“It never stops; every morning it begins anew. One day, the water levels rise; the next day, the soil becomes infertile. In the evening, the polar ice caps melt ever more quickly. On the eight o’clock news, between two reports of war crimes, we hear that thousands of species will disappear before they are properly catalogued. Each month, the measurements of atmospheric CO2 worsens, even compared to the unemployment figures. Every year, we are told that the past year was the warmest since meteorological records began. The sea level continues to rise, spring storms increasingly threaten the coastline, and each new ocean survey reveals a higher degree of acidification. Newspapers report that we are living in a time of “ecological crisis.””
Bruno Latour (Face to Face with Gaia) – First Lecture: On the Instability of Nature (as a Concept)
The world is on fire! A statement used more and more often in our society. Sometimes the world is literally on fire, but most of the time the expression is used to point out challenges one, excuse me: everyone, is facing. The introduction is focussed on the ecological threat, but can be put on all the societal challenges that are on our path. When talking about these challenges, there is quite a list that we are facing. Think about the climate challenge, inequality, pandemics, geopolitical tensions, food security, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, technological disruption, mental health crisis and migration and displacement are a few of those challenges WE all face. Addressing these challenges requires global cooperation, innovative solutions, and a commitment to sustainable development on OUR COMMON PLANET.
Sustainable management, global cooperation and innovative approaches such as ecosystem-based solutions ask for collective action as pathways towards a more harmonious relationship between humanity and planet. That’s were topics like complexity thinking, systemic leadership, ecosystems and imagineering are essential. Why are they so essential for the future of common good or, as we say at the festival, public value? That is where Earth for All comes in. It is about flourishing in community, about planetary boundaries as well as public values.
The Earth for All initiative is a movement that strives to unite scientists, economists, and thought leaders to explore pathways for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and transitioning to well-being economies within planetary AND public value boundaries.
Their analysis highlights investment priorities and societal changes required for success this century, acknowledging uncertainties. The Earth for All initiative outlines two scenarios: Too Little Too Late — incremental policy adjustments reflecting past responses, and Giant Leap — a transformative approach addressing interconnected crises through five “extraordinary turnarounds”. These five extraordinary turnarounds are poverty, inequality, women’s empowerment, food systems, and energy. These turnarounds aim to foster systemic change and form the foundation of a new social contract for thriving democracies. Fundamental transitions that acquire institutional change and innovation and on a deeper level innovate the mindset of people and our basic underlying assumptions.
Our idea is to write a book (or even better: a tour guide) with rich experiences. We invite you to contribute to this book about how essential it is to achieve the five extraordinary turnarounds as mentioned before. Experiences in making a difference on a city level. Experiences that inspire people and encourages them to visit, so they can experience it themselves. A book not only for academics, but also for practitioners. A book with a focus on organizations, not on politics. Maybe not even a book, but a travel guide that will help practitioners to see the links between already developed and proven tools. A travel guide about caring, not curing. We don’t want to reinvent the wheel: the value will be in reinventing the existing tools.