Uniting Forces at the 11th COY in Paris

On November 26th, 2015, 14 oikos members entered the Hall 8 of the Parc des Expositions of Paris. Coming from Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria and the UK, they were greeted by a vibrant crowd of 4000 other young people from more than 180 countries.

One of the first workshops of the entire COY was hosted by two members from oikos Cologne on the Oslo Principles. oikos members then split themselves amongst the hundreds of proposed workshops and talks. Amongst the ones that were attended on the first day were a workshop on climate negotiations. Here members were asked to represent various parties, including one party which represented the Earth’s ‘soil’. Then, a talk was held on the INDC’s with a specific focus on Colombia’s case. A workshop was then attended on online communication. The hosts presented how a group of US and Chinese students managed to set up a combined online programme, despite living in opposite sides of the world, to tackle climate change. oikos members were also presented to YOUNGO and they considered a future involvement in the YOUNGO community, as well. The day closed with workshops by the UN SDSN (with a presentation on their DDPP project) and a French consultancy company (on the role of youth in taking action to combat climate change).

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The second day was a rather clear day from the start. In the morning oikos members
attended a talk on agriculture, its issues due to climate change and its required adaptation. The inspiring speaker gave worrying data and encouraged youth to understand that there are much deeper opportunities in agriculture than we are aware of. The first oikos workshop then took place. oikos hosted a workshop on the integration of sustainability in accreditation systems. With a participation of 10 countries and passionate students, Anita and Clementine managed to receive precious insights into what students truly would want their universities to entail in their programs. Moreover, students reflected on their education and understood that they are actually upset with the inflexibility of the system, with not being heard and with, amongst others, spending too much time just listening in schools and not enough time critically thinking. oikos members then moved onto participating to a talk on biomimetism and permaculture, moderated by an inspirational activist. Amongst the presentation of innovative food supply systems, the speakers highly critiqued the industrial agricultural system which represents the majority of production nowadays. The day ended with a workshop on higher education by COMMIT (hosted by oikos members) and a workshop on negotiations by the Italian Climate Network. Both workshops were retained interesting and oikos members were left inspired by the energy of the second day.

12289662_10153212278311931_4458467205744952698_nThe final day at COY11, was a warm Saturday, The conference venue was filled with energy creativity and youth. The morning started with workshops on media projects across the Mediterranean and it continued with talks from National Geographic’s explorers bringing their fantastic experiences to a large audience. These exporters inspired youth to see the world differently, to keep looking and understand that not everyone needs to have a standard job. This was followed by a panel discussion on the role of education and research in attaining sustainability. The panel, composed of four young people involved in this cause in France, was critical and excited to help change education and research. Amongst the interesting reflections on the matter, was the question: how are we going to truly prepare the future? Are universities truly providing us with the appropriate tools to act? Amongst others, the panelists also presented two manifestos created by five organizations to call for a change in education. At lunch, all oikos members met for a photo in front of a project called Ribbons. Where everyone was asked to write down, on a ribbon, what they wish for humanity. The exposition of ribbons at the end of the conference was a show of inspiration, where the power of youth proved to be unbeatable. The day ended with another oikos workshop, that continued with participants from France, India and Haiti. oikos members presented their view on responsible leadership and a few current accreditation systems. You can still help us pursue this project by filling in the following survey. The Closing Ceremony was another moment of magic. The Polynesian delegation danced to show the world the importance of acting for climate change in order for their islands to not disappear within a few years. With talks from Laurant Fabius and Nicholas Hulot, amongst others, the main conference hall of the COY11 was overcrowded with young people who show that a difference can be made and it can be made now. The 250 volunteers who organized the COY11 closed the event by thanking everyone and urging them to see the COY11 as just a starting point.

“For me the most inspiring moment was when a young man from France, spoke about his adventures as an engineer. From working in Bangladesh and founding his own company, to learning how to sail and continuously finding alternative and sustainable solutions to complex issues. This young man showed the world that it is always by trying hard, getting out of your comfort zone, findings your passions and being capable of failing that you make the brightest innovations. Very inspiring what he achieved so far, including an online platform called Low Teach Lab.”  – Anita Negri, President, oikos 

See more of what went on at the COY11 by following Anita on twitter: @theanitanegri or the hashtag #COY11 and #COYwithus.

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oikos International

posted November 29, 2015

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One Member’s Experience in the oikos Economics Learning Circle

At the FutureLab 2015 I attended the learning circle Economics, which was coordinated by Moritz Linder. The sessions were about how to get more pluralism in the monotone and mainstream sciences of economics, so that students and professors get another view on how to teach and research on certain issues and matters and start thinking out of the box.

In the first session we learned about different movements of pluralism and where we can inform ourselves if we want to get more involved and to start something at our own universities. If you are interested in this topic, please check out following: Peps Èconomie (France), Netzwerk Plurale Ökonomie (German speaking countries), Rethinking Economics (International), JEC group (Argentina) and ISIPE (international).

After learning about these, the discussion focused on how to define economics. This discussion was on the one hand very interesting because you heard a lot of different opinions. But on the other hand it was complicated because it was easy to lose track of the main issue and to drift in abstract spheres, which had little to do with economics. Never the less, one point we all agreed on was that economics are not a natural science, where you can reproduce the solutions over and over again. But they are a social science, which heavily depends on the assumptions and parameters of the theories.

The second session we made four groups, where each group read a different paper and later gave a brief summary about the topic. All of the four papers gave a different/heterodox view on neoclassical topics:

• “The rebound effect unravelled” by Tilman Santarius
• “Reflections—defining and measuring sustainability” by Geoffrey Heal
• “Changing visons of humans‘ place in the world and the need for an ecological economics” by Robert Costanza
• “Natural capital and sustainable development” by Robert Costanza and Herman E. Daily

Every single one of these showed an exciting, new look on existing mainstream point of views. I want to give you a quick overview on the rebound effect, as I think this is the most interesting topic of the four. The rebound effect means that despite the fact that our technology and world gets more and more efficient, we use more resources as e.g. 100 years ago. By resources I mean, energy, fuel or your own time. A short example will clear this up: our cars get faster and faster, so we are able to travel a much larger distance in a shorter period of time, but we still travel one hour to get e.g. to work. So we have not saved any time, despite our faster cars. Another good example is that when we produce a solar plant we can save oil. But in the making process we waste so much other materials and after use these plants cannot easily be disposed, which is also a waste of resources. There are tons of other examples.

The last session was about how we can bring pluralism and heterodox economics to our universities and curriculums and we had a kind of wrap up about what we learned in the past two days. There were a lot of great ideas on how you can make education matter:

• Make a workshop about pluralism
• Establish a reading circle about certain heterodox topics
• Ask professors from other universities to give a lecture at your university
• Get in touch with the above mentioned movements and see if you can make an event or if there is an event near you
• Work with, not against your professors if you want to establish a lecture or a whole course about heterodox economics

To give a short summary about the whole circle, I have to say that I have learned a lot. Not only because we read papers which do not have a mainstream thinking, but also because there were so many different and brilliant discussions and thoughts. Hope the next FutureLab will also be that interesting!

Cheers,

Christoph

This article was taken from the oikos Vienna Blog. The testimony can, likewise be found here: http://oikosvienna-blog.com/2015/11/13/learning-circle-economics-futurelab-2015/ 

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oikos International

posted November 23, 2015

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oikos LEAP Webinar with Julian Treasure

On December 8th we had the pleasure to listen to Julian Treasure via webinar for our oikos LEAP Basic Track. You can go back and take a look at it here and be inspired!

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oikos International

posted November 20, 2015

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Dinner in Paris

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Since the COY11 and COP21, this year, took place in a central location, Paris it was inevitable that an oikos reunion would have to take place. Six oikos alumni had a fantastic dinner together at Bioburger in the centre of Paris on November 29th and decided to have another follow-up dinner on December 7th. Thank you for joining us!

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We would like to invite you to another oikos Alumni dinner Sunday, November 29th in Paris, just before COP21 starts and just after the Conference Of Youth.
We will meet at Bio Burger Vistoire restaurant at 7:30pm to share a friendly moment in the presence of Anita, current oikos international president who will  be in Paris for the events stated above.

If you would like to join please contact Chloé Laurent.

See you there!

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oikos International

posted November 20, 2015

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oikos ANU Organises Climate Change Event #BeTheDrivingForce

On November 20th, 2015, 80 participants gathered at the Africa Nazarene University in Nairobi, Kenya. The morning started off with a warm welcome on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of the Africa Nazarene University read his speech here, followed by Mr. John Kioli, Chair of the KCCWG and Dr. Richard Lesiyampe, from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

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The audience could then listen to Kenya’s Progress in addressing Climate Change and its position for the upcoming COP21 in Paris. This was presented by Mr. Stephen Kinguyu from the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Rural Development Authorities. This enthusiastic session was followed by and address by the UNEP’s Mr Waiganjo Njoroge. Mr. Njoroge spoke about the link between youth and climate change and what we should do about it. See Kenya’s position presentation here. Moreover, find the presentation on policy here.

After a short break, the audience was excited to hear from Mr. Paul Mbole, Chair of the Sustainable Energy Network. The audience enjoyed a Q&A session with Mr. Mbole, likewise. A panel discussion followed the brief interaction composed of Ms. Cecilia Kibe from the KCJWC, Anita Negri who is currently President of oikos, Mr. Kevin Kinusu from TechforTrade, East Africa and Mr. John Kioli from KCCWG. The panel addressed several topics amongst which were gender roles in climate change, opportunities within the agricultural sector, plans for COP21, how to fund climate projects and responsible leadership amongst youth. See the presentation on agriculture here.

After a short lunch break, it was time for break out session in which groups discussed and exchange opinions on three topics: climate finance, energy and agriculture. After the presentation of what each had exchanged in their groups, moderated by students, participants had the opportunity to plan trees, guided by John Henry. The programme closed with a lot of inspiration on thinking to be done on behalf of participants after the various inputs heard throughout the day.

12248831_910907475624132_436583949_nSpecials thanks go out to John Henry who made a lot of efforts in organizing this event. May this serve as an example for many more such events to come.

See how the hashtag on Twitter got people talking here. And on Facebook here.

Kenyan Universities represented: Africa Nazarene University,Technical University of Kenya, University of Kabianga, Multimedia University of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology, Mount Kenya University, Kenya Climate Change Working Group, African Youth Initiative Against Climate Change, Daystar University Kenya, Miss Tourism Kenya , Ministry of Environment.

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oikos International

posted November 20, 2015

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Operation Climat is Ready!

At the beginning of the summer, oikos joined forces with ARTE and others to create a unique video on climate change made by European citizens. The result is a beautiful montage that reflects all the citizens’ dearest spots in all corners of Europe. Opération Climat will become part of the documentary  « Nos chers paradis », which will be shown on ARTE on November 24th, 2015. We are ready to take action at the COP21 all together very soon!

See it here (in French):

More information: http://info.arte.tv/fr/operation-climat

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oikos International

posted November 17, 2015

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Transparency Criteria for the Construction of Corporate Sustainability Ratings – An Analysis Based on the Composite Indicator Framework

Corporate sustainability ratings or sustainability ratings (SRs) are applied to integrate sustainability in investment decisions. In order to evaluate the contribution to tackling sustainability challenges and in order to apply them, agencies need to disclose information about the construction of the SR. This thesis follows four steps to present transparency criteria for the construction of SRs. First, I show that the composite indicator framework is applicable to SRs. Second, I use this framework to find out how a one-dimensional measure, which represents a multi-dimensional phenomenon like corporate sustainability, is constructed. This identifies the choices that agencies have when constructing an SR. Third, I use these findings to derive 14 elements that need to be described in order to enable the interpretation of an SR. These elements constitute the transparency criteria. Fourth, the application of the transparency criteria is demonstrated by an empirical review of information that is published during the accreditation by the quality standard Arista 3.0. The last part finds that the accredited agencies do not publish sufficient information to enable the SRs’ interpretation and that the Arista 3.0 does not achieve the targeted transparency. I conclude that the transparency criteria are useful to analyze whether disclosed information is sufficient to enable the interpretation of SRs.

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oikos International

posted November 11, 2015

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oikos Newsletter November 2015

oikees gathered from all over the globe at St Gallen and bonded over leadership, chapter management, sustainability and so much more! October was the month of the #oikosPM2015 and the #oikosFL2015 where people came together to #MakeEducationMatter. Social media sites were flooded with hashtags as each and every oikee shared snippets from their FutureLab and Presidents’ Meeting journey. We first hosted the Presidents’ Meeting and started oikos LEAP. Then, with the help of a fantastic FutureLab team, whom you can get to know in the 30 seconds with, and 120 participants we made, and continue, making education matter. With the FutureLab also came the launch of the oikos Theses Database. Read more about it below and spread the word, upload your thesis or thesis idea. Let’s make a difference in the sustainability of theses around the world!
November will be the penultimate month of 2015 and we have two important deadlines approaching. The first is the applications for the oikos PhD Fellowship in sustainability and finance. The second is the oikos Cases Programme. See more information on both below, under the Academic section.

Enjoy the read and do not forget to mark your calendars with the many oikos events that are planned for the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016!

Read more here.

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oikos International

posted November 7, 2015

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In the Eyes of the FutureLab Team 2015

Dear oikos Community,

The FutureLab experience as an organizer is fundamentally different to the experience as a participant. You don’t talk to the other participants about the speakers, but to the speakers about the participants. You don’t follow the interaction in the discussion as much as the hands people put up to participate in it. Instead of perceiving the ambience at the location, you create it by dimming the lights.

When we designed the FutureLab, we wanted to create an inclusive and open atmosphere. We wanted to create a space where everyone could find their role and purpose. We believe that the amazing presentation by the chapter presidents did exactly that. It showed that the FutureLab is really carried by you, the participants, and that we, the team, could simply create the structure which you brought alive.

We can’t stress it enough: The FutureLab is more than just a two day conference. Its conception is intended as a catalyst for many activities in the oikos network. And so we owe much of its success so far and its impact to come to everyone involved in the individual sessions. That includes Learning Circle Managers, the emerging Alumni Network, our Partners, of course the Executive Board and everyone who helped to make the FutureLab logistically a success.

So we are very excited to see how some of the input from these two days in St. Gallen will translate into concrete projects in the Learning Circles and chapters. The Learning Circle Sessions at the FutureLab certainly did not provide enough time to develop a full project proposal, but we know that great ideas were sparked and invite you to follow up on them. For inspiration, many more insights, interviews and articles from the conference will continuously be posted to our EdCast page.

Now is the time to act. This is true not only for your engagement in numerous oikos Learning Circles and chapter projects, but for the realization of the oikos mission as such. Whatever your field of study may be, you’re about to get much more knowledgeable than at any time in your life. It is in these crucial years that all of us can make the biggest difference in our own lives. If we decide to take ecological, responsible, innovative, and sustainable leadership now, this will ultimately make a difference in many lives.

We hope that with the oikos FutureLab we made a worthwhile contribution to this cause  and we are very grateful to be part of this great community.

See you soon at the upcoming meetings!

Theresa, Renée & Adrian

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oikos International

posted November 6, 2015

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Asia Meet 2016

Join us in Vellore for a fantastic 4th Asia Meet, more information here: http://oneworldconference.in.

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oikos International

posted November 3, 2015

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