All Contributors

Featured image for “Michael D’Aleo”

Michael D’Aleo

Country of origin: USA YIP Weekly Theme: Environment Biography Michael D’Aleo is a founding member of SENSRI (Saratoga Experiential Natural Science Research Institute) and is Director of Research. Michael holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rutgers University where he graduated summa cum laude. Earlier in his career, Michael was Project…
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Sarah Denie

Sarah Denie is a teacher of economics. Or rather, someone who invites and triggers you to ask questions on true value. And then act upon it. After being educated in mainstream neo-liberal economics (and questioning all its models and assumptions), starting her career in the financial industry (while learning the…
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Gerald Häfner

Gerald Häfner is a German politician who served as an Member of the European Parliament for Alliance ’90/The Greens between 2009 and 2014. He has had three separate spells as a member of the Bundestag between 1987 and 2002. In 1980 he was one of the founding members of the…
Featured image for “Lucy Carver”

Lucy Carver

No excerpt…
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Rachel Derrah

Rachel is a graphic recorder, facilitator, and creative consultant with Brave Space Social Innovation. She uses a variety of methods—from large-scale mural drawings to participatory research and evaluation—to reflect collective insights, share learning, and investigate impact. Her approach involves deep listening, personal and group awareness, and co-creation. She aims to…
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Kefas Berlin

Kefas born in Stockholm, has been working pedagogically, artistically and therapeutically with children, young people and adults with Singing, Playing , Dance and Physical Theater. For more than 25 years he has regularly been giving workshops in Singing and Voice Work, Vocal Improvisation, Play and Physical Theater in Sweden and abroad…
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Kailea Frederick

Kailea Frederick is an alumni of the International Youth Initiative Program. In 2015 she received a certificate of completion for the course – Planetary Boundaries and Human Opportunities: The Quest for Safe and Just Development on a Resilient Planet through, The Stockholm Resilience Center and SDSN.edu. In 2016 she attended…
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Nanna Frank

Country of origin: Denmark YIP Weekly Theme: Graphic Facilitation & Harvesting Nanna Frank uses graphic facilitation as a method to create stronger relations and clear communication between people who needs to collaborate and create innovative results. The graphics help to understand the bigger picture of a project/situation and creates a…
Featured image for “Edgard Gouveia Júnior”

Edgard Gouveia Júnior

Biography Edgard Gouveia Júnior is an architect and urbanist. He graduated at Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de Santos, SP, Brazil in 1993. From 1993 to 1996 he was a researcher at Instituto TIBÁ – Intuitive Technology and bio-architecture. He post-graduated in Cooperative Games at Universidade Monte Serrat in 2003, where he…
Featured image for “Nino Tadaros”

Nino Tadaros

No excerpt…
Featured image for “Silas Beardslee”

Silas Beardslee

Silas Beardslee was born in 1988 in Massachusetts, USA, the youngest of three. His family moved to rural New Hampshire when he was six years old and there he attended the Monadnock Waldorf School, in Keene, NH, and later High Mowing School in Wilton, NH. After graduating from High School…
Featured image for “Arthur Zajonc”

Arthur Zajonc

Biography Arthur Zajonc is Professor of Physics at Amherst College. He has been a visiting professor and researcher at the École Normale Supériure, the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and other universities in the US and Europe.  He has been a Fulbright professor to the University of Innsbruck where…
Featured image for “Elias Romualdez”

Elias Romualdez

Elias Romualdez, born in the Philippines and based in Metro-Manila, is a facilitator of workshops that focus on processes of harnessing collective intelligence for social transformation, and is a strong advocate for humane technology. He currently does research around questions of how technology can empower us in becoming more connected…
Featured image for “Annie Meijer”

Annie Meijer

Annie Meijer (BA, MSc, BACPaccred) is a Biographical Counsellor and Biography work facilitator and trainer. She has run accredited trainings in Biographical Counselling in the UK and has facilitated many Biography groups. She also works as a consultant supporting companies to design professional development courses for their employees. Working with…
Featured image for “Solveig Helga Zophoniasdottir”

Solveig Helga Zophoniasdottir

Solveig (Solla) Zophoniasdottir is a process facilitator and is working independently in the broad field of education through facilitation, curriculum development, leadership workshops, process leadership and coaching. In addition to her independent work she is involved in developing the hosting practices for the HUB Copenhagen. Her main focus is the…
Featured image for “Art Of Hosting”

Art Of Hosting

The Art of Hosting is a highly effective way of harnessing the collective wisdom and self-organizing capacity of groups of any size. This approach uses a variety of of powerful conversational processes deeply rooted in the needs of the world, guided by shared work and purpose.The Art of Hosting is…
Featured image for “Marko Pogačnik”

Marko Pogačnik

Biography Born 1944, artist, sculptor, working in the field of lithopuncture (acupuncture of the Earth) and geomancy. Work in conceptual art 1965-71 with the OHO Group, and Šempas Family (1971-79) in the field of agriculture-art-spiritual center. After 1986 Earth healing projects with positioning of stone pillars with cosmograms. After 2006…
Featured image for “Roi Gal-Or”

Roi Gal-Or

Roi Gal-Or is a Director of the International School of Storytelling based at Emerson College, as well as teaching storytelling at the University of Sussex in England. He is a leader of international workshops dealing with group and personal development using stories, social games and biographical work. Roi is one…
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Anna Cavallin

Bio Anna Cavallin is currently teaching courses in Gender Studies and in Literature at Stockholm University and at The Swedish Program at Stockholm School of Economics. She has been teaching courses for Swedish university students and American Undergraduate students since the early 2000’s. In literature Anna is specialising in literature…
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Randolph Carter

As both the founder of East Ed and a member of the Black Panther Party, Randolph has devoted his career to promoting equity and diversity in education and in communities across the US. He was a Fellow in the Harvard University School Leadership Program, Graduate School of Education, where he…
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Theo Fischer

“What would our world look like if we allowed complexity to fully run its course? If each and everyone of us was empowered to go his/her own way? » These questions, among many others, fascinate Theo Fischer and have shaped who he is today and his professional practice. After studying…
Featured image for “Dr. Michaela Glöckler”

Dr. Michaela Glöckler

Dr. Michaela Glöckler, pediatrician, has been for 28 years the Head of the Medical Section at the Goetheanum, the anthroposophic School of Spiritual Science in Dornach/Switzerland. During this time she was lecturing worldwide the integrative medical model of Anthroposophic Medicine. Before that, she worked in the paediatric department of the…
Featured image for “Dominik Werner”

Dominik Werner

Dominik Werner is a freelancing educator and facilitator dedicated to the qualities of peace – health – ecology in times of great transitions. He studied education for sustainable development and peace&conflict studies at the university of Marburg, where he now lives with his family.  His work is inspired by various…
Featured image for “Pieter Ploeg”

Pieter Ploeg

Since 2009 I have dedicated my efforts towards accelerating the transition towards a sustainable society on a thriving and resilient living earth. I strongly believe soil is the acupuncture point threw which we can restore our relationship with the earth, and tackle biodiversity, food, climate and resilience. Currently I operate…
Featured image for “Tormod Bjørnstad”

Tormod Bjørnstad

Country of origin: Norway YIP Weekly theme: Communication – Speech, Writing and PR Biography Tormod (born 1949) started out as a teacher at the Rudolf Steiner School in Oslo, Norway (1971–81). He later worked as a school book editor for four years. He then worked as director of information and…
Featured image for “John Whitelegg”

John Whitelegg

Biography John is professor of sustainable development with the Stockholm Environment Institute in York (UK). He has worked in several universities, as a staff member of a German ministry of urban development in Dusseldorf, as a transport officer in the Outer Hebrides (NW Scotland) and he runs his own transport…
Featured image for “Luc Vandecasteele”

Luc Vandecasteele

Luc Vandecasteele is a medical doctor since 1978. His wife and he received 6 children. After a formation in The Netherlands in 1979-80 in anthroposophical medicine, 1980 he started a group practice in Gent, BE, in collaboration with a colleague and a few anthroposophically inspired therapists. He also was a…
Featured image for “Allan Sousa”

Allan Sousa

Allan was a Civil Engineer who left the bridge area to help build bridges with people. In 2011 Allan co-founded Oxigénio, with the purpose to help individuals and organizations in their transformation. He helps organizations to rethink their structures to become more conscious, human, collaborative and connected with the planet,…
Featured image for “Leonora Maria Meier Nielsen”

Leonora Maria Meier Nielsen

Leonora is a Waldorf graduate from Denmark and has a bachelor in Organisational Learning. She is a storyteller, Learning designer and facilitator who likes bringing people together and discovering dept through play. Her interest and work have often circulated around education, change-making, community building and mental well-being which have brought her…
Featured image for “Zora Molyneaux”

Zora Molyneaux

Zora Molyneaux is an independent facilitator, trainer, mediator and psychotherapist with a particular interest in conflict resolution and personal and community development. She undertook her original DPC training in 2008 and regularly delivers Conflict Management training in Northern Ireland with TIDES Training. Her training and practice as a counsellor/psychotherapist spans 3…
Featured image for “Colin Craig”

Colin Craig

Colin Craig has been involved in working for reconciliation for over 40 years. He has had extensive experience of working with the voluntary, community, and public sectors. He has worked professionally as a youth worker, a director of a juvenile justice project and a principal officer and regional consultant for a…
Featured image for “Silvia Zuur”

Silvia Zuur

About me: Silvia is a social entrepreneur and educator. She has global experience in new ways of working and as well as business experience in New Zealand. Having supported many social entrepreneurs to move their ideas into reality, she has run entrepreneurship programmes, training academies, conferences and retreats – all…
Featured image for “Dr. Vandana Shiva”

Dr. Vandana Shiva

Dr. Vandana Shiva is a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocat. She is the founder of Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (India) and President of Navdanya International. She is trained as a Physicist at the University of Punjab, and she…
Featured image for “Ramsay Boly”

Ramsay Boly

Ramsay is a Burkinabe-American whose values and identities draw from a global spectrum of cultures, ideologies, and narratives. Ramsay is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley’s Master of Development Practice whose work links development with social justice. This roots in his exposure to global social and economic inequities that have…
Featured image for “Patricia McCabe”

Patricia McCabe

Pat McCabe (Weyakpa Najin Win, Woman Stands Shining) is a Diné (Navajo) mother, grandmother, activist, artist, writer, ceremonial leader with deep wisdom about our world and how to be in relationship with it. She brings a presence to YIP that we are incredibly grateful for. She is a voice for…
Featured image for “Orland Bishop”

Orland Bishop

Biography Orland Bishop combines a deep dedication to human rights advocacy and cultural renewal with an extensive study of medicine, naturopathy, psychology and indigenous cosmologies. He was a research fellow with the Center for the Study of Violence and Social Change at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los…
Featured image for “Jane Lorand”

Jane Lorand

Biography Jane Lorand is an entrepreneur, former tax attorney, co-founder of the Green MBA, the first accredited MBA fully designed to reformulate how to do business sustainably. She works as a consultant to large corporations and state agencies, developing programs for public education, in fields such as electric deregulation and telecommunications. She…
Featured image for “Severas Švedas”

Severas Švedas

Co-founder and a teacher at “Movement Vilnius”, physical rehabilitation and massage therapist, Watsu and yoga practitioner. His experience lies with being a professional basketball player for over 17 years and training as a host within Art of Hosting community. He is now working with athletes and people who want to…
Featured image for “Johan Rinman”

Johan Rinman

Country of origin: Sweden YIP Weekly theme: Nonviolent Communication Biography Johan began his career working with children and youth in various settings; schools, youth centers and youth camps. For many years his focus lied on team building and supporting the emergence of youth leaders in Sweden. In 2005 he met…
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Jason Meek

Jason is CEO + Founder of The iDeal World, a collaborative learning and creative problem solving firm focused on complex emerging challenges. A seasoned mediator and facilitator, he helpw diverse stakeholders to organize, design, negotiate, and implement strategic alliances, partnerships and change initiatives that span across sectors, cultures and perspectives.…
Featured image for “Alan Atkisson”

Alan Atkisson

Alan AtKisson has been working in the field of sustainability since 1988, starting out as the editor of a pioneering sustainability journal called In Context. In 1990 he co-founded the Sustainable Seattle initiative, which produced the first urban sustainability indicator set and became a model, recognized by the United Nations in…
Featured image for “Nakyta Grimm”

Nakyta Grimm

No excerpt…
Featured image for “Richard Svanström”

Richard Svanström

Richard Svanström is a blacksmith and sculptor. He has a master’s degree in applied art with a focus on metal at Steneby HDK. He works as a teacher and mentor at a Waldor school in Järna and sometimes as a guest teacher at a folk high school. “ I work…
Featured image for “Helene Bank”

Helene Bank

Country of origin: Denmark / Norway YIP Weekly Theme: Political economy and global trade Biography Helene Bank (born 1959) is a danish citizen, educated from the Rudolf Steiner School in Århus, Denmark. She has lived many years in Norway. She is educated natural scientist, but has with increasing engagement in environmental,…
Featured image for “Marja de Vries”

Marja de Vries

Marja de Vries studied biology and ecology, worked as a fabric artist and visited several indigenous cultures. She sees the big picture, universal patterns and has a clear vision of the future. She is committed to the transformation of education so it will correspond to who we in essence are…
Featured image for “Calle Rehbinder”

Calle Rehbinder

Calle Rehbinder is an actor, director, storyteller, artist, illustrator, graphic designer, photographer, author – as well as a teacher of many a subject – from theater improvisation and shamanistic techniques to web design, graphic design and art, into love, relationship, sexuality and tantra. The most important part of Calle’s work…
Featured image for “Nikolas Bieleit-Medicus”

Nikolas Bieleit-Medicus

Nikolas is a psychologist, philosopher, and dedicated Zen practitioner. After working in a change consultancy he became a freelancer and now offers his services as a facilitator, trainer and coach. He helps people find orientation, overcome limiting habits and narratives, and transform conflictual or avoidant relationships. To that end, he…
Featured image for “Maíra Rahme”

Maíra Rahme

Maíra is originally from São Paulo, Brazil, and is interested in anything that conveys beauty, meaning and truth into the world. Keen on solving problems, she chose to pursue a degree in Design, followed by a specialization in Branding. Later, she joined a training in Sweden called the International Youth…
Featured image for “Roland Playle”

Roland Playle

Roland has worked in a number of places internationally, with marginalised people and in conflict regions. He is a graduate of the MSc in Holistic Science at Schumacher College (2008). He takes a Goethean phenomenological approach to social and environmental work in communities and NGOs. He is currently involved in…
Featured image for “Frank Chester”

Frank Chester

Frank is an artist, sculptor and geometrician who lives in San Francisco. He has taught art for more than thirty years in high schools and colleges. Since encountering the work of Rudolf Steiner, Frank has been exploring the relation between form and spirit.…
Featured image for “Jaap van der Haar”

Jaap van der Haar

Workshop: A sociological approximation of human consciousness…
Featured image for “Stuart Pledger”

Stuart Pledger

Sustainable Leadership Laboratory Since 1998 our business objective as a consultant agency has been to help clients win a competitive edge by helping them create powerful eco-strategies, improve leadership skills and expand their customer base. We define ”eco-business strategies” as the ideas and actions behind the intelligent use of resources…
Featured image for “Margli Matthews”

Margli Matthews

MARGLI MATTHEWS is a biographical counselor, supervisor and trainer with over thirty years experience in adult education and private practice. A former faculty member of Emerson College and the Centre for Social Development, England, she is co-founder of the Biography and Social Development Trust and Director of the Diploma Course…
Featured image for “Stacco Troncoso”

Stacco Troncoso

Stacco Troncoso is the project lead for CommonsTransition.org, the advocacy coordinator for the P2P Foundation, and a co-founder of the Guerrilla Translation collective. A passionate Commons advocate and activist, Stacco writes, lectures, learns and shares his knowledge about the Commons and P2P with communities worldwide. Website: primer.commonstransition.org…
Featured image for “Pieter Spinder”

Pieter Spinder

Pieter is a fire starter. Wherever he goes he brings an abundance energy. He is a dad to his two great kids and adores his wife. He loves to make things happen, to empower the people around him, to do challenging things, and to make life worth living. His experience…
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Jay Roberts

Country of Origin: USA YIP Weekly Theme: Facilitation and Group Dynamics Biography Jay Roberts is an Assistant Professor of Education and Environmental Studies at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum Theory from the University of Miami and a M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. Prior…
Featured image for “Otto Scharmer”

Otto Scharmer

Mission U 2012: Collaboration Project with Presencing Institute, Knowmads, Learning LAB, and more in Berlin in June 2012…
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Richard Perkins

Richard Perkins is one of Europe’s most active Permaculture professionals, teaching and consulting through every major climate zone on 4 continents. Highly regarded internationally as a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) teacher, Richard is certified by the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia and the Permaculture Association of Great Britain.   Taking a training with Richard…
Featured image for “Benjamin Leogardo”

Benjamin Leogardo

Benjamin Leogardo from the Philippines has had more than 39 years of experience in human resources management, organizational development, and training and facilitation. He has worked as a consultant for some of the Philippines’ biggest corporations, but also finds time to contribute his services for NGOs, foundations, and various social,…
Featured image for “Toke Moller”

Toke Moller

Toke Paludan Moeller has been pioneering in the fields of sustainable entrepreneurship, participatory leadership, educational renewal, and social responsibility since the early 1970s. He is co-founder and CEO of InterChange, a for more than profit training and process consulting company based in Denmark. He is working across the world in…
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Niklas Bruce

Biography Niklas was born and raised in the small university town of Lund in the very south of Sweden. Having organized voluntary initiatives at the Red Cross Youth Division Sweden, Niklas has acquired hands-on experience of leadership in a non-profit context. He´s been involved in the End Ecocide-movement that seeks…
Featured image for “Sergio Fernando Beltrán Arruti”

Sergio Fernando Beltrán Arruti

Biography Sergio Beltrán is co-founder of Universidad de la Tierra (Unitierra) and Herramientas para el Buen Vivir in Oaxaca, Mexico. Years ago, he walked out of his life as an up-and coming, young Mexican intellectual to work with the Zapatista supporters network. He developed a deep respect for the capacity…
Featured image for “Eric Utne”

Eric Utne

Biography Eric, founding publisher of Utne magazine (previously Utne Reader), has spent his career as a journalist, writer, editor, and publisher. Before founding Utne magazine in 1984, Eric wrote, edited and sold advertising for the East West Journal, (later renamed Natural Health). In 1974 he was founding publisher and editor of the…
Featured image for “Carolyn Ferreira”

Carolyn Ferreira

Entrepreneur by trade… Carolyn started her business journey in 1994 at the age of 20. Founder of the Amigos Restaurant Franchise in Australia, Carolyn has grown the brand from the initial turnover over $6000 per week to a multi million dollar operation today. Often referred to as the visionary of…
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The Art of Hosting

Contributors: Toke Paludan Moeller, Rachel Derrah, Isabel Chender and Kajsa Balkfors…
Featured image for “Thomas Lüthi”

Thomas Lüthi

Thomas Lüthi was born in 1947 in Zürich, Switzerland. He studied biodynamic farming and gardening at Warmonderhof in the Netherlands and worked as a gardener in the United Kingdom and Järna in Sweden. Thomas was the president of Demeter International, co-leader of the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum in…
Featured image for “Isabel Chender”

Isabel Chender

An avid listener and learner, Isabel believes that by creating conditions and practices for genuine collaboration we can begin to actualize our personal and societal possibilities. Through her work, she explores how mutual learning and exchange between people can allow us to see and take action towards a sustainable cyclical…
Featured image for “Christoph Walther”

Christoph Walther

After graduating from high school Christoph did a one-year voluntary service at Monte Azul, São Paulo. He then made a radical change of place by moving to Järna and being part of YIP’s pioneering class. He then studied Human-Nature relationships by taking a B.Sc. degree in Environmental Science at Lüneburg…
Featured image for “Kajsa Balkors”

Kajsa Balkors

No excerpt…
Featured image for “Artur Granstedt”

Artur Granstedt

Biography Artur Granstedt, born in 1943, lives on a small farm in Mölnbo, Sweden with his family. He and his wife have four children and seven grand children. He has been head of the Biodynamic Research Institute in Järna, Sweden since 1998. Already as a child he showed a lively…
Featured image for “Teresa D. Ruelas”

Teresa D. Ruelas

Biography  Teresa D. Ruelas or “Tressa” loves: Journeying with individuals, groups and networks to discover their essence and reason for being and co-create with them the culture to BE in keeping with their spirit or essence. Organizing, leading, facilitating, witnessing a Co-Creative effort, initiative, project or organization to fruition in…
Featured image for “Thijs Moonen”

Thijs Moonen

Born as the third son in a family of four kids, Thijs grew up having an active youth in Northern Belgium. Though he attended Catholic school through primary and secondary school, he graduated from the Waldorf High School Ghent in 2006. Thijs, who earned a Bacherlor’s degree in Journalism at…
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Alan Webb

Sarah Bradley and Alan Webb are co-founders of the Open Master’s, an international self-directed learning community reimagining education at the margins as a force for building communities of critical action and reflection.…
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Weston Pew

Biography Weston hails from the Rocky Mountains of western Montana and is the founder and director of Inner Wild, a regenerative leadership program that uses contemplative tools such as pilgrimage, group dialog, rites of passage and nature connection to cultivate a deeper understanding of and relationship to self, Earth and…
Featured image for “Didintle Ntsie”

Didintle Ntsie

Didintle Ntsie is a project manager, activist, blogger and writer who hails from Ga-rankuwa, South Africa. Her interests are focused on spatial justice, inclusive transformation, placemaking and using imagination to create spaces of safety for people of colour and womxn. She has a deep passion for supporting creatives, she does…
Featured image for “Li An Phoa”

Li An Phoa

Li An Phoa is a passionate systems-thinker initiating projects on food, water and landscapes and creating learning experiences. She researches and envisions about how we can live together and facilitates multi-stakeholder processes. She works with large organisations such as Unilever and the Rwandan Ministry of Health, as well as innovative…
Featured image for “Carolin Hedman”

Carolin Hedman

Biography Carolin grew up on the countryside in a family who had been farmers for generations. They kept cows, chickens, bees and grew vegetables, fruit, grains and fodder. After studying at college with a major in languages she did the four year Waldorf teacher training in Göteborg, Sweden. Over the…
Featured image for “Shrinath van Praag”

Shrinath van Praag

Biography Shrinath van Praag is Head Educational Partners for MasterPeace. MasterPeace offers innovative, project-oriented education linked to “out of the box”-methods and techniques for peace-building. These lessons are suitable for schools that value social involvement and empowerment. Students practice peace building in four fases: Inner peace, peace in their own…
Featured image for “Aerin M Dunford”

Aerin M Dunford

Biography Aerin Dunford is a writer, upcycling artist, urban farmer and yoga instructor. She is an independent consultant using Art of Hosting and other participative approaches as a basis for her work with organizations. Aerin is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Berkana Institute, an initiative…
Featured image for “Susan Bäucke Kollem”

Susan Bäucke Kollem

Susan Bäucke Kollem is an art therapist working in a studio in Ytterjärna. Born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, she moved to Switzerland to study international management of tourism. Working for the German National Tourist Board in Frankfurt/M – Germany, Chicago – USA and Stockholm – Sweden for many years,…
Featured image for “Nicanor Perlas”

Nicanor Perlas

Nicanor Perlas Country of Origin: The Philippines YIP Weekly Theme 2011-2012: Personal Mastery and Civil Society 2.0 YIP Weekly Theme 2010–2011: Civil Society YIP Weekly Theme 2008–2009: Global Activism In his university days, Perlas was one of the key organizers of a university wide education reform movement that resulted in changes…
Featured image for “Oskar Rosengren”

Oskar Rosengren

Biography  I started cooking very young and knew i wanted to work with food from the age of seven. In Upper secondary school (Virginska Skolan, Örebro) I studied cooking for three years. After school (2003) I got a job in a five star hotel in Scotland and carried on working…
Featured image for “Jennie Rehbinder”

Jennie Rehbinder

Since her early youth, Jennie has been engaged in meditation, yoga and other spiritual disciplines, exploring different paths to personal development and inner growth. Being a staunch non-sectarian, Jennie never joined any religious group, but rather stuck to her eclectic search for truth and substance. Through her relationship with Calle…
Featured image for “Viktoria Siwek”

Viktoria Siwek

As a member in Theatre Slava she has worked professionally with physical theather for 15 years. In this time I have entered deeply into choir singing, voice techniques from different folk song traditions, and also developed my own method of working with the voice thru my research around dramatic physical…
Featured image for “Niels Johan Juhl-Nielsen”

Niels Johan Juhl-Nielsen

Biography: Active in global civil society. Working on local communities. Former class teatcher. Master in Public Administration and in Social Entrepreneurship. Four Children. Four grandchildren. Engaged at Copenhagen Fire Brigade.   Course Description: Where are we coming from and what are the challenges from the future Survey and questions Global…
Featured image for “Chen Atid”

Chen Atid

Chen was born in Israel, and has studied biology (BA), education, economics and ecology (MA). He founded a research centre for biodynamic seeds and has taught anthroposophy for the last 20 years. He was the carrier of the foundation year for anthroposophy in Emerson College, UK, for two years. He…
Featured image for “Eduardo Shimahara”

Eduardo Shimahara

Biography:  Brazilian, born 44 years ago in Sao Paulo, shima has lived many different lives. Mechanical engineer for ten years leading teams in France, Spain and Brazil, left his career to start a small business in consultancy. Twelve  years later this business became the 6th largest group of private universities…
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Francisco Escamilla

Frank Escamilla, Is known in the streets and open-mic venues of Los Angeles as “Bus Stop Prophet” for his propensity to bust rhymes in unexpected places, Frank has been deeply engaged in creative peace-making work for over 15 years, both here in LA, and as far away as South Africa…
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Valentin Vollmer

Valentin Vollmer Country of origin: Germany YIP Weekly Theme 2010–2011: Fundraising (with Reinoud Meijer) YIP Weekly Theme 2009–2010: Portfolio YIP Weekly Theme 2008–2009: Portfolio Biography Valentin Vollmer, born 1979 in Germany, attended the Waldorf School in Essen and studied social work and social pedagogy in Cologne. For about 7 years he was working as…
Featured image for “Yannick Wassmer”

Yannick Wassmer

Yannick Wassmer is a trainer in the Art of Hosting Conversations that matter, a host of the Flow Game, trained in working with (and training others in) the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. He works with The Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) Programme which is a 10-month transformational…
Featured image for “Nikolai Fuchs”

Nikolai Fuchs

Nikolai Fuchs (born 1963) has been President of Nexus Foundation since 2010. Before he was leading the Agricultural Section at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, since 2001. He has been active in coordinating the world wide biodynamic movement (consisting of 3797 certified Demeter farms, about 10.000 biodynamic small holdings, 412 processors and…
Featured image for “Rachel Ingvad”

Rachel Ingvad

Rachel J. Ingvad was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. As a child she also lived in England, Germany and Massachusetts USA. For high school she attended High Mowing Waldorf School and returned to Boston to study and graduate from the University of Massachusetts. A year after graduating with a BS in…
Featured image for “Allan Kaplan”

Allan Kaplan

Allan Kaplan is a development practitioner, teacher and writer.  He is the author of The Development Practitioner’s Handbook, Artists of the Invisible, and, most recently, Fugitive.  Also of A Delicate Activism, written together with Sue Davidoff. He was the founder and former director of the Community Development Resource Association, and is currently co-founder and co-director of the Proteus initiative…
Featured image for “Barbara Philomena Schnetzler”

Barbara Philomena Schnetzler

Barbara Philomena Schnetzler is a freelance sculptor living in Basel and Mulhouse. Born and raised in Basel. She is trained as a sculptor at the Sculpture School in Müllheim from 2002 to 2006, Diploma in St. Gallen. Regular exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad, her works are represented in various galleries, i.e. in…
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Jim Levinson

Jim Levinson and his family lived with Silas Beardslee and his family at a farm in the U.S. growing food for homeless and elderly persons in that state, and also held senior positions at American universities and in the U.S. foreign aid program. Additionally, he led religious congregations in the…
Featured image for “Danika Desai”

Danika Desai

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Featured image for “Justas Kučinskas”

Justas Kučinskas

Movement fundamentals teacher with extensive experience in performing arts. Justas is a dancer, choreographer, yoga teacher. Besides his movement practice and research he is a doctoral student in philosophy and a professional facilitator of group learning processes. His latest movement research and development includes direct learning from the acknowledged masters…
Featured image for “Brenno Kaschner Russo”

Brenno Kaschner Russo

Brenno works with the technology of connection for unleashing collective potential. From Belgium to India, Russia to China, he has led mission towards innovation in over 17 countries, with a focus on Europe and Asia, developing and implementing transformative processes to activate collaboration. Researcher of dialogue and the group mind…
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Kicki AtKisson

Biography Kicki is working as a senior consultant within the AtKisson Group, an international network of organisations and individuals within the field of sustainable development. She and her colleagues are supporting governments, companies, NGOs, universities and schools in planning for, and building their capacity to contribute to, a greener and…
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Molly Rose Kaufman

Molly Rose Kaufman is a community planner, journalist and youth worker. Her writing has appeared in YES! Magazine, Kinfolk Magazine and The New York Times. As a community organizer in Orange, NJ, she cofounded the University of Orange, a free people’s university and worked with residents and planners to write…
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Jappe Delva

Jappe Delva is an international storyteller and alumni of the International School of Storytelling. As facilitator he brings a playful, in depth understanding of the art of Storytelling as a healing tool towards peace and reconciliation.…
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Christianne Aikins

Christianne is an educator, facilitator, and ‘development practitioner’ based in Beirut, leveraging participatory approaches to support security sector reform with police and military, primarily in Lebanon and Jordan, and engages with civil society in support of peacebuilding and social cohesion programming. Through these collaborations, Christianne has worked with police, civil…
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Lyra Skusa

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Joao Rafael Brites

Joao Brites is a regenerative dancer, economist and entrepreneur that has been championing sustainable development for more than 10 years across civil society, academia, nonprofit and the for profit sector. Currently, he is Global Manager of Partnerships at AB InBev, the world’s leading beer company. His job focuses on creating…
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Maria af Klintberg

I was born in 1974 in a family of strong tradition of folk music and dances. I started working with my father at age of 7 as a clown alongside of him, in TV shows and performances. My big passion growing up was dancing and I studied many styles since…
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Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya

Dr. Gopi Krishna Vijaya is a Physicist from Bangalore, India. He has a particular interest in Solar Energy, Goethean Phenomenology, and the development of modern technology. He has completed his undergraduate physics training from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (India), and his PhD in Physics (Solar Energy) from the…
Featured image for “Jekaterina Kučinskienė”

Jekaterina Kučinskienė

Movement teacher with strong background in classical ballet as well as other forms of dance: contemporary dance, exhibition, South American show dance (ballroom dancing). Katia is a co-founder of “Movement Vilnius” where she teaches dancers and athletes alike to find a fine balance between the functionality and the aesthetic appearance…
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Inte Koster

For my Personal Initiative during my YIP year (YIP7) I decided to work around the question I carry of what the connection is between humanity and nature, individuals and the inner nature. I grew up in a family of two parents and 3 children that took every given opportunity to…
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Sarah Bradley

Sarah Bradley and Alan Webb are co-founders of the Open Master’s, an international self-directed learning community reimagining education at the margins as a force for building communities of critical action and reflection.…
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Christopher Marcus

Christopher Marcus trained at the Drama Centre in London and, later, at the Goetheanum in Switzerland, before establishing his own theater group, Theatre of the Word. Since 1985, he has worked fulltime as a director specializing in mystery theater, and has written several plays. His productions include Teniko,Gilgamesh, The Egyptian Book of the…
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Marcel de Leuw

Biography Marcel de Leuw, was born in 1948 in Someren, the Netherlands. He worked for many years as a teacher in a public primary school and later in a school for children with special needs, both situated in an underdeveloped quarter (achterstandswijk) in the Netherlands. He has been a teacher…
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Kiara Nagel

Kiara Nagel is a creative strategist based in Los Angeles with 20 years of experience building creative and collaborative initiatives and supporting social groups, leaders, and organizations to become more engaged and effective. Kiara often delivers facilitation and consulting services to foster collaboration, grow healthy organizations, and support equitable community…
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Homebound Journeys

Silas, Inte and Christianne have been working together since 2014 organising Outdoor Experiences. Their passion for working with people in the outdoors is fuelled by the importance they see in reconnecting our modern societies with the wild. The natural world has been our home for millennia and despite the relatively…
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Yu-Hsiu Huang

Yu–Show (Yu-Hsiu Huang) is a storyteller, eurythmist, choir singer and workshop facilitator. She runs workshops mainly based on biographical storytelling/storytelling in imagination, with a combination of body movements. Yu–Show was a participant of YIP during 2017-2018, where she was very fascinated by the power of stories and the biography work! In…
Featured image for “Reinoud R. Meijer”

Reinoud R. Meijer

Reinoud organised, facilitated, initiated and founded a number of youth conferences, projects, and initiatives before co-founding the YIP program.…
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Charles Eisenstein

Country of origin: United States of America YIP Weekly Theme 2014-2015: Sacred Economics More information: www.charleseisenstein.net Charles Eisenstein is the author of Sacred Economics and The Ascent of Humanity, and serves part time on the faculty of Goddard College. He speaks worldwide on themes of transition, money, occupy, and the evolution…
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Rembert Biemond

Rembert Biemond is a cultural entrepreneur. He joined the YIP organizing team in 2014, bringing with him his vast experience in the fields of management, ethical banking and sustainability.…
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Deborah Frieze

In 2001, Deborah Frieze walked out of her career as an executive in the high-tech industry. She was disillusioned by a business culture that emphasized short-term results, looked upon growth as an end rather than a means, and cared more about compliance than community. A year later, she met Meg…
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Kait Ziegler

Kait is so grateful to participate in activism, art, and community organizing in this beautiful and challenging world. She is co-founder of Moral Mondays LA, a co-created effort to bridge mindfulness and activism, and to connect individuals’ passions/capacities to direct action/community work that will create a kinder, sustainable future that…
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Sarah Box

I am a mother of three, guardian of women-, mother-daughter- and musical circle practices. I work as a Waldorfschool kindergarten teacher and as a guest teacher (communication) at the Waldorf school teacher training in Holland. I’m passionate about rethinking education and exploring what skills and qualities serve small humans growing…
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Brigid LeFevre

Transforming food and soil with the help of microorganism has been Brigid Lefevre’s focus since moving to Sweden 12 years ago. As well as running the CSA Brigid is a coordinator for the Biodynamic Initiative for the Next Generation Nordic, agriculture training (BINGN) and is shared Chairman of the Board…
Featured image for “Tetsuhiro Koyanagi”

Tetsuhiro Koyanagi

My name is Tetsuhiro Koyanagi. I’m from Japan and I’ve been living in Sweden for 9years.  I make workwears and trying to make them simple and environmental friendly.  I graduated in sculpture and master in transportation design. I worked as videographer. Now I’m studying agriculture. All my experiences make my designs. Tetsu…