By Ioan Fazey.

Is there anything more important than trying to figure out how we should act, work and play in a world that is rapidly changing, and where contemporary challenges require much more than simply throwing the same kinds of thinking at them that created many of the problems in the first place? I am looking forward to ‘Leverage Points 2019’. The conference will provide exciting opportunities to examine how systemic change can come about and how we think about and frame such processes. In particular, I will be sharing some of the insights coming from my own and my colleagues work on the relationships between transformation and knowledge, and how the way we think about and approach science and learning influences the very nature of the world we create. Some of this thinking has led me to the conclusion that we need nothing less than a second revolution in science (the first having been influenced by the Renaissance and then was highly influential in the Enlightenment’). Such a revolution would require a fundamental change in the systems supporting learning and researching, educational and ‘practice’ oriented institutions and in the ways in which financing can be structured to create an open and collaborative mode of learning about the world and the place of humanity within it. It would also need to shift emphasis towards learning wisdom, not just producing knowledge. This would involve bringing ethics back into the picture, and unleashing the phenomenal potential of new technologies, young minds and the desire for people to do good in the world. Achieving such a vision, just like any systemic change, is clearly challenging and requires leverage to help us get there. I look forward to seeing you at Leverage Points 2019, and to hearing your thoughts on how we can all contribute to achieving a more vibrant and flourishing future.

Abstract submission for this conference closes on 30 June — soon! Submit your Abstract here.

For more information please visit: http://leveragepoints2019.leuphana.de

If you have any specific enquiries about abstract submission please contact: Leveragepoints2019@leuphana.de