Seeds of Change - Heiner Benking's Blog - quergeist.info
Welcome to the NewsLog or Blog of Heiner Benking. A kaleidoscope of insights and impulses collected first in the DaZiBao (Rio) process Seeds of Change Viewsletter of the Club of Budapest since 1995, continually updated ever since. Now available for broader distribution and comments in this blog - enjoy, and come again !
30 May 2013 @ 07:47 DRAFT - just typing in the finla wrap-up session. I am at the International Conference on Climate Change Effects, Impacts World 2013[link] and I am getting very sad and angry.
But first her the core questions discussed here for 4 days:
1. Can we integrate our existing knowledge across sectors? 2. How certain are we? 3. What is still missing? 4. How do we bridge the divide between regional and global impact studies? 5. Is anybody listening?
Maybe see also this VISIONING DOCUMENT first: [link] and note that you seldom get so many Nobel Laureats (2007) into one room ! (they all are Laureates as IPCC was awarded) [link]
Very good and earnest scientist around. I specially mentioned IIASA and Nathan Keyfitz a couple times.. See page 17-18 [link] also mentioned in this article (FN15): [link]
Yes there is a chance for change of mindsets and rulesets... see MINDPRINT website [link] and maybe flatworlds and deepworlds: [link]
I learned as a child "View of the Whole, Responsibility for the Whole" "Sicht aufs Ganze, Pflicht fürs Ganze" and realize that is actually what is missing in all these muddling through in view of the Problematique and the Predicament of Mankind we are confronted with.
In the opening discussion it was made clear that we know enough to act, but we do not know the root causes and can not manage vulnerability and fragility of of highly complex dynamic changes. Maybe revist again the lecture of Chrales Francois when introducing the 2nd edition of the Internation Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics. His title: The need for an integrated systemic-cybernetic language for concepts and models in complex and vague subject areas: "fields" such as humanities, cultural-, anthropological- and environmental- studies, education,… and last not least: governance
[link] maybe also see our presentation we did 10 years ago: [link] and when you then see the Need for a New Science, New Language, New Thinking [link]
ANGRY ? YES !! there were in my view central leverage points missed this today, Mai 30th
exactly 43 years ago when the Club of Rome did not get their early work and jumped onto Prognostic Futures, ignoring the Particiaptory and Normative aspects. See my interviews about the matter here in EUROPEsWORLD: [link]
exactly 23 years ago when we had the vernisage of the GLOBAL CHANGE touring exhibition - it subtitle was Challenges to Science and Politics !!!!! Since then Science and politics seem to have ignored most of the messages and presentations, work by a lot of scientist over years and an interesting "status quo" documentation by-the-way.... We introduced for example a "0-Energy House" and still we are fighting for other ways of building; we introduced the Rubik's Cube of Ecology to provide a view for general orientation. Read this text by Anthony Judge [link] "Pointers to possibilities, [link] but who reads and who cares? More >
Besides there was the 3 days youth conference Democracy and Tolerance see also: [link] I discussed with Christian Petry about the need for a New Perestroika. We were involved more than 20 years ago in HOPE - Hilfsorganisation rettet Perestroika, so Petry's intuition is deep and needed.
The days are full of realizations for me. It started with my remembering the exchange with Roberet Jungk about what is free and a basic - and not behind walls hidden and trademarked for "profit". It later lead to my interest in CC "creative commons" and sharing, caring, daring... So for me this is a mayor "realization" in the field of the intangibles and creative commons. Should we invite to use and re-use and improve, or should we safe a name and product and method ! Methods can be improved or diluted ! maybe read "against method" in my pitch for Robert Jungk where I cited yesterday Rüdiger Lutz and the "Future Lab": More >
Jakob von Uexkuell just speaks about ecocides, fragmanetation, looking at central linkages which have been overlooked before !
This was days ago. It is now Sunday and I have stayed on and on... Yesterday Kiara Worth from South Africa moderated the resolution in the REVIEW. EVALUATION; REFLECTION, CONSOLIDATION section. Well Done - I will add the text here when available !
Now we are in the Gardens of the world: On the agenda we find RESPECT AND PRESERVE NATURE - PROMOTE PEACE ....
I wonder when we will revisit the Intersectoral Strategic Dilemma tabeled by UNU and UIA before Rio '92 !
I asked the Club of Rome represenative why not mention the LEVERAGE POINTS from Donella Meadows, instead of getting focussed on the Tipping Points by Dennis Meadows and others. I asked him why the early work of the Club of Rome is "forgotten" / ignored. I refer here to for examples these 2 new publications:
Strategic Articulation of Actions to Cope with the Huge Challenges or Our World - A Platform for Reflection as published in this serves as Volume One. A SOCIAL SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR GLOBAL PROBLEMS, 21st Century Agoras Monograph Series.
and A DEMOCRATIC APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE FUTURES:
[link]
Home · Project · Doha – COP 18 · RIO+20 · International Climate Week · National Climate Week · European youth conference 2009 · Our Groups · Summit 2013 ...
good young people here ! check the website and come back !
13 May 2013 @ 05:15
Mit Mass und Mut, aber was ist mit Rahmen und Mitten !? (Im Plural) !!
The German Advisory Body Rat für Nachhaltige Entwicklung : 13. Jahreskonferenz des Rates für ...
[link]
Jahreskonferenz des Nachhaltigkeitsrates. 13. Mai 2013. Tempodrom, Berlin
More soon !
11 May 2013 @ 16:04
DRAFT _ WORK IN PROGRESS !!
Wolfram Huncke was there and speaking about him between Jungk and Haber. See the book and check the report by the moderator Manfred Ronzheimer.
Gestern ist heute: Heinz Haber und Robert Jungk im Disput um die Zukunft von
"We have to find new languaging and new tangible, performative, contagious forms to present, participate and colaborate to adress young people". This is in the essence what I feel I agreed with Robert Jungk somewhere in early 1991.
This "on records" was asked from me after our event in the URANIA last night, so here we are: "on record". Robert Jungk was invited 20 years ago for the efforts to start a Peace University - see picture. Hans Holzinger from the library in Salzburg could attend in 1995, but this is all "history". What remains?
Have there been lasting effects and impulses?
Can we learn?
Are we destined to self-destruct? as Lynton Caldwell asked in 1999 http://benking.de/perspect/perspectives-cover.htm see also Show or SCHAU?: http://benking.de/show-schau.html
To get going the book: Yesterday is Today - (Gestern ist Heute)
so I will look a little into Futures Creation again. The plural of alternatives and the focus on Ought not Can. See "Can Implies ought" Hasan Özbekhan. http://quergeist.net/Ozbekhan/ More >
8 May 2013 @ 18:27
What a week. We end today with re:publica today http://www.re-publica.de/en and continue with Theater and Internet until tomorrow.
Check the links and videos of the re:publica, description http://www.re-publica.de/en maybe revisit this quergeist blog from 2010:
The question is how to be inclusive and allow all forms, ways, and means of cultural expressions.
Theater & Net This is translated from the Boell website: Theater & Net: Theater is transformed through the digital Revolution, and what the Netizens can bring home. An offer to people from media, theater, civil society and science and politics. It is an event organized by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Nachtkritik an Online Theater-Portal, the bpb - Bundeszentrale politische Bildung just look at this and come back !
Theater und Kritik in der Netzgesellschaft - Neue Medien, neues Publikum – ein anderes Theater? - Kritik im Netz – Kritik aus dem Netz
I was able to place a question to Peymann and I feel it was good to be there.
The panels are of real interest ! these people are finally after typically 20+ years with augmented realities and superstructures http://de.slideshare.net/benking/codata-mist2005, VR and Public Spaces / Sinn und Fluchtwelten http://benking.de/sinn-fluchtwelten.html , Perfomance and Agitation - see the links around SChlingensief - who is often mentioned here: http://www.chance2000.org/ I feel these efforts should be revisited !! It seems to me really important to include pre-internet times, what I encounter here seems to deserving also "roots" not just "wings".... More >
7 May 2013 @ 19:58 Success Factors and Pitfalls (Fallstricke) of external democracy building.
I am at the 32nd Forum for Global Questions organised by the German Foreign Office this time in co-operation with the sef: Development and Peace Foundation and INEF Institute for Development and Peace.
The series is about the wide spectrum of global challenges and brings together for exchanges and consultations governmental and non governmental actors in the field of international politics.
Please check the programme and the speakers. As always this Forum brings together top-level policy makers, administrators, and activists from all levels.
The first section is about constitution building with a focus on Tunisia and the Arab world, but also international experiences and insights. The second is about the challenges of democracy for nations with a special focus on the situation in Kenya and Africa. I was immediately remembered the AFRICA BEYOND POVERTY efforts of the World Futures Studies Federation WFSF in Nairobi [link], where I had some deep and hard learnings about the matter about Africa and Futures, Ecology, Education, Technology, Economics, Ethics and Governance. If you took notice of the last elections in the media, you might be alerted and maybe learn about some other actors in the field. I only want to highlight the Ushahidi project presented by Daudi Were.
The third and last section was focussing on Egypt and how to support democracy in revolutionary setting – in short „Arab Spring“. check more below !! More >
4 May 2013 @ 10:58 WORK IN PROGRESS - THIS A DRAFT - I will get a ENGLISH Polished version here a.s.a.p.
Robert Jungk, the Activist, Journalist, Concerned Generalist, and Performing Wordsmith and Catalyst, our Conscience, would have celebrated his 100th birthday next week, May 11th.
Today, a week earlier, there is a very special 20th anniversary, 20 years ago we had the 25th Churchday in Munich, the day Robert Jungk suddenly disappeared from the sphere of encouragement of others and out of the lifes of many. He had a stroke which made him leave us, a stroke the moment we he was needed MOST - wanted to do the/our "WATER - SOURCES OF CREATION" at this very special Churchday, and when all was in full gears preparing for his 80th birthday celebrations in Graz, Munich, Salzburg, and elsewhere, this looks to me all the same, same procedure like the series of events all this year 2013. So where did we progress?, made differences that matter?, and helped towards reaching mount awareness? (as I always heard from Charles François).
Let me explain: Bob was versed in the exact and fine arts, in politics, media, participation, science, peace-making,.... and and .. and I have only met people of that "callibre" only a few times in my life, for example when meeting Alfred Schinz, Hans Jonas, Ralph Siu, Arnold Peters, Klaus Saur, Heinz Haber, ...
Bob was definitely outstanding and unique even in such a group, leaving marks across all domains, strands, and issues. I feel I should better also mention some woman here, maybe Elisabeth Mann-Borgese, The Mother of the Oceans and Donella Meadows come to mind. Pls. excuse, consider and check later !! my updates: http://www.quergeist.net/ But such is life: as Kästner wrote - some, the wrong Ones/Peoples, are full of doubts...
I feel this deeply and dearly as this is the central and mayor issue I raise again myself - not writing "J'ACCUSE" 20 years ago.... !!! and not to say NO to people who think linear and in control schemes. This was prepared in 98-99, the "Saying No - The Culture of Refusal" - Kultur der Verweigerung - Das konstruktive Nein which was unfortunately only published in German, I am sure Bob would have loved it !
Yes we were that time in full swing preparing the 80th birthday in Munich, Graz, .... and it is like today, where Robert Jungk events are taking place in many towns. For me this is a "Déjà-vu" - all the same like 20 years ago. So questions come up like: What have we learned?, is there "progress"?, are Positive Futures lingereing more visible and have we build on the Delphin Solutions and positive and good news collected already before 1993??
So in 1993 in Munich there was suddenly a void, not just for me, but all the activists at our event and the whole Churchday, many friends of him like Uto Hopf, Antje Bultmann, Eva Quistorp or better, Carl , .. we were all frozen in pain and loss. I have written through the night in the Press Center a press message, the people in the Press Center were very helpful, but we agreed the next day it can be only a personal cry or message, not an official statement by the Kirchentag Press Center. See the copy "Nicht autorisiert".
It looks like all the same, some words of hope, but have we made of the Leverage Points Donella Meadows asked us to explore, and the FUTURE LABS Futures Creation? Definitely,a s just mentioned in the Final Press Conference "Helen Clark", now UNDP, urged us to look for concrete Visions, not this nice smilingly holding hands, but urging for action, confronting when people "muddle through" instead of "meddling in", but sharable, tangible positions and perspectives we can negotiate and realize where we can agree and share realities - or not !
I just rushed to the computer revisited my Press Release from 20 years ago "Sparks of Hope and Action" - but who has read that?
Here are some "impulses" I have collected 20 years ago. Maybe it is time to revisit them now !?:
For example the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential with Robert Jungk as one of the initiators !!, “The Global Action Plan” (GAP) check how the "ecoteams" idea survived!, The Rubik's Cube Embodied Order Space (MODEL-EXPONAT) we have been building for the Global Change exhibition, The Book of Visions, an ”Encyclopedia of Social Innovations” - I mentioned Nicolas Albery already above. I feel we should continue to collect such impulses and learn from them, how they evolved or were “forgotten”. Another “Impulse” I had already on the way was to create for the “ÖkoCity Graz” where I was in the process to bring together various participation methods like the “Planning Cell” – Planungszelle – close to the Citizens Jury, or the Opus method for multi-lingual opinion research, the Open-Forum Magic Roundtables, the Consultative as a mediation “cook-book”,... unfortunately Bob was not with us any more, but Walter Spielmann assured me that this was something Robert Jungk would have really liked ! - So let us continue collecting “Seeds of Change” - which by the way I did for some years later for the Club of Budapest “Viewsletter” - enjoy !! – as I feel there are some impulses still to be collected, connected and brought to fruition/life for maybe doing Multi-Track Diplomacy and Peacemaking. https://sites.google.com/site/21stcenturyagora/home/connecting_dots_and_-spaces Again I am sure, this is something Bob would have liked, not only because is is close to Eric Jantsch, West Churchmann, Hasan Özbekhan and many people Bob shared many ideas, concepts and projects with. Maybe check the article or with Anthony Judge who was around these days and already that time at the right places/projects. More >
1 May 2013 @ 10:30
As always, all looks conneceted, but I repeat myself.
As the publication is nearing completion: Sustainable Alternatives for Poverty Reduction and Ecological Justice (SAPREJ-12). I felt I use the chance to see what needs to be included in my publication "Collecting&Connecting" spread the news, and hear the news from "heavy weights" like Klaus Töpfer yesterday, speaking about problem solving capacities !
The evening before was a real highlight ! Menschenwürde, Rechte zukünftiger Generationen und nachhaltige Entwicklung by Prof. em. Dr. Hans Jörg Sandkühler, ehem. Leiter der Deutschen Abteilung „Menschenrechte und Kulturen“ des UNESCO-Lehrstuhls für Philosophie/Paris. Sandkühler was willing to set into perspective governance by hapiness indicators (Bhutan) and Panetics "Art of Governance" looking into the infliction of suffering and even opted for altenative schemas like the Dukkha schema making concrete short and long time, light and severe suffering, instead of using only vague "happiness" policies which are in danger of remaing "lofty and in the air" at the mercy certain power mongers... ((This need careful writing and editing - PLEASE COME BACK LATER !!))
The final highlight was the keynote by Klaus Töpfer. He spoke about something very central, about which strategies to be applied for solving ecological problems, how this was done in the past and how our geo-engineering solutions on the horizon are about to change our living world and how we risk through massive, global experiments with tech quick-fixes to really create lasting impacts. I strongly recommend to revist our ROBUS PATHS PROPOSAL (1995) instead of letting technical experiments be globalised, ignoring scales and consequences (an old theme of mine as you know). See more below !! More >
This is Heiner Benking's News Log, a private-public diary presenting events, symposia and happenings in Berlin and elsewhere - my farings, foci, issues and concerns.
PLEASE CONSIDER THIS PERSONAL BLOG an ARTISTIC and PERFORMATIVE MEDIA INTERVENTION !
The Log links to my work and interests and presents issues and special concern of maybe a very small group of "concerned, engaged generalist" - a Global Interest Group (GIG). This needs to be seen in contrast to the ubiquitous Specialized Interest Groups (SIGs), the "scientific" approach to organize subject areas and specialization and standardization and harmonization! of means, nomenclatures, and modes of thinking. My favorite stories in the WHOLENESS SEMINAR include:
BELA BANATHY: "GENESIS
OF GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY" and "IVAN HAVEL: Longing for Unified Knowledge" where a "specialist" runs into the founding session of the early foundations General Systems, mumbling "this is not my field" or where Ivan M. Havel expresses his search for other kinds of knowledge.
As a starter I also recommend to check my MINDPRINT site, where we add the need for HANDPRINTS and MINDPRINTS, as FOOTPRINTS are good to visualize and communicate numbers, densities or consumption per area, but are not sufficient to negotiate and "harmonize" across domains and communicate gains in different cultures, technologies, times,... in short: incompatible but relevant information and our work on dialog, peace, policy-making, and multi-modal, faceted issues and consequences.
What am I? This is a "well-packed" question for which I have not the or a single answer. Some called me an in-betweener, go-getter, facilitator, hub, marvel-hero, trim-tab, bricoleur, bricoleers??? - career designeer, .... Some even "hank" which I disliked or Story which I liked very much !!
I have no single answer as I feel we need to walk the talk and sing and dance Life ! in spectra and fields in multiple embodied spaces.
To nebulous an answer? I am sorry but I do not go for overclaims and oversimplifications, under-complex and over-simplistic approaches with clan-think mindsets about real issues in clear contexts!
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30 May 2013 @ 07:47
23 May 2013 @ 16:28
15 May 2013 @ 12:56
13 May 2013 @ 05:15
8 May 2013 @ 18:27
4 May 2013 @ 10:58
1 May 2013 @ 10:30