14th GCGI International Conference
And
The Fourth GCGI and SES Joint Conference, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy
‘OUR SACRED EARTH: Spiritual Ecology, Values-led Economics, Education and Society Responding to Ecological Crisis’
Villa Boccella, Tuscany, Italy, 28 August-1 September 2018
Final Programme
“Nature does nothing in vain.”- Aristotle
"We must all widen our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."- Albert Einstein
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."- Margaret Mead
Our vision and our hope for the flourishing of the Earth Community in these challenging times
Defend the Sacred
Living Earth: Cooperation With All Beings
…And Being Transformed by Nature
Our Journey of Hope
Imaging and Taking Action to Build a Better World
Our Journey of Hope is about many things. It is about challenging the norm. It is about volunteerism and service. It is about serving our communities, our world, and caring for our planet, our home. It is about finding out more about ourselves than we ever imagined possible. It is about having a dream. It is about a mission and our vocation in life. It is about believing in our journey and stories. It is about hope.
‘It is hope that can give meaning to life and which will give us the courage to continue on our way into the future together.’
And this is why our 2018 LUCCA Conference offers a journey of hope to all those hoping for a better world, a world of wisdom and beauty, peace and justice, fairness and kindness, caring for our Sacred Earth and Mother Nature. Please consider joining us. Let us march together, taking action in the interest of the common good, to design and construct the better world, we are all yearning for.
'The Idyllic Beauty Of Tuscany'. Photo: Marcin Sobas, marcinsobas.com
“The genius of man may make various inventions, encompassing with various instruments one and the same end; but it will never discover a more beautiful, more economical, or a more direct one than nature’s, since in her inventions nothing is wanting and nothing is superfluous.” – Da Vinci
Final Programme
Tuesday 28th August
Morning and afternoon: Arrival and Registration
6.00pm Drink Reception
6.45pm Dinner
8.00pm-8.15pm Words of Welcome
Kamran Mofid, Founder, Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI) and Ian Mason, Barrister, and Principal of the School of Economic Science, London, UK
8.15-9.15 Opening Address (Chaired by Ian Mason)
‘I am an economist, a storyteller and I have a dream: Co-Creating the Better Future We are Imagining’- Kamran Mofid
'The Idyllic Beauty Of Tuscany'. Photo: Marcin Sobas, marcinsobas.com
(Please note: Except, the keynotes, workshops, storytelling, all our speakers should speak for up to a maximum of 20 minutes, leaving at least 10 minutes for Qs & As. This will enable the whole conference (speakers and delegates) to come together to maximise the time for dialogue at the end of each and every session. Furthermore, presenters are strongly encouraged not to read their papers verbatim.)
Wednesday 29 August
7.00-7.45am Breakfast
8.00-9.00am Plenary Session (PS) I Chaired by Ian Mason
‘Keeping Hopefulness Alive: A strategy for Social Justice and Ecology.’
Steve Szeghi, PhD, Professor of Economic, Wilmington College, USA
9.00-10.00am PSII Chaired by Kamran Mofid
‘One Humanity Institute.' Nina Meyerhof, Ed.D and Domen Kocevar
10.00-10.30am Coffee/Tea
10.30-12.30pm PSIII Chaired by Susan B. Eirich, Ph.D
Unheard Invitations: All Life is Calling Us; Calling for Connection, Calling for Help
*’Piercing the Veil Between Species.’ Susan B. Eirich, Ph.D, Co-founder, Earthfire Institute, USA.
*’Honoring Our Relations: Plants, Plant Consciousness and Plant Communities.’ Maya Shetreat, MD, Founder, the Terrain Institute, and School of Sacred, USA.
*’The Call of Mother Earth.’ John Thompson, Transformational Psychologist, Australia.
*’Taking a Stand for the Earth: Legal Rights for Nature.’ Mumta Ito, Attorney, and Founder and President, Nature's Rights, Scotland, UK.
1.00-4.00pm Lunch and Free Time
(Daily afternoon Free Times can be used, if the participants so wish, to organise meetings, networking, seminars, etc, as their own initiatives. Please discuss this first with Peter Holland.)
4.00-6.00pm PS IV Chaired by Jamshid Damooei
*’A Question of Prosperity’. Anthony Jones, School of Economic Science, London, UK.
*’The Intrinsic Value of Nature within Regenerative Business Model.’ Nel Hofstra, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
*’Land Ethics in the Context of Economics and Commercialisation Effects.’ Knut Ims, Professor, Business Ethics, Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Norway.
*’What is Needed for the UN Development Goals to be Achieved?’ Peter Bowman, School of Economic Science, London, UK.
7.15-8.20pm Dinner
8.30-9.30pm Storytelling I Chaired by Kamran Mofid
‘The Animals Called Me To Council: The Birth of Earthfire Institute.’ Susan B. Eirich, Ph.D.
'The Idyllic Beauty Of Tuscany'. Photo: Marcin Sobas, marcinsobas.com
Thursday 30 August
7.00-8.00am Breakfast
8.30-10.30am Plenary Session (PS) V Chaired by John Thompson
*’On the Ground with Earth School.’ Patricia Walsh-Collins, Founder, Art of Spirit Inc., USA.
*’Spiritual Ecology Youth Fellowship: Integrating Spiritual Values with Practical Action.’ Amrita Bhohi, Coordinator, Spiritual Ecology Youth Programme, St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, London, UK.
*'Changes in attitude towards climate change and transformative learning theory.' Gherardo Girardi, Principal lecturer in economics, University of St Mary, London, UK.
10.30-11.00am Coffee/Tea
11.00-1.00pm PSVI Chaired by Amrita Bhohi
*’Contemplative Vision and Prophetic Action.’ Revd. Canon Dr. Alan Race, retired Anglican priest and the Editor for World Congress of Faiths’ journal, Interreligious Insight, UK.
*’Making Peace with the Earth: The Many Challenges of the Anthropocene Age.’ Linda Groff, Emeritus Professor, Political Science & Future Studies, California State University, USA.
*’Commoning, as a Fundamental Economic Logic’. Tamas Veress, PhD Candidate, Business Ethics Centre, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary.
1.00-7.00pm Lunch and Free Time
7.00- 8.20pm Dinner
8.30-9.30 Storytelling II Chaired by Peter Holland
‘Evolution not Revolution’. John Thompson, Transformational Psychologist, Australia
'The Idyllic Beauty Of Tuscany'. Photo: Marcin Sobas, marcinsobas.com
Friday 30 August
7.00-7.45am Breakfast
8.00-10.00am Plenary Session (PS) VII Chaired by Steve Szeghi
*’For the Love of Humanity.’ Ian Mason, Barrister, and Principal of the School of Economic Science, London, UK.
*’Looking into Practical Solutions to End Poverty.’ Jamshid Damooei, Professor of Economics, California Lutheran University, USA.
*'New categories for a sustainable and spiritual-based company: Insights from the Economy of Communion.’ Mara Del Baldo, Associate Professor, Dept. of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino, Italy.
10.00-1030am Coffee/Tea
10.30-11.30pm Keynote Chaired by Kamran Mofid
‘What is Life? A Scientific and Spiritual look at Life in All its Manifestations’
Pier Luigi Luisi, Professor Emeritus at the ETHZ (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland and Italy.
1.00-4.30pm Lunch and Free Time
4.30-6.00pm Special Interactive Workshop Chaired by Susan B. Eirich, PhD
*’Earth Constellations.’ Mumta Ito, Attorney, and Founder and President, Nature's Rights, Scotland, UK.
7.30-Late Gala Dinner
'The Idyllic Beauty Of Tuscany'. Photo: Marcin Sobas, marcinsobas.com
Saturday 1 September
7.00-8.00am Breakfast
8.00-10.00am Farewell and Departure
In Search of the Light to Build a Better World
Welcome to our Lucca Conference
The morning mist and the sunrise, Podere Belvedere in the Val D'orcia Tuscany. Photo:locationscout.net
'Let the beauty we love be what we do'-Rumi
‘Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see’-Mark Twain
'Many will be shocked to find,when the Day of Judgment nears, that there's a special place in heaven set aside for volunteers’-Author unknown
‘The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion’-Thomas Paine
This week, all of us, experienced and newcomers, young and old, students and teachers together will form a community, committed to exploring and debating visions and ideas for celebrating diversity, appreciating uniqueness, and acting in the interest of the common good, to enabling ourselves to transform disagreements into understanding, competition into cooperation and mutual respect. In addition to keynote speeches, plenary sessions and storytelling roundtable, there will be opportunities for informal spontaneous meetings and dialogue between participants all through the week. This, I sincerely hope will result in invaluable collaborative learning experiences and networking as well as rich personal interactions. Please try to participate also in the cultural and social activities to cement further the newly formed friendships. I hope you will take full advantage of all these activities.
Furthermore, we invite you to share a common belief in the potential of each one of us to become self-directed, empowered, and active in defining this time in the world as opportunity for positive change and healing and for the true formation of a culture of peace by giving thanks, spreading joy, sharing love, seeing miracles, discovering goodness, embracing kindness, practicing patience, teaching tolerance, encouraging laughter, celebrating diversity, showing compassion, turning from hatred, practicing forgiveness, peacefully resolving conflicts, communicating non-violently, choosing happiness and enjoying life.
Have a wonderful conference.
Have a wonderful time.
Kamran Mofid and Ian Mason
**Special note: For instructions on how to get to the Conference venue, Villa Boccella, please contact Peter Holland: petermholland36@hotmail.com