Engaging with Slovenia: A PhD/PHD Module set in the Integral Green Slovenia Movement

4 February 2017: After actively contributing to the 3rd International Conference for an Integral Green Slovenia, 9 participants of the Trans4m Da Vinci PhD Program on Integral Development (aligned with our PHD Process for Holistic Development) were hosted by integral education provider BC Naklo for a 3 days intensive module.

Trans4m is committed to set its PhD/PHD modules in the very heartland of integral transformation processes – enabling its participants to actively learn from and engage with local showcases, who apply, in a locally relevant and resonant way, the Integral Worlds approach. Each module thereby is intended to become a catalytic event, focusing not only on knowledge creation and co-learning, but also on strengthening local integral practice, interlinking nature and culture, science and economics.

After many years of intense work on the ground by the Citizens’ Initiative for an Integral Slovenia, in close cooperation with Trans4m, PhD participants were able to witness, visit and engage with remarkable integral Slovenian institutions – including Biotechnical Center Naklo, an innovative secondary education provider, and Slovenska Bistrica Kindergarden, Slovenia’s award winning Kindergarden Group, a pioneer in primary education, among others. The intensive included also a visit and discussions with the faculty of the Institute for Organisational Design of the University of Maribor.

Trans4m participants who came from Middle East (Egypt and Jordan), Africa (South Africa and Nigeria) and Europe (UK and Sweden) presented, over three intense days, their own integral research-to-innovation processes – with a particular focus on Trans4m’s CARE trajectory, showcasing how through a gradual realisation of Community Activation (C), Awakening of Integral Consciousness (A), Research-and-Innovation (R), and Embodiment of Integral Development (E) the envisioned social innovation can become institutionalised and locally sustained.

A culminating meeting and dinner with key members of the Citizens’ Initiative on the final evening in the castle of Ljubljana concluded not only a week of intense learning and co-creation, but also deepened emerging collaborations between Slovenian institutions and the organisations represented by Trans4m Fellows.

Trans4m PhD Group with Members of the Citizens' Initiative for an Integral Slovenia
Trans4m PhD Group with Members of the Citizens’ Initiative for an Integral Slovenia

 

What follows is an overview of all Trans4m participants and their respective research-to-innovation foci:

  • Laila Abdul-Majeed, Project Leader Integral Education, ASG Ahliyyah School for Girls and Bishop School for Boys, Jordan
    • Focus: Integral Education for Societal Transformation in Jordan
  • Maximilian Abouleish-Boes, Chief Sustainability Manager, SEKEM and Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development, Egypt
    • Focus: Replication of Integral SEKEM Model in Middle East and Beyond
  • Jubril Adeojo, MSME, Heritage Bank, Nigeria
    • Focus: Integral Banking, MSME (Micro-Small, Medium Sized Enterprises), recasting the bank as a social and economic intermediary in Nigeria and Africa
  • Yusuf Adeojo, Financial Inclusion, Heritage Bank, Nigeria
    • Focus: Integral Banking – Evolving the African Guild Associations in Nigeria
  • Sameer AlAbaddi, Senior Arbitrator, Jordan
    • Focus: From Economic Arbitration to Conflict Resolution in the Islamic World
  • Tony Bradley, Senior Lecturer, Hope University, Liverpool, UK
    • Focus: Cultural and Economic Renewal in Urban Liverpool, UK
  • Robert Dellner, Chief Strategy Officer, Lintel Capital, UK
    • Focus: Integral Impact Investment/Integral Finance in the UK
  • Loshnee Naidoo, Founder, Sansara, South Africa
    • Focus: Women Economic Empowerment in South Africa / Africa
  • Frans Van der Colff, Managing Director, FoodLovers, South Africa
    • Focus: Integrating Food Production, Agriculture and Retailing in Africa

 

NEWS COVERAGE

PhD Group Visit Slovenska Bistrica News Article 2017 02 04

Loshnee Naidoo Slovenska Bistrica Article 2017 02 02

 

Title Photo and Group Photo by Slovenian Photographer ANDREJ KRIŽ

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