Founder World Future Council represented the Green Party in the European Parliament 1987-89, served on the Political Affairs Committee; and the Board of Transparency International
Jakob von Uexküll, Sweden/Germany
“Intergenerational solidarity and sustainable development: we can make it concrete now in ASEAN”
School for Wellbeing public lecture and dialogue(in English)
Thursday 14 November, 15.00 – 17.00 hours
SASA International House, Chulalongkorn University
Bangkok, Thailand
Programme
14.30 registration (entrance free) see biodata below:
15.00 – introduction by Sulak Sivaraksa, World Future Councillor; Right Livelihood Award recipient 1995
15.15 – Jakob von Uexküll: “Intergenerational solidarity and sustainable development – we can make it concrete now in ASEAN”
16.00 – break
16.15 – dialogue; moderator Surat Horachaikul
16.45 – closing remarks and introductionChulalongkorn University Right Livelihood Summer School in July 2014
Jakob von Uexküll (Sweden/Germany)
Jakob von Uexkull is the founder of the World Future Council (2007) and the Right Livelihood Award (1980), often referred to as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, as well as co-founder (1984) of The Other Economic Summit (TOES). As a past Member of the European Parliament (1987-89) he served on the Political Affairs Committee and later on the UNESCO Commission on Human Duties and Responsibilities (1998-2000). Jakob has also served on the Board of Greenpeace, Germany, as well as the Council of Governance of Transparency International. He is a patron of Friends of the Earth International, and lectures widely on environment, justice and peace issues.
Jakob von Uexkull has received the Order of Merit First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009). In 2005, and he was honoured by Time Magazine as a European Hero.
Born in Uppsala, Sweden, Jakob von Uexkull is the grandson of the biologist Jakob von Uexkull. After schooling in Sweden and Germany he graduated with an M.A. (Honours) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Christ Church, Oxford. He holds both Swedish and German nationality. Jakob is married and has three children. He lives with his family in London.
World Future Council
The World Future Council (WFC) is an international forum made up of 50 eminent personalities from around the world. The World Future Council brings the interests of future generations to the center of policy making. The Council addresses challenges to our common future and provides decision-makers with effective policy solutions. In-depth research underpins advocacy work for international agreements, regional policy frameworks and national lawmaking and thus produces practical and tangible results.
Recently the long awaited report from the UN Secretary-General on how the UN should consider the needs of future generations has been released, with the assistance of the World Future Council. The title is ‘Intergenerational Solidarity and the Needs of Future Generations’. The report strongly recommends what the World Future Council has been advocating: to establish a dedicated representative, a High Commissioner for Future Generations.
The World Future Council is active in various areas: biodiversity; urban development; global justice; alternative economy; disarmament; food security http://www.worldfuturecouncil.org/
Sulak Sivaraksa
Sulak Sivaraksa is one of the fifty World Future Councillors and co-founder of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB). He is counted together with the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh as one of the most important leaders of Engaged Buddhism. In Thailand Sulak has established himself as an outspoken social critic, prolific author and a compelling speaker. His books in English include an autobiography, ‘When Loyalty Demands Dissent’, a book of essays titled ‘Seeds of Peace’, and more recently, ‘The Wisdom of Sustainablity’. Some of his initiatives are ‘Alternatives to Consumerism’ and the ‘Spirit in Education Movement’; both focused on offering alternatives to western cultural models. Sulak is often called ‘the father of Thai civil society’. He was honoured with the Right Livelihood Award in 1995 and the Niwano Peace Prize in 2011.
Surat Horachaikul
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Political Science (International Relations), Chulalongkorn University; Director of the Indian Studies Center of Chulalongkorn University and Director of the School for Wellbeing Studies and Research. He received a MA in Politics and Contemporary History, London Guildhall University, a M.Sc in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management (Econs), London School of Economics and Political Science; and a BA in Humanities (English Literature and Linguistics), Payap University, Chiang Mai.
School for Wellbeing Studies and Research
The School for Wellbeing was founded as an independent action-research platform in 2009 following the 3rd international conference on Gross National Happiness in Thailand. The three founding partners are Chulalongkorn University; the Centre for Bhutan Studies, Thimphu, Bhutan; and the Sathirakoses Nagapradipa Foundation established by Sulak Sivaraksa in Thailand in 1968. The School for Wellbeing undertakes research on “the well-being society” and organized public debate on happiness, the ‘limits to growth’ and sustainable development – with experts including Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz, Vandana Shiva, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Matthieu Ricard, David Loy, Dharmachari Lokamitra and Arthur Zajonc. The School for Wellbeing started, inspired by Vandana Shiva, the Towards Organic Asia programme, together with partners in the Mekong region. Its major achievements are the start of a Young Organic Farmers’ (YOF) network. The young farmers first met at the PADETC farm in Paksé, Laos, and recently in the mountains of Vietnam. As well as the international forum on Innovating Alternative Markets organized with the IFOAM PGS Committee; URGENCI Asia; and La Via Campesina.