3 June 2022: Transition to Integral Society in different Cultures - IRDO International Conference

More than 70 authors with 36 contributions from more than 10 countries gathered to co-create the 17th IRDO International Online Conference. The main purpose of the conference was to explore conceptual framework(s), conditions and possibilities for a green, digital and inclusive transition that enables the development of a common sustainable future, in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs. A precondition for sustainable coexistence is socially responsible behaviour of each stakeholder in the community (local, national, global).

Home for Humanity, through Prof. Alexander Schieffer together with Dr Darja Piciga, Co-Founder of the Citizens’ Initiative for an Integral Green Slovenia, convened the culminating panel that encompassed a journey from an Integral Green Europe to the Integral Kumusha in Zimbabwe, to Pax Herbals in Nigeria, to the Ahliyyah-Mutran Schools in Jordan.

From Integral Green Europe...: The concluding panel presented powerful conceptual and practical social innovations for sustainability in Europe (including Slovenia and Ukraine), Africa, Middle East and other World regions based on the Integral Worlds (IW) approach (Lessem & Schieffer). This approach, as a holistic conceptual and practical innovation for sustainable development, emphasizes a dynamic balance among the centre (moral core, inspiration) and four mutually reinforcing dimensions (“worlds”): Nature and Community (South), Culture, Consciousness and Spirituality (East), Science, Knowledge and Technology (North) and Economy, Finance and Enterprise (West). Building on Europe’s strong potential for an integral “northern” navigation toward SDGs, with smart integration of several policies and potentials, it is proposed that an Integral Green Europe works intensely with other cultures (Piciga, Schieffer).

…to Zimbabwe: The Integral Kumusha is only one of several inspiring initiatives within an integral development framework, building on its authentic African and Zimbabwean culture, including the re-visiting of age-old African Ubuntu values. A home-grown socio-economic model that emerged from applying the IW approach to a simple African homestead (kumusha) with the objective to eradicate poverty, hunger and marginalisation among rural people, it is now hailed as a national role model, focusing on people living in harmony with nature, guided by the values of oneness, brotherhood, love and interdependence (Taranhike). It is contributing positively towards employment creation in rural communities thereby enhancing livelihoods in these formerly marginalised areas by embarking on different transformative projects to empowering the people especially the women and youth by sharing its concepts and models on national radio, TV series and Field tours to demonstrate how the Mai (Mother) Chimuti brand leads to positive contribution towards national socio-economic development and growth. Its mantra is “One Home, One People, One Earth – Great Legacy!”

… on to Nigeria: Pax Herbals, an integral enterprise-in-community in Nigeria, was established for the scientific cultivation, identification, utilisation, and promotion of traditional herbal medicine, and became one of the largest phytomedicine research institutes and manufacturers of natural supplements in Africa. Embedded in the socio-economic philosophy of Communitalism, Paxherbal's model, drawing on the IW approach, has put the local community's interest at its centre, while realising its natural, economic, technological, and cultural genius. Communitalism addresses the four critical dimensions of integral development, namely integral community (communis); Integral awakening (spiritus); Integral education (scientia); and Integral economics (economia) (Adodo). … to Jordan in the Middle East: Ahliyyah and Mutran are two deeply rooted and mission-driven schools that have been providing progressive quality education in Jordan since 1926. The schools aim to empower their students through an integral model and transformational journey founded on the five pillars, inspired by the IW approach: Arab Emancipatory Education, Innovative Learning, Wellbeing, Community Engagement, and Enlightened Humanism. Within a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning, aligned with the principles of an integrally framed ESD, they seek to provide students with an education that is rooted in the values of their Arab heritage, in particular profound respect for human dignity, service, and ingenuity (Abdul-Majeed, Khoury)

United by Transcultural, Transsocietal Collaboration: All cases work closely together, within the Homes for Humanity movement, which brings together these and many more integral innovators to a full-fledged transcultural and transsocietal collaboration with a shared purpose of co-creating integral societies. The organizers of the conference were IRDO - Institute for the Development of Social Responsibility, University of Maribor, Slovenia, Slovenian Society for Systemic Research (SdSr) and Citizens’ Initiative for an Integral Green Slovenia.

Kajsa Liedén Special Projects & Wellbeing Adviser Home for Humanity Team