Sunday, July 01, 2007
The Tallberg Forum
So in my excitement in being here, I've become delinquent and have failed to post regular updates, as previously intended, from the Tallberg Forum. And as I sit here and write, people are making their way up the hill to an outdoor concert, where a former child soldier, an incredibly young croatian with a divine voice, and an eclectic group that includes an African drummer, a belly-dancer, and a violin player will be playing. So, I will conserve time by giving a few bullet-point highlights (hardly comprehensive) of the past week: (you can find a lot of the forum in video online, and watch some of the entertainment and conversations at www.tallbergforum.org)
The Pre-Forum Programme - Introductory comments by Bo Ekman and Charles Handy set the stage, speaking of the predominant myth of our time (that of success = acquisition and infinite resources). A couple of days of group reflections on leadership, our own stories, and the needs of the world.
Day 1:
- An outline of the history of globalization by Nayan Chandna talking about our commen ancestry in a tribe of between 200 and 2000 in North-Eastern Africa, as well as the drivers of globalization throughout history; missionaries, warriors, traders, and explorers.
- A beautiful concert and introductory remarks in an old Church in a nearby Swedish town, following a photo exhibition entitled 'Hard Rain', which was moving and disturbing.
Day 2:
- A workshop using systems-modelling tools to project atmospheric carbon levels and thus global heating. Lesson - we need to not only level off emissions, but substantially reduce them within the next few years in order to avoid severe global environmental, and thus human consequences.
- Greetings by Princess Victoria of Sweden and Queen Rania of Jordan. The latter calls for a 'new global warming' of hearts and minds towards eachother through an impassioned and insightful speech on the tensions between Islam and the 'West'.
- A Chilean scientist and philosopher talks of how the language of our time is incompatible with the challenges of our time through exploring the implicit decisions taken throughout the history of Western philosophy.
Day 3:
- Group discussions on conflict and conflict resolution techniques, guided by some mediators of various conflicts.
- Tracks begin - in the track I attended the gravity of the global environmental situation was made clear by James Hansen of NASA.
- Howard Gardner of Harvard speaks of the 7 Rs for changing minds: research, reason, redescription, reward or punishment, real-world happenings, resonance, and resistance overcome.
- Completed tracks - in my track we discussed the future of the sustainability movement, and ways in which we could mobilize humanity towards a sustainable future.
- A disturbing overview by Jan Eliasson (former President of the UN General Assembly, current mediator of the Darfur conflict, and @ alum), of the situation in Sudan, mentioning how a lot of the conflict stems from resource constraints caused by desertification.
- A report by the King of Sweden on his recent trip to Greenland, mentioning the need for collective commitment to solving the climate crisis.
- A penetratingly beautiful song by Sofia Jannok. Of the Sami (indigenous Swedish people), she beat a drum while singing, after describing the omnipresence of the wind, and asking us to listen to the wind through her voice. Her voice quickly cut deeply, and it felt as if a full and empty nature was indeed moving through her voice into us. It was intensely moving, and everyone I spoke with afterwards welled up in emotion when reminded of it. She is a reminder of the incomprehensible and mysterious, transformative beauty that comes from a connection with nature.
And now, it is over, and I will leave for what in Canada we call the land of the midnight sun. I am travelling seventeen hours by train to the far north of Sweden, to a land that is remote and apparently very wild. It will be a fitting conclusion to this forum where nature so fluidly interacted with art, science, politics, and friendship. ¶ 12:58 PM
The Pre-Forum Programme - Introductory comments by Bo Ekman and Charles Handy set the stage, speaking of the predominant myth of our time (that of success = acquisition and infinite resources). A couple of days of group reflections on leadership, our own stories, and the needs of the world.
Day 1:
- An outline of the history of globalization by Nayan Chandna talking about our commen ancestry in a tribe of between 200 and 2000 in North-Eastern Africa, as well as the drivers of globalization throughout history; missionaries, warriors, traders, and explorers.
- A beautiful concert and introductory remarks in an old Church in a nearby Swedish town, following a photo exhibition entitled 'Hard Rain', which was moving and disturbing.
Day 2:
- A workshop using systems-modelling tools to project atmospheric carbon levels and thus global heating. Lesson - we need to not only level off emissions, but substantially reduce them within the next few years in order to avoid severe global environmental, and thus human consequences.
- Greetings by Princess Victoria of Sweden and Queen Rania of Jordan. The latter calls for a 'new global warming' of hearts and minds towards eachother through an impassioned and insightful speech on the tensions between Islam and the 'West'.
- A Chilean scientist and philosopher talks of how the language of our time is incompatible with the challenges of our time through exploring the implicit decisions taken throughout the history of Western philosophy.
Day 3:
- Group discussions on conflict and conflict resolution techniques, guided by some mediators of various conflicts.
- Tracks begin - in the track I attended the gravity of the global environmental situation was made clear by James Hansen of NASA.
- Howard Gardner of Harvard speaks of the 7 Rs for changing minds: research, reason, redescription, reward or punishment, real-world happenings, resonance, and resistance overcome.
- Entertainment by rap artist, Emmanuel Jal, who is also a former child soldier. I had a conversation with him the previous night about the current state and future of African countries such as his own (Sudan), and his music was as beautiful and light at time as it was disturbing at others.
Day 4:- Completed tracks - in my track we discussed the future of the sustainability movement, and ways in which we could mobilize humanity towards a sustainable future.
- A disturbing overview by Jan Eliasson (former President of the UN General Assembly, current mediator of the Darfur conflict, and @ alum), of the situation in Sudan, mentioning how a lot of the conflict stems from resource constraints caused by desertification.
- A report by the King of Sweden on his recent trip to Greenland, mentioning the need for collective commitment to solving the climate crisis.
- A penetratingly beautiful song by Sofia Jannok. Of the Sami (indigenous Swedish people), she beat a drum while singing, after describing the omnipresence of the wind, and asking us to listen to the wind through her voice. Her voice quickly cut deeply, and it felt as if a full and empty nature was indeed moving through her voice into us. It was intensely moving, and everyone I spoke with afterwards welled up in emotion when reminded of it. She is a reminder of the incomprehensible and mysterious, transformative beauty that comes from a connection with nature.
And now, it is over, and I will leave for what in Canada we call the land of the midnight sun. I am travelling seventeen hours by train to the far north of Sweden, to a land that is remote and apparently very wild. It will be a fitting conclusion to this forum where nature so fluidly interacted with art, science, politics, and friendship. ¶ 12:58 PM
