Shaping a new generation of responsible leaders: LEAP Mid-Term Meeting 2022

The end of July was time for the most awaited event of LEAP: the onsite Mid-Term Meeting. This year’s meeting took place in a mountainside village of Churwalden in East of Switzerland where participants and volunteers gathered for the event from 24 to 31 July. As usual, the volunteers’ preparation meeting also took place from 22 to 24 July. For many, the favourite part of the program, once more, the mid-term meeting brought oikees students from different countries and backgrounds together united in values and goals of growing into conscious leaders of tomorrow.

We wanted to guarantee these days together would be a deeply restorative journey for everyone. For the volunteers preparation meeting, the goal was to create space for individuals to arrive at easy, for the team to bond and to become equipped with capacity and confidence to host participants in the following days. The mid-term meeting is as much of a journey for volunteers as it is for the participants. Activities as embodiment practices, solo reflection walk in nature, collective artwork creation, brave space circle and group dialogue exercises, were carefully carried together with sessions to build intention, prepare logistics and finalize the program’s agenda. Those activities allowed them to focus on 5 main grow zones in hosting and facilitation:

  • Softening for quality of presence 
  • Learning to prepare, trust and let go 
  • Learning to work with diversity 
  • Exploring connectivity with self, team, nature and for the program’s agenda.
  • Self-discovery and development

Once the volunteer team was ready, it was time for our beloved participants to arrive! Over the course of the week, our LEAPers explored each of the five dimensions of the Inner Development Goals – Being, Thinking, Relating, Collaborating and Acting. The program provided opportunities for everyone to ground, have space to reflect on themselves and to connect with others and nature, building key conditions for conscious leadership to flourish. Through the carefully picked agenda, the volunteers created a platform for participants exploring deep questions that might go overlooked in our day-to-day lives; to contemplate about past, present and future path in life; as well as to reflect about the roles and relationships they are currently involved with; to connect to their purpose with insights into ways of using talents and gifts to make a positive impact in the world; all while learning about and expanding interpersonal relationships.

The first and last days were fully dedicated for arrival and settling in & for celebrating and preparing for leaving.

For the Being day they experienced a spaceful time to develop a deep level of presence, with embodiment exercises, time in nature for connecting to self, games to get to know others in a fun way and creative reflection activity to build the intentions for the week. Yet, there was still time for exploration of topics for self-awareness as diving into our personal beliefs to the different aspects of life using the Wheel of Life exercise.

For the Thinking day, we had sessions to connect to your why and to build a long term vision for the future, and to explore complexity and perspective taking with multi stakeholder roleplay games.

On Relating day, our connection to nature was at spot. We reflected about our current development paradigm and worldviews in connection to our relationship to nature and experienced the outdoors with different eyes through exercises such as forest bathing in pairs and hiking using special intentional cards to foster contemplation and dialogue.  

During the Collaborating days, some important activities were the Warm Data Lab around trust; exploring embodied communication; being creative and taking the lead with setting your own activities with the Open Space Technology and coming together to co-create the LEAP Summit, an event intended of being a giving back experience where participants bring back to their communities their learnings with the different Inner Development Goals at LEAP.

The Acting day was the final time to reflect, integrate and step up to how to bring all the LEAP experiences and learnings forward, exploring what we want to commit to and presenting the LEAP Summit ideas.

Still, in all the days there was enough free space for morning well-being activities, to spend quality time together along with delicious vegetarian meals and for evenings together sharing cultural or games nights, dancing or gathering for a look at the night sky and stars. Talking about the sky, as always, the outdoor element had great value in shaping the activities. For the most part of the days, we were blessed with sunny and warm weather that allowed us to realize the program’s agenda mostly in our terrace and green areas, which highlighted the incredible setting for this year’s meeting. Sitting on a gentle slope between towering mountains, we had the soundtrack of silence, the singing of birds and of a river water running. With enough free time allocated, participants would enjoy nature playing any of the few sports at hand, sitting down for contemplation or talks or going for walks exploring the beautiful surroundings. 

With so many soul-food elements, the Midterm Meeting has a special place at the heart of every cohort. The in person element allows one to have time and space to explore themself on such a deep level, connect with peers and share personal stories and experiences, creating strong bonds between participants. As LEAP Meetings are very touching, a fundamental piece of it is creating a safe space for flow of trust and confidence and where everyone can feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, sharing emotions and feeling empowered to count on peers for support. 

Connected to that, we want to first thank our volunteers! The meeting was an incredibly valuable experience, which would not have been possible without this amazing team who dedicated time and effort, taking part in creating and carrying out all the sessions and being role models, guaranteeing that the LEAP safe space atmosphere and culture was always omnipresent throughout the meeting. Their shared inputs, insights, experience and feelings provided unique guidance, encouragement and support to participants! 

We also wanna thank our lovely participants for having had the courage to step in to work on themselves and to create a strong community and group spirit allowing a deep sense of belonging and connection to emerge! You all truly shined in that regard.

Here we share with you some of the participants perspectives and stories from the LEAP Midterm Meeting:


THE DAY BEGINS

We wake up early in the morning.
When the sun is still hiding behind the mountain.
When the clouds are hanging low covering the valley.
We step on the wet grass.
We let the fresh cold air touch our sleepy warm bodies.
We take a little hike up the hill.
We find ourselves surrounded by trees, rocks, a creek running through.
We take off our clothes. Embrace the chill.
And then we dip. Our feet. Our hands. Our full bodies. On the THREE. Into an ice-cold water. Feeling the power of the water falling creating tiny waterfalls.
Feeling our body parts sting. Blood rushing through our veins.
That’s how the day begins.
The sun shines over the top on the mountain.
It sprinkles the glitter over the water, tiny drops on our bodies.
Warms up our numb fingers.
The sky clears up.
The day begins.

“We kept calling our space PLAYGROUND. We were free to open our minds for all the possibilities, explore ourselves, our thoughts, learn about other people and nature. The moment in the mountain that teaches life lessons. Empowers to crave for deep experiences. Makes us fall in love with ourselves. Inspires to commit to our dreams. Shows how different and special each of us are. Sparks the hope for the bright future.

We talked about how we wished that every person has gone through LEAP experience at least once in their life. The world would be a different place – full of kindness, openness, support, and freedom. But until then, we can plant the seeds in our communities and create little LEAP moments every day”.

-Patricija, participant


“This week was one of my best weeks in my entire life!! Being with the other participants in this beautiful place in Switzerland was just magical! It made me feel so well, so peaceful, so connected, so grateful and so much more and definitely helped me to become a better leader and person as a whole :)”

– Antonia, participant


“It’s been a beautiful learning journey & honour to be with you, witnessing myself and the group as we’ve been tinkering around with our comfort zones. The leap is part of my life for about 6 years now and this year would have rendered the first without my proactive involvement wouldn’t you have invited me to hold you in the process. This dedicated role allowed me to host from my essence, to be more myself than rarely before in my work. Boundaries blurring, and you allowed me to be ok or even embrace that. To trust that there’s a rosebush, not only the wondrous smell of a flower or the spikeyness of thorns. it’s been a real honour to meet everyone of you, see you grow and to share a little more of who I am becoming. I cannot wait to see where we will meet again, may it be at next year’s leap, in the virtual office or just a call away. I count on your adventurous spirits to think of me in the right moment – and I hold so much trust, compassion and love for all of you”.

-Sophie, oikos International team member and LEAP volunteer


-Salil, Participant
Matthieu, LEAP Volunteer
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oikos International

posted September 12, 2022

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oikos AGORA: Semester Reflection

Heya oikees! Just wrapping up an intense semester of juggling university and oikos? Have you had the chance to think back to everything that you have learnt? Time to celebrate all your powerful achievements!

Sophie & Anna are really excited to do all that together with you at our Semester Reflection Call on Tuesday, 21st of June –  5.30 pm IST/ 8 pm HKT / 2pm CEST. This is a space where our whole community comes together, so feel free to join with the other chapters in your house and bring along your chapter members.

No need to prepare anything, and no need to know anything about oikos International before. Main language will be English, and we are all learners so do not hesitate to join!

Join through this link.

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oikos International

posted June 21, 2022

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Community Impact Contest – oikos Chapters making waves with their change work

The oikos Community is always striving to find new ways to make learning more interactive, interesting and innovative and raise awareness for sustainability challenges they face on multiple levels. The incredible intrinsic motivation and the diversity of approaches is one of the main strengths of our community which flourishes into an ocean of ideas contributing to the highly needed change in our world.

At oikos international, we want to celebrate and showcase the thriving efforts of our local chapters. Therefore, we launched the Community Impact Contest: a platform for our chapters to learn, exchange & get inspired within and beyond the oikos community while celebrating each other’s work! After the local groups shared some of their most beautiful projects, the global network voted and selected the most thought-provoking and ground-breaking ideas.
After a very exciting and fun voting which took place during our International Chapter Conference (ICC) in Graz , we can finally reveal the results. Let us proudly announce the most celebrated projects of our community:

  1. The oikos x Swire Coca-Cola HK Sustainability Impact Case Competition, by oikos Hong Kong. This business case helped students acquire a sustainable business mindset by designing and developing innovative solutions for a real-life business case, while raising awareness for urgently needed waste reduction in Hong Kong.
  2. The Momentum Camp, by oikos Barcelona. This 3-days-event which gathered students, private as well as the public sector of Barcelona to discuss sustainability challenges the city is facing and the purpose of education in solving those challenges.
  3. The survey on Transforming Education, by oikos Graz and their home university. Through this initiative, oikos Graz aims at helping their host university (University of Graz) to take a proactive stand on sustainability and 21st century education by surveying students on what their perceptions and needs are regarding knowledge on sustainability at their university, as a part of the project of improving their local curriculum in the following years.
  4. The Green Jobs Fair, by oikos Warsaw. This job fair allowed students to see sustainability not only as a theoretical university course, but also as a real career path filled with new opportunities.
  5. The guest lecture on Sustainable Business, by oikos Graz. This event allowed students to learn how to integrate sustainability into businesses, what corporate social responsibility means and how to avoid greenwashing in these contexts.
  6. The Woman in Sustainability event series, by oikos Graz. This event series is dedicated to female scientists, entrepreneurs and activists, their role in the sustainability movement, the challenges they’re facing as women and tools to help women to overcome those challenges.

We want to thank all those who have participated in this event, and we want to congratulate all of our chapters for their stunning work and impact!
We are celebrating our beautiful community!

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oikos International

posted May 31, 2022

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LEAP YOUth Kick-off Meeting in Graz

Participants of our LEAP YOUth program’s 2022 cohort had the opportunity to meet together in the lively city of Graz, Austria for the long-awaited onsite kick off meeting at the end of April. 

The meeting took place from 19 to 21 April, and was immediately followed by oikos International Chapter Conference which began just after the meeting was finalized.

The onsite meetings of LEAP aim to support participants to build a stronger sense of community with each other. Participants get to deepen their understanding and practice of LEAP foundations, culture and frameworks. As the LEAP YOUth program this year is focusing on the Inner Development Goals, and its 5 dimensions – Being, Thinking, Relating, Collaborating and Acting – the onsite kick off meeting was an opportunity for them to dive into and practice the learnings from module 1 – the BEING dimension – relationship to self.

Through different sessions hosted by our amazing LEAP alumni and volunteers, the participants explored how to cultivate the BEING dimension interacting with its themes of: 

  • Inner Compass
  • Integrity and Authenticity
  • Openness and Learning mindset
  • Self-awareness
  • Mindful Presence.  

Participants had opportunities to self-organise their morning wellbeing activities, connecting with themselves through contemplative practices like meditations, reflections and embodiment exercises. They were invited to explore their inner world through discovering and sharing about values, personal challenges, and strengths. Another exercise focused on learning to design and use powerful questions in life while simultaneously listening deeply to self and others.

We were blessed with an amazing selection of locations our sessions took place in! Part of the program was held in the beautiful hill of Schlossberg, allowing more contact with nature while enjoying extensive views of the city. Another very special location was the Spektral, a creative, community open-space and cultural center near the Mur River.

Outside of the session times, a lot of space was provided for getting to know each other, to exchange between multicultural volunteer facilitators and participants, to learn from different perspectives, to share delicious vegan meals, enjoy fun evening activities and party!  

A big thank you to everyone involved and the LEAP team is excited to see you all onsite again for our LEAP midterm meeting in July in Switzerland!

Check out what facilitators and participants had to say about their onsite experience:

“This is my second year participating with the LEAP program and I am so happy I came back to it after a year off. The on-site meeting was a chance for me to go deeper with my own learnings while being an example to our participants in pushing our comfort zones and being willing to learn. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to lead a mindfulness and well-being exercise to share what is useful in my own practice from yoga and stretching, thoughts of gratitude, and mental check-in. LEAP really gives all of us the chance to lead and improve ourselves”. – Stephen Snider, peer group facilitator and volunteer

“I am beyond happy that I could join the onsite kick-off meeting of LEAP in Graz and get to know in person all the open-minded and inspiring people in this year’s cohort, as well people standing behind it. We worked on ourselves to become better listeners and explored the values we are running on. All of that in the unique chilled atmosphere only LEAP can create! Kudos to organizators!” -Viktorie Vlkova, participant

“I thought the onsite Kick-Off in Graz was an amazing opportunity to meet people in person and connect with other people from other countries. A very great cultural experience. This LEAP program is impressing me more every day. I found it very interesting to immerse ourselves in ourselves and see, for example, what our strengths are and what values ​​are most important to us. Also learning to listen to each other carefully, which is fundamental in mindfulness.” Noemi Zmork, participant

“Hey dear reader, I am ilkay and this is the short description of my LEAP Kick-off meeting experience. Enjoy!! I would say it was the most open and accepting event in my life. We all have friends and close people with whom we can share a lot, but it is hard to do so with someone you have just met. And during the meeting it felt like everyone knew each other for a loooong time and the “trust” was so powerful. For me it was the first time to meet LEAPers since 2020, when I was the participant of this program. I was counting hours to finally go to Austria and meet them. The event took place in a lovely place, Graz, and it is definitely going to my top 20 cities list. During the meeting I hosted my first session, I was super nervous at the beginning. And right at that moment I had the support of the whole organizers’ team, which was so cute I even teared up a bit, just a bit :D. I really enjoyed being part of the team, I brought back a lot of new learnings about teamwork and friendships.” -Ilkai, peer group facilitator and volunteer

“Leap is the place where you maybe don’t know anyone in the room at the start but in a second everyone is your friend. It is the place where you share, where you feel safe and the most positive atmosphere surrounds you. I spent almost 2 days on a leap onsite kick off meeting and in this small time had the pleasure to speak on interesting topics with new friends all around the world, given thoughts of my problems, faced them, found solutions and  asked powerful questions and most importantly developed. And the favourite session, we shared positive energy with each other, small notes on each’s backs, which we will always remember”. – Jaba Jabauri, participant

“As a participant of the LEAP YOUth program 2022 I was invited to spend a few wonderful days in Austria during which I discovered more about myself, especially what kind of leader I would like to be. Already before our on-site session we had a few online gatherings which were put together with love and spirit – but they were nothing in comparison to the environment I found in Austria. In just three days I had so many laughs, learnings and joyous occasions that I feel very blessed to have been invited.” – Niklas Ziemann, participant

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oikos International

posted May 16, 2022

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oikos International Chapter Conference Graz 2022

From 21 to 24 April, our Community had the pleasure to be hosted by the Graz chapter of oikos for this year’s edition of the International Chapter Conference(ICC), which took place in the Austrian city. Over the course of four days the sessions would cover a wide range of topics focusing on bringing changes to systems around us. Deeply rooted throughout this year’s ICC was belief that small people could make a change and hope of coming together to collaborate and drive the change. There were plenty of opportunities to learn, challenge our perspectives and ideas, exchange and connect with active members and alumni from the international oikos Community. In this article, we look back to the Conference and take away the most important parts of it.

The day one of the ICC was traditionally centered around oikos International. On this day we had the opportunity to present to our Community, as well as external – local and international students taking part at the conference. The Conference opened up with a few words from oikos Co-presidents Sophie Charrois and Darija Miletic, welcoming everyone and presenting the agenda for the day. It was truly a large Community gathering, with plenty of chapters represented by both – members attending the full conference along with those partaking in the LEAP YOUth onsite Kick-off Meeting which had also taken place in Graz in the three days leading up to the conference.

Sustainable Finance was the center point of one of the workshops

Naturally, the oikos International day of each conference is the place for networking and connecting with fellow oikees, exchanging about each other’s ideas and projects, sharing inspiring stories and building up the community feeling. It is also an important platform for oikos International to present our initiatives and opportunities in which oikos chapter members can take part, along with tools and developments we specially designed for the chapters. We had a diverse audience of oikees, coming from different chapters and with varying amounts of experience. Whether they’re long-time members or had just joined their local chapter, each of them could take back home new learnings to apply in local projects and activities.

Day two of the ICC kicked off with a scavenger hunt in the morning. The four-hour walk around the city of Graz, finding local sustainable businesses and getting to know the city a bit better were so captivating that even the rainy weather couldn’t wash away the good mood and energy among participants. A well planned route with an incredible selection of stores had seen oikees pay a visit and learn about natural cosmetics, fair fashion, social workshop, secondhand, bike rental and zero-waste groceries. There were plenty of things to take away from all of the stores, but the highlight for most was printing their own oikos shirt to take home as a souvenir.

Apflbutzn zero-waste market was one of the stops in the scavenger hunt

After the exciting morning, we came together for an opening ceremony which took place later in the day, with the hosts from oikos Graz officially kicking off the main part of the Conference. The ceremony was honored by a speech from a Graz city official as the city provided support to the organizing team, along with a speech of an alumni member – the founder of the local chapter Clemens Mader, which marked the 20-year anniversary of oikos Graz. Clemens took us on a journey back in time and showed us how things were back in the day and how the chapter, but also the international network has changed and evolved over the last two decades.

Following the ceremony, Ana Pribil addressed the all-important connection between the climate crisis and our psychology in a workshop around Climate Anxiety. This aspect of the climate crisis that is not explored too often was very eye opening, creating discussions among participants and reflecting on our own habits.

Day three of the Conference was all about our surroundings, opening up with a set of 8 workshops on a variety of topics which participants got to choose from. With plenty of interaction and addressing interesting points, the workshops provided a great energy to start the day with.

Later that day we were joined by Weitzer Wood Solutions which presented the growing importance of wood and it’s many applications in the modern world. Being in Graz, in Styria – often called the Green Heart of Austria, it had a special place in the agenda as a local product, but also as a means of offsetting the carbon footprint through a more wide spread of wood in construction. With a motto Wood is high-tech, wood is lightweight, the session explored the innovative side to constructing with wood, especially in the car industry, along with its benefits in regards to reducing emissions, energy efficiency and reducing costs.

There were 8 different workshop topics for participants to choose from

Following this sessions, participants split into groups for the World Cafe where they could sit down for a coffee and discuss on a few selected topics related to sustainability. At the same time, an Alumni Homecoming took place as a venue for active oikees to get to network and exchange experiences with alumni from Graz and a few other chapters. This space was very insightful for our International Team as we got an overview of the organizational challenges and experiences faced in the past, but also as a way of contributing to out own HOMEcoming project.

We finished off the day with an evening of oikos Talk, with a panel discussion on the topic Policy making, or policy faking? Which featured Kornelia Vogl, the SDG Ambassador for Graz, Jakob Schwarz, a Green Party MP in Austria and Dr. Ralph Aschemann, University of Graz. The discussion was very engaging, with many participants joining in with questions and pointing out some critical issues and challenges from perspectives of different backgrounds.

The audience was very eager to join the discussion with the panelists

On the final day we got to see another interesting panel discussion with Gerald Babel-Sutter, Urban Future; Hannah Wundsam, AustranStartups’ Phil Wilfinger, Fridays for Future Austria and Vanessa Roi, Das Liebig. All four of these System changers shared their individual stories about how they’ve identified certain issues and shaped their work in a way to tackle them and contribute in part to driving the change in the world around them. Coming from four different backgrounds, they gave us insights into their world and experiences which drove the discussion further with the engagement of the audience.

In the following session, we were graced with the opportunity to hear Rob Hopkins – something of a ‘celebrity’ in the world of climate activism. Rob joined us online via video call, but his motivation and energy translated so well into the Conference venue that it was easy to forget he was hundreds of miles away. Together with Rob, we reimagined the future in which, despite the setbacks there is still hope to make the change to live in a more sustainable world. The session left us inspired and it set up the mood for the closing activity of the day and the entire conference – planting together in a local university community garden.

Planting in the Community Garden was the perfect way to wrap up the Conference

No doubt the Conference left a long lasting impression on all of us. It was the biggest gathering of the oikos Community since 2019 and we were happy to see changemakers coming together and engaging from even the most distant corners of our network. There’s plenty of praise to give to the organizing team of oikos Graz who have put an incredible amount of effort over the past months to create a captivating program, find amazing venues and feature many inspiring speakers.

On behalf of oikos International we would like to give our gratitude to the team and extend it to all the members of our Community who made the experience ever more fulfilling with their presence!

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oikos International

posted May 9, 2022

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New oikos International Co-president elected

At the Legislative Meeting on Sunday, 10 April the representatives of oikos chapters elected Carolin Lemke from oikos Reutlingen as the next oikos International Co-president.

Congratulation to Carolin who is set to begin her two-year term at the end of the year!

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oikos International

posted April 11, 2022

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Sparks of history

A dozen generations of oikees have gathered around the oikos campfire to bring our organization’s history to life!

Who doesn’t enjoy sitting down around the bonfire with friends and family, taking a moment to look back and share stories, embracing the warmth and cherishing the time together?

Last Thursday, we invited all present and past oikees to a night around the (virtual) campfire as a way to connect with each other through their oikos stories. Participants brought and shared photos and memories, which made us travel back in time. Together, we rekindled the flame of the oikos beliefs and purpose inside each and every person present, no matter which generation or chapter they were from!

From some of the founding members back in 1987 to our changemakers of the present day: we were blessed to host oikees representing 12 different generations of students from the last 35 years, who all shared a common goal and identity with our community. Diving from one story into another, we connected the dots across the generations and created an image of what oikos looked like over the years, how it was shaped and how it impacted the world around us. The space allowed oikees to look back at how they faced and overcame a diverse set of challenges, but also to recall some funny anecdotes that have a special place in their hearts. These are the stories that bring oikos to life and bring us closer together. We left the campfire with a sense of encouragement, having learned something new about oikos and connected with fellow oikees on a deeper level… Virtual sparks were flying high in the sky as we celebrated our community.

Homecoming: diving deeper into the oikos History

What a start to dive deeper into the history of oikos! We hope that this will only be the beginning of our homecoming exploration, our journey to uncover and learn from and with our roots to continue writing history together.

After spending over a year in the making, gathering documents and information of all sorts and from all sources, compiling our learnings and laying the groundwork for the current infrastructure that would support the development of the HOMEcoming project, we discovered the three layers of the project and their purposes.

The first layer, the Chronics, is the most accessible to all, as it is a summary of oikos’ whole History since it started, back in 1987, available on our website Chronics .

Want to dive even deeper? There are the Archives – the backbone of the HOMEcoming. This is where we have stored all of our information on the Cloud. They can be accessed by anyone and are designed to be user friendly and, most importantly, to be updated by our whole community! Our new, collaborative Digital Archives & the Archives Guide are freely accessible.

Another gem of the HOMEcoming project is the Great List of Everything. It is a simple document that gathers all main information regarding everything we know about. It is also what the Chronics is based upon. Browse through our Great List of Everything with a chronology of important events & people

Outside the realm of the tangible and the written: our Campfire Gatherings. Sparking History back to life by bringing together and reconnecting with our community and alumni, these events are one of the main reasons why we’re doing this: we want our community to grow, connect and learn to empower everyone of us to become the change agents that are resting inside of us.

Follow us on social media or our newsletter to stay up to date with further campfires & other developments.

Celebrating the nature of oikos, we invite you to contribute proactively to this endeavor: Do you have some old pictures you could share? Any historic documents that would fill the gaps in our archives? Do you remember some information that is missing in the list of everything? 

Every little contribution counts – and there is always space for more! 🙂 You could for example become our new homecoming volunteer, moving the homecoming project from conception into activation.

We’re greatly inspired, and want to share a big THANK YOU for the hard work of the current homecoming team! 

A heritage taking shape in real time.

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oikos International

posted February 25, 2022

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Call for candidates: Apply to become the next oikos Co-President

Are you ready to rise to the challenge of stewarding a global community of student change agents, together with your learning partner? Does the idea of learning, growing & developing a multitude of leadership competencies ranging from the individual to the community to the global economy level excite you?

Apply today to become the next Co-President of oikos International! 

Details:

  • Application Time: 17.02 – 30.03.2022
  • Election: during the virtual Legislative Meeting in April (prospective date: 10.04.2022)
  • Duration & scope:
    • 2 years
    • November/December 2022 – December 2024 
    • Full-time employment (42h)
  • Location: remote
  • Salary (net): 2000 CHF + travel reimbursements

What the work of an oikos co-president looks like: 

As an oikos co-president, you will be working in a highly complex, ever-changing but also truly supportive environment. You will work with a colorful team of around 25 employees and volunteers from all over the world, mostly but not limited to our virtual office. In your role, the team will actively support you and they count on your guidance and facilitation to some extent. What’s new: There will be another co-president stewarding the organization together with you. You will be the second one to enjoy this opportunity of holding the role together with a learning buddy in the second term of this new structure. Learn more about the co-presidency here.

Your core responsibilities:

As a co-president, your roles and tasks are very diverse and cover all aspects of the organization. Roles will be agreed upon between co-presidents, the sharpening and agreement will happen in an appreciative conversation after the election. Acknowledging that oikos is a complex organization, we assume that it needs this space to shape the roles together in close collaboration.

Next to granular roles that are owned by either one or the other, there will be several roles that will/should be shared by both, eg. to better regulate long-term partnerships or help the team to navigate fundraising efforts, and several roles that will need power of togetherness, like strategic clarity and overview. Beyond this, each role is enriched to address oikos’ purpose and the personal development needs of the individuals.

Examples from the portfolio are..

  • Tending the oikos community by listening in, making sure we are connected to the community, exploring new pathways and encouraging the chapters
  • Stewarding the international team and taking care of forming & facilitating the oikos Board and the Management Team. There are several organizational development initiatives that require our attention.
  • Facilitating our international & global strategy development to guide and map the activities, impact and development of the oikos community around the world.
  • Exchanging and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders towards fostering financial and non-financial partnerships and collaborations. This includes being in the (advisory) board of several partner organizations and representing the network at various international conferences, seminars, etc. Fundraising is a big part of this aspect.
  • Overseeing, contributing to and advising oikos international initiatives like Transforming Education Initiative or the LEAP Program and advising the organizing teams of community projects with an international scope.
  • Ensuring that all administrative, legal and HR matters are running smoothly, and supporting the dedicated team members in these matters.

Your needed qualifications and characteristics:

  • Proximity to and understanding of the oikos community, and the current needs, wishes, and topics of the network. We only accept applications from within the network.
  • Passion for sustainability in higher education and leadership development with an understanding of how it relates to oikos’ vision, mission and purpose.
  • Understanding of oikos’ organizational setup and general functioning.
  • Ability and curiosity for leading in complexity: being able to navigate complex challenges and handle overwhelming situations for yourself and the team.
  • Willingness to learn and adapt (management skills, software packages such as Salesforce, Google Workspace, Miro, website content management, etc.)
  • Facilitation competencies and leadership skills
  • Fluency in English in speaking and writing, basic knowledge of German is a helpful plus
  • Exceptional communication skills and an ability to collaborate with people of different backgrounds and cultures.
  • Experience with project management with an attention for detail.

What you can learn and how you can benefit:

Over the two years of presidency, you will grow and learn a lot, not only as a person but also professionally and as a leader. You will gain first-hand insights into how the wider network of sustainability and higher education works, where it is moving and how we at oikos have an influence that matters. On the ground, you will liaise and collaborate with key internal and external stakeholders working in the field of sustainability and foster relationships to key individuals and movements in academia and business. One thing is sure: your leadership competencies will be on test – and you will definitely grow beyond yourself on this fascinating learning journey!

How to apply:

It’s very simple:

Fill in the application form below, including:

  • Fill the application form
  • A motivation letter (max 2 pages);
  • Your vision and action plan for oikos (max 2 pages);
  • Your CV (max 2 pages);
  • A brief introduction (about 150 words) and picture for the oikos website;
  • A reference letter;
  • A video of up to 3 minutes detailing your candidature.

Contacts for questions:

Darija Miletic (co-president 2021-23): darija.miletic@oikos-international.org 

Sophie Charrois (co-president 2020-22): sophie.charrois@oikos-international.org 

If you wish to attend a 1:1 Q&A session with the current Co-Presidents, you can schedule one by clicking here.

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oikos International

posted February 18, 2022

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[CLOSED] Join our team: We’re looking for a HOMEcoming Volunteer

oikos HOMEcoming Volunteer

Have you ever wondered what oikos International is all about?

Do you want to be a part of a diverse team that is tending a global community of student change agents?

This is for you! Apply to become our volunteer responsible for the oikos HOMEcoming initiative & help us bring our history to life!

What is the oikos HOMEcoming initiative?

oikos homecoming is an initiative that was started in 2021 by a project team with oI team members & alumni. The intent was to recover a coherent stream of information on our history in oikos and to make the learnings more accessible for future generations. The results of several months of project engagement are a portfolio of formats and information that can inform our future and help us tell our story out there. 

Whereas phase 1 (conception & set up) of the project is coming to an end with the end of 2021, we aspire to move into a second phase that is all about implementation, activation and re-sharpening.

What are the responsibilities of the oikos HOMEcoming volunteer & what is the estimated time commitment?

The purpose of the role is to take on responsibilities in the homecoming initiative such as facilitating, communicating, maintaining & strategizing, so that our history can become a vivid, colorful, evolving base for our future action. As a volunteer, you would help strategizing our roadmap for the second phase of the project, which is about the implementation and sharpening of all formats.

The time commitment is flexible, with an estimation of 3-5h/week on a self-paced, virtual basis. The volunteer will start in March and the position will be focused on the project, closing at the end of 2022. It would be great if you already have an idea about – or experience with – oikos, either on the chapter or the international level.

Tasks can include, but are not limited to 

  • Optimizing the web-presence & communication strategy for the homecoming initiative
  • Creating maintenance processes for the database
  • Facilitating homecoming events
  • Answering comments & emails

What will you get from joining the team?

  • Work experience in a virtual project setting with the opportunity to shape a projects strategy and milestones #projectmanagementskills
  • Learn about the history of oikos: 35 years of driving change!
  • Become part of a network of student change agents & alumni, all working for a more just & sustainable tomorrow
  • Work with purpose in a multicultural, dynamic, international team that puts a high value on walking the talk and innovating ways of working
  • Learn about the day-to-day working of an international organization and gain insights into the global opportunities and challenges of international NGOs
  • Gain experience in working remotely in a virtual office
  • Connect to an extensive network of various NGOs

Who are our volunteers?

Volunteers are autonomous members of the International team, trusted with particular projects in a certain area. They become part of our teams and take real responsibility in making oikos work.

Are you interested in joining our Crew? Contact us via email or directly apply here!

Apply here
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oikos International

posted February 10, 2022

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New Year Message to the oikos Community

Dear oikees,

We feel that in this spirit of the holidays and the sense of closing another wonderful year, it is a perfect occasion to express our gratitude in the name of oikos international for all the hard work, effort and support all of YOU – the lovely oikees have dedicated to oikos, its programs, projects and fulfilling our shared mission and vision.

It’s truly a blessing co-presiding over such a community of devoted changemakers joining forces in pursuit of making a difference and realizing our common goal of a more sustainable future. Your contribution, whether on a local chapter level as a member, or alumni, or at the international level as members of the Thematic Squads, Working Groups, Board, Management Team, or the organizing teams of various projects is immeasurable to oikos International.

This year, what we, as a community, have created had a far-reaching impact, both on local and international levels and all of this was made possible by YOU! Your great dedication and hard work served as an inspiration to others, both within and beyond our network. Your stories create hope, new ideas and fresh energy – all of which we need to bring the change to our homes, universities, communities, environments and ultimately – the entire world. We want to make your stories heard! The stories which will inspire a new generation of leaders eager and capable to drive climate action and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you all once more for the passion and all the efforts you have put in oikos this year! We wish you the best of luck when taking on new challenges in the months ahead and want to reach out our hand – because whatever the challenge is, we can face it together!

Happy holidays! 🎄

Warm greetings for all of you around the globe,

Darija, Sophie & oI team

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oikos International

posted December 30, 2021

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