2025
at oikos
a year in review
As we count down the final moments of 2025, it’s the perfect time to look back on everything that took place this year. It’s been an impactful one for oikos. The circumstances the world finds itself in at the moment have brought plenty of uncertainty and challenges within the non-profit organizational landscape. To better navigate through this global reality, we put a focus on strengthening the oikos Community and retaining prolific collaborations.
The Community Energy
On the Community side, we’ve seen it reinvigorated by the efforts of highly motivated chapter members and alumni, whose fresh energy and dedication made new exciting developments possible. The incredible drive of oikos Warsaw team behind the International Chapter Conference (ICC) in March of this year resulted in a Community gathering truly designed for impact. Chapter members joining from abroad took on a fresh perspective on sustainability, highlighting challenges and ideas characteristic of Poland and the broader Central and Eastern European region.
The team behind the conference shared their learnings and experiences partaking in a big project, a new and different experience compared to their previous work in the local chapter. Looking to break the stereotypical conference format, the Warsaw team looked beyond a one-way transfer of information, opting to create space for true dialogue that can move people towards meaningful action. A testament to their continuous drive and motivation for more, three ICC project members went on to inject that energy into oikos International by getting elected to the 2026 Board.
Shaping up the oikos future
This year, we hosted reimagined Community Calls as online gathering places for connecting and practicing leadership. Created around a participatory approach, where chapter members get to learn from one another, by getting to know their experiences and best practices within the oikos Community. One of the calls was centered around Handover process – crucial for maintaining chapter continuity and preserving knowledge. Oikees were eager to engage and discuss dos and don’ts of chapter handovers through reflecting on their experiences and needs that had arisen in the past in these transitional periods.
With the ICC 2026 in planning process, Community Call was the perfect opportunity to create a base of expectations and needs from the oikos Community to weave the conference around. Students voiced out their needs for knowledge sharing spaces, a hopeful vision for the future, a more connected international effort towards sustainability, and meeting new interesting people, which lead to inspiration, creating the real and visible impact in the community, building networks, and driving change towards sustainability.
At the core of a thriving Community is the ability to grow it easily and sustainably. It was this thinking that led us to redefine the chapter opening process, streamlining the journey from the initial idea to a functioning new organization at a university. The initial step in this new process is the workshop we hosted for the first time this year. It is a learning experience from beginning to end, throughout which we provide guidance through mentorship, resources, and knowledge sharing for chapters to take the next steps.
The role of oikos International in supporting chapter development and fostering the oikos Community has been one of the key focuses in long-term planning behind the scenes. This involved the redefining of the chapter opening, but also reshaping and restructuring our programs to align with the needs for developing leadership and organizational capacities within the Community. We are excited to announce further new developments that will come from it over the course of next year!
Thriving Alumni community
2025 has been an important year for our Alumni community. A series of ‘Career Paths’ online workshops became a regular part of our Community calendar this year. The three workshops were envisioned as career days featuring our very own oikos Alumni who engaged with our student members, giving them a glimpse into different sustainability careers from personal experience. Opening up new ideas and opportunities for students to set and shape up their career trajectories, the workshops were an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts from actual practitioners, with a space for two-way exchanges.
oikos Alumni were very eager to engage with students, but also one another. This year, we saw a growing number of gatherings and hikes, self-organized or with support from oikos International. These were less formal, yet as impactful events that play an important role in strengthening bonds within the community. Whether it’s rekindling the flames of old friendships or bridging the generational gap by bringing together oikees of all ages, a lively and thriving Alumni community is at the heart of oikos.
10 years of responsible leadership
Our Leadership Program LEAP marked its 10-year anniversary in 2025. This year, we saw the largest cohort to date participate in the program, with 133 young leaders embarking on their LEAP journeys in April. A very diverse cohort, participants regularly joined in from across the world. This year, we once again teamed up with PRME, incorporating their i5 pedagogy into the framework of the program. Over the course of six months, they took part in a learning experience, exploring different modules – playful learning, boundary setting, active listening, and effective communication.
Through workshops, regional communities of practice, and the scaling of the program, the initiative empowered students and researchers to become catalysts for institutional transformation. The truly global scope of participation created a global movement of leaders committed to advancing regenerative education and sustainable impact across disciplines and regions. Tracking impact with the support of our friends from winded.vertigo, showed that LEAP participants found their learning meaningful. Through each module, they were encouraged and also eager to embrace it, practice, and apply it in their everyday lives.
Amplifying youth and student voices
In 2025, oikos was invited to a number of impactful conferences to represent the voices of our community and provide the student perspective when it comes to driving change on campus. oikos Co-President Patricija Zizyte featured as a panelist at the UN High-Level Political Forum alongside our friends from Sulitest & PRME. She was also a part in a workshop at the HESI-SAG-hosted Global Sustainable Development Congress. Taking away from these opportunities is the reaffirmed need to reshape old mindsets to take on today’s challenges through building self-awareness, collaboration and learning by experimenting toward meaningful, future-ready work.
The second Co-president Michael Winter and his successor Jule Neumann represented oikos, taking part in AI and Sustainability Podcast by the UN University and a Club of Rome Workshop at ESADE in Barcelona. At this year’s Urban Future conference, we continued a years long collaboration by hosting two workshops based on our LEAP Leadership Program. We previously hosted them for cohorts of young leaders in a specifically tailored program setting and atmosphere, which we adapted to bring the same experience to conference-goers while staying true to the core values of the workshop.
One of the highlights of the year was co-hosting the online Higher Education Summit, together with Copernicus Alliance, SOS International, and Students4Sustainability. Focusing on a bolder approach to education, offered a space for collective reflection, discussion, and co-creation for those engaged in transforming higher education into a more sustainable, regenerative learning environment. HES brought together different audiences involving students, educators, and changemakers, providing a unique opportunity for dialogue and collaboration.
Thank you for your continued support and following of our Community’s incredible efforts and developments! Looking ahead to 2026, we are excited to see how the next year shapes up!
Community Call: Marketing
A Workshop on external communications hosted by oikos Board Member Iqra
11 FEBCareer Paths: ESG
oikos Alumni as ESG experts shared their career experiences career. Featuring: Lilia Yang, Asha Reddy Mandapati, Benoit Pitsaer and Antonia Pohlmann.
7 MARoikos Graz: Sustainable Finance 101
Webinar tailored for students eager to make a positive impact through their financial decisions and featured Katharina Herzog, of money:care.
12 MARICC Warsaw
After months of preparations, the ICC in Warsaw opens the doors to the oikos Community!
Read More20-23 MARoikos at Urban Future
oikos hosted two LEAP based workshops as part of the UF25 agenda
Read More21-23 MAYLEAP: Playful Learning
The first Module of LEAP 2025 was all about Playful Learning and Education
Read MoreMAYRite of Passage 2025
A collaboration between oikos Alumni and Oasis Foundation, the third Rite of Passage took place in Galicia, Spain
24-30 MAYLEAP: Aligning Values and Healthy Boundaries
The second Module of LEAP 2025 was focused on setting boundaries.
Read MoreJUNCareer Paths: Framing Climate Change in Media
June Career Paths were focused on Framing Climate Change in media, featuring Abdulbaki Ahmad, Peter Obersteiner, Melanie Krug and Nora Locskai.
13 JUNLEAP Special: Future Leaders Book Club
We asked LEAP participants what they're reading...
Read MoreJUNoikos at GSDC
oikos Co-president Patricija Zizyte represented oikos at Global Sustainable Development Congress in Istanbul
Read More16-19 JUNLEAP: Listening Well
The July Module of LEAP 2025 was about learning and practicing active listening.
Read MoreJULoikos at UNHLPF
oikos Co-president Patricija Zizyte represented oikos at multiple conferences
Read More14-23 JULLEAP: Effective Communication
The second Module of LEAP 2025 was focused conflict resolution through effective communication.
Read MoreAUGMichael Winter on UN Podcast on AI
oikos Co-president Michael Winter joined the UN University Podcast on AI.
Read More11 AUGLEAP: Closing Ceremony
The second Module of LEAP 2025 was focused conflict resolution through effective communication.
Read More16-17 SEPCommunity Call: Co-creating ICC2026
We hosted an online workshop to give the Chapters a say in what the next ICC will be like.
Read More24 SEPCareer Paths: Activism
oikos Alumni Elena Muller and Anna Kurth hosted an online webinar going into the details of turning activism into a career.
11 OCTChapter Opening Redefined
The first workshop for the new redefined chapter opening process was hosted online.
Read More24 OCToikos at RMER Conference
oikos was represented by Patricija Zizyte at the RMER conference in Belgrade co-hosted by our friends from PRME.
21-23 OCTHigher Education Summit 2025
We co-hosted an online Higher Education Summit with Copernicus Alliance, SOS International and Students4Sustainability.
Read More19-20 NOVoikos at Club of Rome Workshop
oikos was represented by Co-president Jule Neumann at the Club of Rome workshop at ESADE in Barcelona.
9-10 OCTAlumni Hike St. Gallen
A hike connecting Alumni from across different chapters and generations took place in St. Gallen, supported by HSG Alumni.
13 DEC