Worldview

Anna Kovasna

Workshop holder

Anna is cofounder of Kincentric Leadership, developing tools for placing kinship with all life at the heart of navigating polycrisis together. She also leads GEN's global work to strengthen and scale resilient community-led responses to the climate crisis.

Workshop title

Kincentric Leadership - building community within a living, intelligent planet

An experiential and playful session where we explore the incredible intelligences and lifeworlds of non-human beings, and dive into principles for more-than-human cocreation and leadership rooted in interdependence and the realisation that all life is kin.

Guilherme Weishar

Workshop holder

In 2017 he participated in a Permaculture design course that changed forever his outlook on life. Since then he has dedicated himself to the exploration and implementation of regenerative solutions that work in harmony with nature. He already attended many other courses since then, such as bioconstruction, keyline design, regenerative farming, ecological regeneration, among others. Since 2021 he has focused on the implementation and maintenance of agroforestry systems in Ananda Kalyani.

Workshop title

Deep ecology: exploring the intimate relationship between spirituality and ecology

This immersive session invites participants to explore the profound connection between inner transformation and ecological awareness, inspired by Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects. Guided through the four stages — Gratitude, Honoring Our Pain for the World, Seeing with New Eyes, and Going Forth — participants engage in reflective practices, group sharing, and mindfulness-based activities. The workshop creates a safe and heartfelt space for youth to deepen their sense of belonging within the living Earth and to explore how spirituality and ecology intertwine in meaningful, empowering ways.

Višnja Kisić & Goran Tomka

Workshop holders

Višnja Kisić and Goran Tomka are educators, scholars and practitioners who explore entanglements between culture, politics and ecology. They are inhabitants and a caretakers at the Forest University, Fruška Gora, a place for counter-hegemonic ways of learning and living. In this wonderous and wounded world they often dwell at the shaky grounds between critique and care.

Workshop title

Teachings with distant relatives /
A class with more-than-human teachers

This is an invitation to think-feel beyond human-centred ways of learning. Being with non-humans as distant relatives, connecting and listening, opens the world that is immediate and intimate, accessible and present, yet rarely noticeable if we do not take time and make effort. Learning from more-than-human world is hardly imagined in modern, western epistemic hegemony, yet it has been present throughout history, and is still in numerous indigenous cultures. What do we do in places where we have lost ways of relating and sharing knowledge? We try to notice and meet again, to ask, listen and converse with more-than-human relatives, to heal and nurture the relationship that has been severed.

 

Brecht Van der Schueren

Workshop holder

What are we called to do, individually and collectively, in this world-in-transition? My name is Brecht Van der Schueren, I like to create experimental playgrounds where we can wrestle together with the paradoxes of being alive in these unusual times. As a spaceholder and nature-based therapist, I help people to transform their pain, anger or sadness into creativity, love and beauty. I try to bring wisdom from different traditions creatively together and like to work in playful and embodied ways

Workshop title

Reimagining spiritual leadership in wicked times: the quest for integrity, creativity and humility.

The global transitions we’re living require new forms of spiritual guidance. What does it mean to lead with integrity, curiosity, and creativity? How can we take responsibility without letting our ego’s take over? How can we honour the rich diversity of traditions, knowledges and spiritualities without falling into the trap of cultural appropriation? We invite you to come together to explore these questions in an open-ended and playful way. Bring your own experiences and visions to co-create this journey toward becoming wholesome leaders in our own lifes and in service to others. The framework of Active Hope will serve as a guide, but we intend to work with what naturally emerges.

Franziska Burger

Co-facilitator

Francis is a spaceholder with roots in social anthropology, psychology, theater, hitchhiking and hitch-sailing as tools for sustainable travelling and intercultural dialogue. She currently lives in Bern, Switzerland, partly in Bruxelles and Zurich. She moves between worlds: academic, artistic and spiritual and invites for collective learning across different traditions, while grounding in questions of social justice.

Sonita Mbah

Workshop holders

Sonita Mbah is the Executive Secretary of GEN Africa and Communications Coordinator at The Pocket Project. She is a permaculture designer, facilitator, and advocate for regenerative communities, and holds a Master’s in World Heritage Studies. She co-founded Bafut Ecovillage, an off-grid learning center in the north west of Cameroon. She has led community-based sustainability initiatives in Africa and is dedicated to healing colonial trauma through collective trauma work.

Workshop title

Indigenous & traditional communities perspectives on today’s crisis and the path forward.

This interactive workshop explores how traditional and Indigenous communities from Africa, Asia and Latin America, engage with the deeper question of “where are we and where are we going?” in response to the unfolding polycrisis. We will share the connection, wisdom and knowledge that Indigenous Peoples have with nature and their ancestors and how it informs their views on the current context. Through storytelling, case studies, and discussion, participants will learn how Indigenous knowledge systems foster adaptability, sustainability, and community resilience.

Zsófia Szepesi

Workshop holder

Sofia has been active in social and climate justice since her teens. She played a key role in establishing the Gólya Cooperative—an emblem of grassroots economic democracy. Later, she coordinated the Solidarity Economy Network and facilitated organisational development processes. Through GEN , she researched on community-based governance. She was co-organizing the ‘Gyüttment’ festival and is now working to launch the Ulex training center for activists in Central and Eastern Europe.

Workshop title

Radical nature connection

If we look closely at how nature works, we see deep interconnectedness—each element supporting and depending on others. Human communities are no different. Our well-being is bound to that of those around us, and solidarity grows when we recognise that our struggles are shared. True solidarity invites us to explore how our lives are shaped by broader systems—and how, together, we can reshape them. Building communities rooted in care, justice, and mutual support is not only possible—it’s necessary. Let’s dive deep into some uncomfortable, therefore revolutinary dialouges on:
What else can we do for a more just and peaceful world?

Steffen Emrich

Workshop holders

Living in a community near Kassel for over 15 years, I bring long-standing experience in development cooperation and have been active with GEN-Germany and GEN-Europe for more than a decade. My passion lies in facilitating participatory processes that help communities thrive.

Workshop title

Practical Activism in Communities - What do we do in times of multiple crisis

How do we act when the world is on fire—from climate breakdown to war in Gaza and Ukraine? And what happens when we don’t? In this workshop, community voices from around the globe share how they respond—or struggle to respond. We’ll speak about resistance, care, and inner resilience, but also about moments of paralysis, conflict, and doubt. A space for honest reflection, solidarity, and radical hope.

"It's wonderful to have people from so many different countries and backgrounds, it's like a big family"
Workshop Holder