Exploring Complexities of Food Security at the oikos Winter School 2016

On Monday February 22nd, the Winter School team 2016 welcomed 16 participants from various countries to the Winter School on „How to feed the world?“. This first day was almost entirely dedicated to knowing each other and understanding why the topic of food security is so important to any country in the world. After many games and seeing a video that introduces the general idea of the topic, participants learnt more about oikos as an organisation. Participants were also divided into teams of 2, which were named coaching teams, as they would be reflecting on each day of the week with their partner and write down their most inspiring moment of the day on our board. The evening reached and everyone gladly tuck into bed as the traveling had made everyone tired.

 
12742489_10153373221966931_1659366138502730595_nThe first day of the content of the School was Tuesday. With an optional yoga session in the morning, Tuesday entailed workshops by two guests: Wilfried Bommert (World Food Institute) and Gertrud Falk (FIAN), respectively addressing the topics of the possibilities for the future and the right to food. In between the guest sessions were also two sessions that pushed participants to create schemes and diagrams of the food system as they saw it, the stakeholders within it and more. The day ended with full minds, as the load of information on the complexity of this field stunned participants. The third day also started with a joga session, and the role of international trade brought by Bernhard Brummer from Gottingen University. After a fish-bowl discussion with the professor another professor took charge of the second part of the day on productivity and hands-on soil exploration in the fields of Witten. This was led by Walter Rossing frm Wageningen University. The day ended with an interesting exercise called ‘contact jam’ and delicious dinner.

 
Thursday came almost too soon, as most participants could not even keep up with remembering what day it was. The day started in the best of ways with a breakfast, session and lunch with Hans Herren, winner of the World Food Prize, the so-called Nobel prize in this field. The open lecture attracted many students and professors alike. The afternoon was dedicated to understanding local markets and small-holder agriculture with Karina Brenneis from GIZ in Germany. A very magical dinner ended the day, with Pepe Dayad, from the initiative Nowhere Kitchen coming to cook and explain the concept of cooking with solely leftovers. The final day of the working week, but not of the School, featured four field activities that participants could choose amongst: insect food, aquaponics, Demeter farming and the German version of CSA. Groups of participants attended these different acitvities and were inspired by the extent of techniques that are possible and implementable. In the afternoon, the groups executed more research on the topics and presented their discoveries. The day ended with an insect dinner by essento, whose founder is an oikos alumnus.

 
The true final day arrived and was totally dedicated to design thinking. After an entire week filled with discussions, inputs and colours, it was now time to understand how to put it into project/startup/practice. The day was facilitated by Patrick Rebacz and even though some found the process less interesting than others, it was a great experience to be confronted with. The day ended with a wonderful feedback round, a big dinner and a relaxed party in the centre of Witten. On Sunday many participants were either too tired to join the final brunch or already had their trains in the morning, however, everyone left with a feeling of positivity, need to create solutions and an unforgettable experience. As an Indonesian participant put it: “even if I had come all the way to Europe just for the Winter School, it would still have been worth it!”

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oikos International

posted February 28, 2016

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Segolene Royale Writes to oikos Lausanne for Their Good Work

oikos Lausanne, together with 2 other student organizations at the University of Lausanne, organized a splendid event on the COP21 in November 2015. After having written to Segolene Royale, they received a positive response.

Congratulations on the accredited event!

See the letter here!

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oikos International

posted February 22, 2016

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“oikos is for life!”

Whilst we wait for the Annual Report 2015 to come out (expected for April 2016), here a sneak peak testimonial.

“Sustainability has always been an issue that is very near and dear to my heart! During my studies in international business administration, I noticed this topic was missing in the traditional way of management education. This is one of the reasons I joined oikos back in 2009 and seven years after, I am still so excited to be involved in this organization. Being part of the oikos community is a truly great experience, it provides infinite amounts of inspiration and energy! I have so beautiful memories of working together with motivated students in my local chapter and then sharing ideas, meeting incredibly intelligent, inspiring people from all over the world during international meetings. Coming back from a Spring Meeting or the Future Lab, you really want to elaborate projects, implement new ideas and change the world!

And this is the case even if you already graduated!! We, oikos alumni, should definitely stay in touch with these kindred spirits, share our expertise, our passion and not unlearn the values we learned within oikos… because we definitely represent the values of the future! Hence, I would like to say to each and everyone of you: ‘Don’t miss the opportunity to engage in oikos, make a difference, have an impact and stay an oikee FOR LIFE!” – Axel Bozier, oikos Reims Alumnus 

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oikos International

posted February 17, 2016

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oikos Newsletter February 2016

The year is fast spinning out of our hands. So we recommend you to buckle your seatbelt and hold on tight as we stay in pace with the galloping year. An inspiration to all oikos chapters was the newly founded oikos chapter Rotterdam. They organized an event on critical thinking and negotiation skills, a need for students stepping into the corporate world. As we keep talking about being green, oikos members spoke at “The Entretiens du Royaumont” in Paris and we have many more events of our own coming in the next couple of months: the Winter School, the Spring Meeting and so forth! Also, do not forget to sign up for the fundraising webinar with Michèlle Joanisse this month already. January has been a busy month and February promises to be even more so. Read on more.

Read more here.

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oikos International

posted February 10, 2016

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A new Finance PhD Fellow joins oikos

Stefano Ramelli, oikos PhD fellow in “Finance & Sustainability” at the University of Zurich’s Department of Banking and Finance

I’ve always been interested in financial and economic education as a way to foster an active and broader participation in our society, but also to stimulate practical solutions to make the economic system more sustainable and inclusive. The activities of oikos follow these same principles and values, and I will be extremely happy and proud to contribute to them as a PhD fellow.

I have studied economics at the University of Milan­Bicocca and at the University of Edinburgh, trying to maintain interdisciplinary interests and an eye on the problems of the real world. After an internship at the European Commission, I’ve spent 5 years in the field of social finance and social responsible investments. I’ve particularly worked on the assessment of environmental, social and governance risk factors in banking and other financial sectors. It’s just a piece of the puzzle, but I believe that the integration of non­financial considerations in financial decisions (either by individuals or large institutions) is a key element of a more sustainable economy.

 
The oikos PhD fellowship is indeed an excellent opportunity for me to increase my understanding of financial research, bringing my contribution through the lens of sustainability. Thanks once again to oikos and to the Department of Banking and Finance for the trust and support in giving me this opportunity. I’m also really looking forward to getting inspired by the many brilliant students of the oikos network, passionate as I am about finding the right questions ­ and possibly some answers! -­ to make finance a better place.

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oikos International

posted February 5, 2016

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Applications for the oikos Asia Meet 2016 are open!

Every year an oikos Asia chapter takes over the challenge to organize the oikos Asia Meet. This year it will take place in Vellore, India, in the midst of the technological triangle of India and a hotspot for sustainability on campus and more. Read more and register right here: http://www.oneworldconference.in!

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oikos International

posted February 4, 2016

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