Fackenthal, Jeremy

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.

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

Kurt, Hildegard

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.

Center, Athena

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

Langner, Fanny

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.

tt30 – The young think tank of the Club of Rome in Germany

Der Think Tank ist ein interdisziplinäres Netzwerk junger Leute um die 30, die sich mit Zukunftsfragen auseinandersetzen. Als unabhängige Gruppe tragen wir zu gesellschaftlichen Debatten bei und formulieren Empfehlungen für eine langfristige Politik. Wir arbeiten, forschen und studieren in allen gesellschaftlichen Bereichen. Mit kritischen Impulsen wollen wir Menschen ansprechen und für eine weltweite und langfristige Perspektive begeistern.

taken from thinktank30.de

World Human Forum

Our work is guided by the outcome of a collective intelligence process we followed at our inaugural Delphic Gathering “Imagining and Building the WHF” in 2017:

1. Seeds of change
Bring together self-empowered & responsible citizens who act or want to act as agents of change

2. A Catalyst
Become a place of convergence and reference for change processes led in a bottom-up way

3. Critical mass
Create a critical mass to impulse the urgent transformation

4. Interdisciplinary
Allow the Renaissance effect by abolishing silos and fostering synergies among all disciplines

5. Know thyself
Pursuing personal transformation, connecting the heart, mind & body, as a prerequisite for social change

6. Human scale
Small gatherings to faciliate the emergence of personal relations of trust and friendship

7. Every day – Everywhere
The Delphi annual gathering is a climax of an ongoing worldwide process

8. All Peers
Breaking down the glass ceiling between elites and (extra)ordinary citizens

9. Micro-Mega
Strongly impact oriented, aiming at answering global questions with practical local solutions

10. Delphi – Omphalos
A symbolic location, connecting us to the wisdom of our ancestors, while we explore and co-create the emerging future

(Taken from: https://worldhumanforum.earth/whf-at-a-glance/)

LIA-Blog

“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.”

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.

One Resilient Earth

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.

Ki Culture

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.

Southwick, Caitlin

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).

ARTPORT_making waves

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…

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.

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/)

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/)

InnSaei – the Power of Intuition

“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.”

As She Is

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.

Active Hope: How to face the mess we’re in without going crazy

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.

Spiritual Ecology – A Quiet Revolution

“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

Myzel, Jen

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.

 

 

Pablo Picasso

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.

From presence to consciousness through virtual reality

Immersive virtual environments can break the deep everyday connection between where our senses tell us that we are and where we actually are located and whom we are with. ‘Presence research’ studi es the phenomenon of acting and feeling that we are in the world created by computer displays. We argue that presence is a phenomenon worthy of study by neuroscientists and may help towards the study of consci ousness, since it may be regarded as consciousness within a restricted domain.