLE WHYTE, PhD, George Willis Pack Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan “Asking the question ‘What if racism, colonialism, and all other forms of toxic and contagious divisions are preventable social diseases?’, Hospicing Modernity invites its reader to dare and educate themselves by undergoing a process of self-unmaking. Drawing on and moving beyond traditions of radical pedagogy, such as those inspired by Paulo Freire, the author has created a powerful tool for uncovering, undoing, and recovering from the deadly ways in which modernity also lives and dies as humans experience it subjectively.” — DENISE FERREIRA DA SILVA, PhD, professor at the University of British Columbia Social Justice Institute and author of Toward a Global Idea of Race and Unpayable Debt

At home in the universe: The search for the laws of self-organization and complexity

We live in a world of stunning biological complexity. Molecules of all varieties join in a metabolic dance to make cells. Cells interact with cells to form organisms; organisms interact with organisms to form ecosystems, economies, societies. Where did this grand architecture come from? For more than a century, the only theory that science has offered to explain how this order arose is natural selection. As Darwin taught us, the order of the biological world evolves as natural selection sifts among random mutations for the rare, useful forms. In this view of the history of life, organisms are cobbled-together contraptions wrought by selection, the silent and opportunistic tinkerer. Science has left us as unaccountably improbable accidents against the cold, immense backdrop of space and time. Thirty years of research have convinced me that this dominant view of biology is incomplete. As I will argue in this book, natural selection is important, but it has not labored alone to craft the fine architectures of the biosphere, from cell to organism to ecosystem. Another source-self-organization-is the root source of order. The order of the biological world, I have come to believe, is not merely tinkered, but arises naturally and spontaneously because of these principles of selforganization-laws of complexity that we are just beginning to uncover and understand. The past three centuries of science have been predominantly reductionist, attempting to break complex systems into simple parts, and those parts, in turn, into simpler parts. The reductionist program has been spectacularly successful, and will continue to be so. But it has often left a vacuum: How do we use the information gleaned about the parts to build up a theory of the whole? The deep difficulty here lies in the fact that the complex whole may exhibit properties that are not readily explained by understanding the parts. The complex whole, in a completely nonmystical sense, can often exhibit collective properti

Systems Theory, Complexity Theory, and Radical Emergence

Systems theory, complexity theory, and emergence help biologists to understand the evolution of radical
novelty. Together they stretch traditional conceptions of science. This working group begins with the groundbreaking
contributions of Stuart Kauffman, who will be present. We examine these important resources in the biological sciences and
the new vision of the biosphere that they are producing.

COP28 in Dubai: Greenwashing or Genuine Ambitions?

This blog reflects on the tensions and contradictions experienced at COP28 in Dubai, asking whether the conference marked a genuine turning point in climate ambition or largely reproduced patterns of greenwashing. Drawing on participant observation, the authors examine the contrast between official commitments to climate action and the host country’s resource-intensive development model, as well as the ambivalent messages conveyed through the conference’s imagery and discourse. The article situates the COP28 agreement within broader debates on fossil fuel phase-out, innovation, and planetary boundaries, and argues for transparent, evidence-based approaches to assess the credibility of climate commitments and rebuild trust in global climate governance.

Mindfulness as a Pathway to Greater Climate-Sensitivity

This blog explores mindfulness as an inner pathway toward greater climate sensitivity and more sustainable lifestyles. Critically engaging with technological and efficiency-focused approaches to climate mitigation, the article argues that sustainability also requires a cultural shift toward sufficiency and value-based living. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, psychology, and sustainability research, it shows how mindfulness practices can enhance self-awareness, reduce consumerist patterns, and help close the gap between environmental knowledge and everyday behaviour, thereby supporting deeper societal transformation in line with climate goals.

The system within: Addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability and systems transformation

As part of the Earth4All project, collaborators have submitted deep-dive papers to delve further into the issues and solutions needed to transform our economic system and provide an equitable future for all on a finite planet. This paper highlights the overlooked inner dimension of system change, and offers systems thinkers the language to advocate for psychological, social and spiritual factors crucial to sustainable solutions.

Relational Leadership as a Leverage Point: a Transdisciplinary Collaboration for Climate-Related Transformation in Business

This blog explores relationship-oriented leadership as a powerful lever for climate-related transformation in business. Using the Head of Climate Base Camp as a case study, it illustrates how transdisciplinary collaboration, trust-building, and reflective dialogue can enable leaders to activate individual, organisational, and systemic leverage points for sustainability transitions, bridging research and practice.

Kassel Institute for Sustainability

The “Kassel Institute for Sustainability” bundles top sustainability-related expertise at the University of Kassel. Three core characteristics characterize the Institute’s work: Research at the Kassel Institute combines normative-critical research on the concept of sustainability with solution-oriented research in concrete areas of application. The Kassel Institute conducts holistic research into socio-ecological aspects of transformation. The Kassel Institute realizes the unity of research and teaching and develops new sustainability courses at the University of Kassel.

The Inner Development Goals as an Innovative Approach to Sustainable Development: Con-ceptualization, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Experiential University Seminar for Ho-listic Sustainability Education.

We contribute to the literature on inner-outer transformation by developing, implementing, and evaluating an innovative experiential seminar for university students, which systematically covers all five IDG dimensions and touches on all 23 elements. It combines short conceptual inputs with a diversity of practical tools for experiencing and training the IDGs. The seminar targets an interdisciplinary mix of Master-level study programs, with students from many different nationalities. To tangibly illustrate connections between IDGs and SDGs and link to real-life sustainable behavior of students, the cocoa-chocolate value chain was used as a guiding example. Key themes covered were core values, character strengths, mindfulness, emotions, perspective taking, visioning, and changing habits. Among the key take-home messages that students indicated they would like to preserve, the most prominent ones are related to self-awareness and inner compass, followed by complexity awareness, perspective taking, appreciation, and optimism.

LEVER (Our sustainabLe futurE, the ValuEs that dRive it, and how to get there)

How can sustainability science support society in overcoming today’s global crises?

Between studying change and contributing to change, sustainability science seeks both to analytically understand sustainability problems, but also to design interventions that can contribute solution-options to these problems. However, knowledge about how to intervene in order to reach a desirable vision (i.e., transformation knowledge) is typically missing. Especially how to deliberately engage with values as places of intervention (leverage points), as proposed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, remains a critical knowledge gap.

LEVER hypothesizes that the methods of traditional analytical frameworks that consider change and values are not sufficient to address sustainability transformation. It assumes that new transformative methods are necessary to generate transformation knowledge. To fill these gaps, LEVER aims to critically develop and apply a transformative theory and practice to support the (co-)production of transformation knowledge, including a focus on transformation knowledge necessary to unleash values as leverage points for sustainability transformation. To this end, LEVER weaves mode-2 and mode-1 science. It combines transdisciplinary research with empirical methods and experiments with novel transformative tools.

Zubizarreta-Ada, Rosa

Rosa is currently a Senior Fellow at the Research Institute for Sustainability. The larger vision that calls her, is a world where humanity has developed immunity to divide-and-conquer tactics, through widepread literacy in “the Listening Arts”, including mediation, facilitation, conflict de-escalation, and conflict transformation. She sees a strong synergy between developing wide-spread lay communities of practice in these areas, and also, honoring the work and ongoing learning of professional practitioners.

Sustainability Leadership

The book shows how SMEs can master their company’s sustainability transition with the help of sustainability leadership. Companies and organizations are facing new challenges – old leadership and management patterns no longer fit. As a manager, it is not always easy to keep your bearings in the face of great complexity and uncertainty and to harmonize your own sustainability strategy with the needs of employees and external stakeholders.

Using practical examples and concrete tools, the authors demonstrate a holistic and integrative leadership approach to how managers of medium-sized companies can successfully anchor sustainability in their company. Particularly noteworthy: this could be the birth of “Entrepreneurship 2.0”. It is based on the often deep roots of the company and new, innovative perspectives. Interviews with business personalities provide inspiration and insights into their experiences with the sustainability transformation.

Richter, Felix

Felix has a longstanding experience in international transformation projects in the context of sustainability. He mostly focuses on consultancy for organizations and regional and global networks.

In his practice for trauma therapy in Berlin, Felix works with individual patients on shock and development trauma. His work is based on the Neuro Affective Relational Model (NARM) and Somatic Experiencing. He also uses interventions from body therapy.

Grand Theory of Societal Advancement

Grand Theory of Societal Advancement
A comprehensive theory, a historic echo of our first version of civilization formed from the Neolithic package of upgrades. Comprised of specialized works from a broad spectrum of fields of study and independent researchers. The overarching goal of GTSA is to provide humanity with the necessary tools and systems for enhanced global cooperation, innovation, and unity, particularly in navigating the challenges of the 21st century and the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is a major adaptation in our evolutionary journey of civilization:
a. Civilization 1.0: Marked by the stability and developments of the Neolithic Package, representing the dawn of structured human society.
b. The Industrial Age: Characterized by significant technological and industrial advancements.
c. The Great Acceleration: A period of rapid development with both benefits and challenges, marking a significant leap in human capability and impact.
d. Civilization 1.95: Defined by persistent crises, highlighting the need for a significant shift in societal management.
e. Civilization 2.0: The ultimate goal of GTSA, aiming for enhanced societal functioning and problem-solving.

Boa Foundation

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.

Dal Fiore, Filippo

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

Wuppuluri, Shyam

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

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

Heidenreich, Marie

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.

Muten, Erik

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.

Zeng, Yilan

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.

LeGrand, Thomas

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.

Center, Athena

We are a center bridging science, business, and “ancient wisdom” from different traditions to bring sustainability and equality to the (business) world.

Institute for Ecological Civilization

Core Belief

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.

(Taken from: https://ecociv.org/our-mission/)

Manuel-Navarrete, David

Titles

  • 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

Expertise

Taken from https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/person/david-manuel-navarrete/

Chimère Diaw, Mariteuw

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.

Clayton, Philip

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.

Schwab, Nicole

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, Zhang

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.

Doran, Peter

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

Conscious Food Systems Alliance

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 legitimacy and 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
  • Deep listening
  • Valuing diverse points of view
  • Embracing complexity and working with emergence

Connecting to Change the World: Harnessing the Power of Networks for Social Impact

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)

Die harte Landung der Achtsamkeit in der westlichen Konsumkultur

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.

Dunetz, David

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.

Björkman, Tomas

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.

von Lüpke, Geseko

Uns verbindet, dass wir bewusst und respektvoll mit uns, mit anderen, mit Tieren und Pflanzen umgehen – und dass wir gemeinsam wachsen wollen.

Ragnarsdottir, Kristin Vala

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.

Whyte, David

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.

Fackenthal , Jeremy

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.

The Great Mindshift – How a New Economic Paradigm and Sustainability Transformations go Hand in Hand

This book describes the path ahead. It combines system transformation research with political economy and change leadership insights when discussing the needfor a great mindshift in how human wellbeing, economic prosperity and healthy ecosystems are understood if the Great Transformations ahead are to lead to more sustainability. It shows that history is made by purposefully acting humans and introduces transformative literacy as a key skill in leading the  radical incremental change.

Integrating Personal, Social, and Ecological Transformations toward Ecological Civilization

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).

EcoCiv Workshop Agenda

Evolver

“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

Integral Yoga at Work – A Study of Practitioner’s Experiences Working in Four Professional Fields

“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.”

Restoration of the tropical dry evergreen forest of peninsular India

“Abstract: The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) ofIndia is only found on the south eastern seaboard of thepeninsular. It has a very limited range, and extends only 60km inland. The TDEF occurs in an area of high populationdensity and consequently it is the rarest type of forestecosystem found in the subcontinent.The establishment of the Auroville International Township in1968 initiated a major work of eco-restoration which has turneda highly eroded lateritic plateau into a re-emerging ecosystemof the TDEF.The work now spreads out beyond the boundaries of theinternational township and involves working with local people,especially women and children. Many lessons have beenlearnt and the work continues to reintegrate the forest in thesocial fabric of a rapidly changing rural environment.”

(source: Blanchflower, P. (2005). Restoration of the tropical dry evergreen forest of peninsular India. Biodiversity, 6(1), 17-24.)

Auroville Film Festival

“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.”

(source: http://filmfestival.auroville.org/about-the-festival/)

Sadhana Forest

“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.”

(source: https://sadhanaforest.org/about-us/)

Films for the Earth

“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!”

(source: https://filmsfortheearth.org/en/about-us)

Tomorrow

“WHY THIS FILM ?

TODAY, we sometimes feel powerless in front of the various crises of our times.
TODAY, we know that answers lie in a wide mobilization of the human race. Over the course of a century, our dream of progress commonly called “the American Dream”, fundamentally changed the way we live and continues to inspire many developing countries. We are now aware of the setbacks and limits of such development policies. We urgently need to focus our efforts on changing our dreams before something irreversible happens to our planet.
TODAY, we need a new direction, objective… A new dream! The documentary Tomorrow sets out to showcase alternative and creative ways of viewing agriculture, economics, energy and education. It offers constructive solutions to act on a local level to make a difference on a global level. So far, no other documentary has gone down such an optimistic road…
TOMORROW is not just a film, it is the beginning of a movement seeking to encourage local communities around the world to change the way they live for the sake of our planet.

Start small to grow big, and write a new story for the generations to come.”

(source: https://www.tomorrow-documentary.com/)

The Bridge

RESEARCH EXCHANGES IN AUROVILLE

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!

Wasteless

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.

(Source: wastelessindia.org)