This initiative brings together over 60 contributors from all regions and disciplines – from Nobel Peace Prize winners to artists, youth leaders, and CEOs.
Each brings a different perspective, but all share a commitment to something larger than themselves: a future worth working toward.
Andreas Eriksson Allar, 2021 Egg/oil tempera on traditional gesso 24 x 20 cm
Andreas Eriksson Häger, 2020 Oil, and acrylic on board 28 x 20 cm
Andreas Eriksson Trip, 2024 Tempera, and oil color on board 42 x 29,7 cm
PART ONE
HOPE BEGINS
Narratives of Hope
Narges Mohammadi
Human rights leader · Prisoner · Nobel Peace Prize laureate Evin Prison, Tehran, Iran
I have nurtured hope like a tender green branch among the harsh, rocky stones in prison, solitary confinement, and exhausting hardships.
From inside Evin Prison, Narges Mohammadi continues her lifelong battle for human rights in Iran. A central voice in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, she writes about hope as a deliberate act of resistance — something sustained even in solitary confinement.
Light Through the Cracks: The Story of Kintsugi
Kunio Nakamura
Japanese kintsugi master · Painter · TV host · Video director · Gallery owner · Author Tokyo, Japan
I often wonder why people would pay one hundred dollars to repair a bowl that costs only ten dollars. Perhaps, what they truly want to repair is themselves.
A master of the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi—repairing broken pottery with gold—Kunio Nakamura shares a story of beauty through imperfection. For nearly two decades, he has restored thousands of vessels, not merely to fix them, but to honor their history. In his essay, kintsugi becomes a metaphor for healing—of objects, bodies, minds, and lives—reminding us that cracks don’t diminish worth. They reveal light.
Photo: Stuart Clarke
The Little Angels of the Trees and Flowers
Dame Jane Goodall
Ethologist and conservationist · Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute Bournemouth, England, UK
Then they, with rueful smiles, did oil the rusty hinges of my mind, and swept away the cobwebs, and hung my soul upon a topmost bough, to air.
From her book Reason for Hope, Dame Jane Goodall shares a deeply personal reflection on healing and renewal through nature. In this gentle and symbolic poem, she evokes “The Little Angels of the Trees and Flowers” — spirits of the natural world that restore her sense of wonder and peace. A pioneer in primatology and a lifelong advocate for the planet, her words remind us of nature’s quiet power to cleanse, comfort, and inspire.
Intergenerational Solidarity
His Holiness Pope Francis
Head of the Catholic Church · Sovereign of the Vatican City State Vatican City State, Europe
Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us.
A contribution from His Holiness Pope Francis to Hope for Life on Our Planet, excerpted from his encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. At the time of printing this book, the world learned of his passing. We honor his legacy of love and hope for all of Christendom and for the world — and are deeply grateful to his Offices for allowing this book to carry forward his message and personal example.
See also Hope: The Autobiography by His Holiness Pope Francis (New York: Random House, 2025).
Driving Responsible Business
Hans Vestberg
Chairman and CEO of Verizon · Board member of BlackRock, the UN Foundation, and the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative · Co-founder of the World Economic Forum’s EDISON Alliance for digital inclusion · Former CEO of Ericsson, transforming the hardware-focused manufacturer into a software and services company Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA
It should not matter who you are, or where you live, to be part of our society.
In conversation with Osvald Bjelland, Hans Vestberg reflects on a leadership journey shaped by global experience, digital inclusion, and systems thinking. As head of Verizon, one of the largest subscription-based companies in the world, he has championed corporate strategies that integrate education, climate investment, and small business growth — not as philanthropy, but as long-term value creation. With initiatives like Verizon Innovative Learning and the global EDISON Alliance, Vestberg views digital connection as both a corporate responsibility and a vehicle for societal hope.
Our Rise to Sustainability
Natarajan Chandrasekaran
Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, the principal investment holding company and promoter of all Tata operating companies · Co-Chair of the Tata Xynteo Exchange · Chair of Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Power, Air India, Tata Chemicals, Tata Consumer Products, Indian Hotel Company, and Tata Consultancy Services Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
We must build bridges—between ecology and economy, abundance and scarcity, growth and responsibility.
At the helm of India’s most influential conglomerate, Natarajan Chandrasekaran sees sustainability not as a limitation, but as a launchpad. He leads with optimism in the face of daunting climate realities, advancing bold initiatives in both AI and clean energy. Through Project Aalingana, Tata Group is pursuing net-zero targets, promoting circular economy solutions, and investing in nature restoration at scale. Chandrasekaran believes India can lift millions out of poverty and meet its climate obligations—if the private sector embraces innovation, resilience, and a deep commitment to intergenerational equity.
PART TWO
ABOUT HOPE
Hopefulness Is a Warrior Emotion
Nick Cave
Australian musician, writer, and actor known for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds · Co-author of Faith, Hope, and Carnage · Author of more than ten books London, England, UK
Hopefulness is not a neutral position. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism.
In a deeply personal reflection originally shared through The Red Hand Files, Nick Cave responds to a father’s quiet fear of passing on disillusionment to his young son. With raw honesty shaped by grief, experience, and an artist’s gaze, Cave defends hope not as naïve optimism, but as a hard-earned, defiant act of love. In his words, each small gesture of care becomes a redemptive stand—against cynicism, against despair, and for the enduring value of the world and its people.
To Think of Hope as a Stranger Thing
Bayo Akomolafe
Nigerian poet, essayist, psychologist, and philosopher rooted with the Yoruba people · Author of These Wilds Beyond our Fences: Letters to My Daughter on Humanity’s Search for Home and We Will Tell Our Own Story: The Lions of Africa Speak · Founder of The Emergence Network Middlebury, Vermont, USA
The world was not designed to prevent suffering. We are not entitled to any ontological immunity from loss. Indeed, it is the decay of things that is the condition of abundance.
Bayo Akomolafe’s contribution is a lyrical meditation on grief, loss, and the limits of resolution. Drawing from the Book of Job, personal mourning, and posthumanist thought, he invites us to consider hope not as certainty or comfort — but as bewilderment. In his telling, hope lives in the cracks, where grief is not sealed shut but allowed to wander, breathe, and transform.
Photo: CF-Wesenberg / kolonihaven.no
Philosophical Hope
Lars Svendsen
Norwegian professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Bergen · Author of a dozen widely translated books, including A Philosophy of Boredom, A Philosophy of Fear, Work, Fashion: A Philosophy, and A Philosophy of Freedom Bergen, Norway
Hope is not a given — it is something we must learn. But once it takes shape, it becomes essential to how we live and act.
In this deep-ranging philosophical essay, Lars Svendsen traces the evolution of hope from ancient skepticism to modern existential tension. Drawing from Aristotle, Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Camus, he examines how philosophers have long wrestled with hope's value — dismissing it as illusion, or embracing it as necessity. Yet Svendsen finds a path through the polarities: to hope well, he argues, is to act with commitment in the face of uncertainty. Far from passive wishful thinking, hope becomes a compass for freedom, a bridge between what is and what might be, and a reflection of our values in a world marked by both vulnerability and possibility.
Photo: Trent Davis Bailey
Hope in Dark Times
Rebecca Solnit
American writer, historian, and environmental and political activist · Author of Hope in the Dark, The Mother of All Questions, Men Explain Things to Me, and over a dozen other books San Francisco, California, USA
Hope is not naïve optimism—it is the embrace of uncertainty as a space for action.
In this excerpt from her influential book Hope in the Dark, Rebecca Solnit reframes hope as a political and moral stance rooted in the unknown.
She rejects both passive optimism and fatalistic pessimism, reminding us that we act not because we are certain of results, but because our actions matter—even when their impact is invisible or delayed. In her words, hope “is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable,” a belief that transformation is always possible when people choose to engage, together or alone, even in the darkest times.
Teaching Philosophy and Inspiring Hope in Russia
Krister R. Sairsingh
Trinidad-born Professor of Philosophy and the Intellectual History of Europe at the International College of Economics and Finance at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia Moscow, Russia
Hope nourishes the belief that the future will be different—and better.
Drawing from Immanuel Kant’s idea that hope is one of the three fundamental questions of philosophy, Krister R. Sairsingh explores how hope—especially hope with an eternal perspective—can guard against moral despair and anchor our longing for justice and meaning.
Over two decades of teaching philosophy in Moscow, he has watched generations of students wrestle with thinkers like Spinoza and Kant, and seen firsthand how hope shapes intellectual ambition and moral purpose. Through the story of a student’s journey from poverty in Siberia to economic success in San Francisco—and back to the deep questions of meaning—Sairsingh shows that the pursuit of truth and the formation of character are inseparable from hope.
Photo: Ines Duran
The Genesis of Hell on Earth
Carl Safina
American ecologist · Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University · Founding President of environmental nonprofit Safina Center · Host of the PBS series Saving the Ocean · Author of thirteen books including Song for the Blue Ocean, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, and Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe Stony Brook, New York, USA
Why go to a dead planet if your problem is that the living planet is dying? Why not keep the living planet alive?
In his wide-ranging reflection on the planetary poly-crisis—climate, extinction, toxins, and plastic—Carl Safina traces our cultural disconnect from nature to the roots of Western philosophy and theology.
Contrasting dominant worldviews with those of Indigenous, South Asian, and East Asian traditions, Safina reminds us that many cultures have long understood life as a web of relationships, not as resources to be exploited.
Drawing on both modern physics and ancient wisdom, he calls for a shift from brutal modernity to dignified coexistence.
Seventeen Points of Hope for Tibet and Our Whole World
Robert Thurman
The first American to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk by the Dalai Lama · Author of Inner Revolution and Infinite Life · Jey Tsong Khapa Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University New York, NY, USA
It is not true that the world always is going to be a mess and life an inevitable vale of misery.
In his vivid and spiritually charged reflection, Robert Thurman offers a powerful counterpoint to the fatalism often found in modern discourse. Drawing from Tibetan Buddhism and cross-cultural philosophies, he reminds us that joy, not despair, is our birthright—and our responsibility.
With references to the Dalai Lama, Tibetan ecology, and the potential for spiritual awakening in our time, Thurman encourages us to embrace what he calls “the infinite lifestyle”: a shift from ego-driven consumption to interdependent flourishing. Hope, he writes, is not naïveté but realism—rooted in the fact that transformation, both personal and societal, is always possible.
Hope and Forgiveness
Anthony Howard
CEO whisperer and business philosopher · Founder and CEO of The Confidere Group and the Socratic Leader Academy · Lecturer at the School of Business in Sydney and at the University of Notre Dame Australia · Author of Humanise: Why Human-Centred Leadership is the Key to the 21st Century Sydney, Australia
In forgiveness, we hold extraordinary power to liberate hope.
Drawing on philosophical insight and historical examples, from Nelson Mandela to Pope John Paul II, Anthony Howard challenges us to consider what it means to heal—individually and collectively.
Howard sees hope not as passive optimism but as a grounded confidence in the unseen, and forgiveness as the radical act that frees us from resentment’s grip. He weaves together theology, psychology, and literature—invoking the conversion of Jean Valjean—to show how the choice to forgive reshapes not only our relationships but the very structure of society.
At the heart of Howard’s work is a conviction that hope and forgiveness are not luxuries for quiet moments, but essential tools for a world in need of reconciliation.
Existential Hope and Deep Time
Richard Fisher
Author of The Long View: Why We Need to Transform How the World Sees Time · Senior Editor at Aeon Media Group · Lecturer in science communication at University College London Richmond upon Thames, England
If taking the long view demands anything of us, it is this: a commitment to cultivating hope when the world is in turmoil.
Richard Fisher invites us to radically reimagine time—not as a distant horizon, but as a landscape we actively inhabit and shape. His writing centers on the concept of existential hope: a future that isn’t guaranteed, but one that becomes possible when we believe in it enough to work toward it.
Drawing on science, psychology, and Indigenous wisdom, Fisher challenges the illusion that the present is fixed or final. He paints a vision of deep civilization—a society that transcends short-termism and cultivates justice, wisdom, and intergenerational care. To him, long-term thinking isn’t an abstraction; it’s an ethical imperative.
Fisher’s work calls on us to close the gap between the present and what he calls “the brightest of futures.” In doing so, we become what Jonas Salk once asked of us: good ancestors.
PART THREE
INVESTING IN HOPE
Transforming Climate Finance
Ajay Banga
President of the World Bank · Former President and CEO of Mastercard · Co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute · Former Chairman of the U.S.-India Business Council and the International Chamber of Commerce Washington, D.C., USA
We do not suffer from a shortage of solutions; we are paralyzed by a persistent lack of courage to pursue them.
At the helm of the World Bank, Ajay Banga has redefined the institution’s mission for a new era—committing not only to poverty alleviation but to a livable planet. Under his leadership, climate finance has been accelerated, targets raised, and urgent support mechanisms expanded to better serve nations on the frontlines of climate change.
Banga’s approach reflects a deeper shift: from piecemeal aid to systemic transformation. By prioritizing both mitigation and adaptation, he emphasizes equity and resilience in a warming world. His vision is clear—action, not rhetoric, will shape the future we leave behind.
Optimism and Change: Sexuality, Climate, and Engineering
Lord Browne of Madingley
Chairman of BeyondNetZero at General Atlantic · Former CEO of BP · Chair of the Francis Crick Institute, Windward, SparkCognition, and Carbonplace · UK Prime Minister’s Council on Science and Technology London, England, UK
We can either do something and take our chances, or do nothing and take what’s coming.
A lifelong engineer and one of the first openly gay leaders in the energy sector, Lord Browne challenges despair with data, science, and lived experience.
From early advocacy of the energy transition to calling out the economic cost of discrimination, he makes a powerful case for inclusion, innovation, and courage. His life’s arc—from BP to BeyondNetZero—is a testament to human resilience and the belief that progress is not only possible, but essential.
The Role of Finance in Creating Our Best Future
Terrence R. Keeley
Chairman of Impact Evaluation Lab · CIO of 1PointSix LLC · Former Managing Director at BlackRock · Author of Sustainable: Moving Beyond ESG to Impact Investing New York, USA
The human family will get the future we work towards—here on Earth and in the afterlife to come.
Terrence Keeley argues that finance, when wisely directed, is one of the most powerful tools we have for building a better future. To do so, we must apply four essential principles: – sound economic foundations – strong financial regulation – free movement of capital – and mindful asset allocation.
He challenges us to rethink how capital flows—away from short-termism and toward inclusive, sustainable, long-term impact.
For Keeley, even a small commitment—just 1.6% of assets invested annually into rigorously vetted impact ventures—could change the world for generations.
True hope, he reminds us, lies not in wishful thinking, but in strategic choices that align growth with dignity—for both people and planet.
Let’s Do the Best Things First
Bjørn Lomborg
Danish political scientist and public intellectual · Founder and President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, a think tank dedicated to data-driven research on the world’s most pressing challenges · Author of Best Things First: The 12 most efficient solutions for the world’s poorest and our global SDG promises and several other bestselling books on global development, climate, and policy reform. Malmö, Sweden
We need to start demanding that our politicians and development institutions put the most money where it does the most good.
Bjørn Lomborg argues that trying to solve all the world’s problems at once spreads resources too thin. Instead, we should focus on the most effective solutions first.
His team at the Copenhagen Consensus has identified 12 policies that deliver extraordinary impact—saving millions of lives and improving livelihoods for billions, at a fraction of global aid budgets.
From ending tuberculosis to boosting basic education and agricultural innovation, the message is clear: with smart prioritization, limited funds can go much further.
Lessons Learned from the Social, Public, and Private Sectors: Five Actions to R.A.I.S.E. Our Hopes for a Food-Secure Future
C.D. Glin
President of PepsiCo Foundation · Global Head of Social Impact at PepsiCo, Inc. · American strategist and thought leader known for social impact expertise at the intersection of philanthropic, government, non-profit and private sectors New York, NY, USA
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Let’s substitute actions for steps.
With two decades of experience across philanthropy, government, and business, C.D. Glin brings a cross-sector perspective to global food security. From his roles at The Rockefeller Foundation and U.S. African Development Foundation to his current leadership at PepsiCo, he champions bold, systemic solutions to hunger, climate resilience, and rural development.
Through initiatives like Food for Good, She Feeds the World, and investments in regenerative agriculture and water access, Glin sees hope not as sentiment, but as strategy. His five-part framework—Reduce food loss, Address hunger, Invest in producers, Save water, and Expand regenerative farming—charts a clear path to a more food-secure future.
A Force for Good
Rajashree Birla
Chairperson of the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives and Rural Development, the philanthropic arm of the Aditya Birla Group · Chairperson of the FICCI Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence · President of Sangit Kala Kendra and Indian National Theatre-Aditya Birla Centre · Recipient of the Padma Bhushan and the G20 Empower Lifetime Achievement Award Mumbai, India
Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and yet the life of that candle will not be shortened.
Rajashree Birla has spent decades shaping one of the world’s most respected models of corporate social responsibility. Rooted in Gandhian values and a legacy of compassionate capitalism, her leadership has touched millions across India through programs in health, education, sustainable livelihoods, and social reform.
At the heart of her philosophy lies an unwavering belief in business as a force for good. From transforming rural communities to uplifting destitute children, Birla’s work proves that dignity, inclusion, and empathy are not just moral imperatives—they are pathways to lasting prosperity.
No Problems, Just Opportunities: How Regenerative Capitalists Are Re-inventing Financing and Solving Big Problems
Jim Sorenson and Alan Eagle
Jim Sorenson Entrepreneur, impact investing pioneer, and Chairman of the Sorenson Impact Foundation · Founder of the Sorenson Impact Group and endower of the Sorenson Impact Institute at the University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Alan Eagle Former Google executive · Co-author of How Google Works, Trillion Dollar Coach, and Learned Excellence · Executive communications coach and strategic business consultant Los Altos Hills, California, USA
Where there’s market failure, there’s also market upside. In other words, hope.
Together, Sorenson and Eagle champion a new kind of capitalism—one that blends financial returns with meaningful social and environmental impact.
By rethinking how capital is structured and deployed, they show how investors and entrepreneurs can tackle issues like urban blight, housing inequality, and climate resilience—while building viable businesses. Regenerative capitalism, as they call it, isn’t just a theory; it’s a call to action. And it’s already reshaping neighborhoods, industries, and lives.
Hope for Africa
Amani Abou-Zeid
Africa’s Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization · International development expert and global policy leader · Former senior official in multilateral institutions including UNDP and AfDB · Recognized among Africa’s most influential women Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Never let a good crisis go to waste.
Amani Abou-Zeid sees opportunity in adversity. As Africa's Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalization, she champions bold continental strategies—from AfSEM, Africa’s single electricity market, to digital tools that saved lives during the pandemic.
With 600 million people still lacking access to electricity and 900 million without clean cooking, she argues that Africa’s renewable energy future must be equitable, integrated, and locally empowering. From crisis to catalyst, her work reframes Africa not as a victim of climate change, but as a force in driving sustainable progress.
Funding a Better World Through Deep Tech
Finian Tan
Venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and scientist · Founder and Chairman of Vickers Venture Partners · Chairman of Spark Systems and Entomo · Co-chairman of RWDC Industries and Sisaf · Deputy Chairman of Eavor Technologies and Emergex Vaccines Singapore
With each advancement, we inch closer to solving some of the most prominent issues facing our world today.
Finian Tan believes the future will be built through deep tech — transformative science-based innovations that tackle humanity’s greatest challenges head-on. From early-stage backing of Baidu to today’s investments in geothermal energy, biodegradable plastics, and wearable dialysis, his approach blends technical insight with visionary foresight.
As founder of Vickers Venture Partners, Tan invests in technologies with the potential to radically reshape industries — from AI to biotech, nanotech to next-gen vaccines. Whether enabling baseload green energy or unlocking cures for disease, his philosophy is simple: innovation must serve both people and planet.
By financing science with purpose, he’s helping ensure that tomorrow’s breakthroughs don’t just disrupt, but also uplift.
PART FOUR
EMPOWERING HOPE
Photo: Labinot Krasniqi
“Falling Into” Confidence in Kosovo’s Capital City
Përparim Rama
In conversation with Osvald Bjelland
Mayor of Prishtina, Kosovo · Architect, urban planner, and conceptual artist · Founder of 4M Group · Consultant for the 2012 London Olympics · Representative for Kosovo at the 13th Venice Biennale Prishtina, Kosovo
We don’t become human beings. We fall into human beings.
For Përparim Rama, hope begins with design—of spaces, cities, and minds. As a former refugee turned mayor of Prishtina, his journey spans architecture, diaspora leadership, and deep civic restoration.
His philosophy of “falling into” human behaviors drives a vision where subconscious cues, environmental frequencies, and intentional urban planning shape how people live and relate. From seven-minute neighborhoods and drone-powered reforestation to AI-enhanced education, Rama envisions a city that vibrates with inclusivity and possibility.
Through blending science and spirituality, he reminds us that we build societies not just by planning, but by nurturing the right conditions for people to grow into their fullest selves.
Sweet City: Citizenship for Pollinators, Trees, and Plants
Edgar E. Mora Altamirano
Urban planner · Journalist · Public policy strategist · Global Ambassador of the World Bee Project · Former Minister of Education of Costa Rica · Former Mayor of Curridabat · Pioneer of the Sweet City model Curridabat, Costa Rica
Frankie is a citizen, and his experiences must be considered when planning his city’s ongoing development.
In Curridabat, Costa Rica, Edgar Mora turned an entire municipality into a living ecosystem—with pollinators, plants, and trees granted honorary citizenship. As mayor, he reimagined urban governance not as a legal construct, but as a shared habitat governed by empathy, interdependence, and ecological intelligence.
The award-winning Sweet City initiative placed nature at the heart of public policy, challenging the human-centered frameworks of urban planning. With hummingbirds like Frankie as symbolic guides, Mora offers a vision where small and medium-sized cities lead global transformation—not with capital, but with care.
His work models how cities can evolve from cement-bound systems into regenerative organisms that nourish both human and nonhuman life.
Photo: Ruth Davey Look Again Photography
From Inspiration to Legislation: The Story of Ecocide Law
Jojo Mehta
Co-Founder and CEO of Stop Ecocide International Stroud, England, UK
By designating the worst harms to nature as crimes, we begin to reframe our perception of our place in nature.
Jojo Mehta is the driving force behind the global campaign to criminalize ecocide—the mass destruction of ecosystems—as an international crime. A longtime activist and organizer, she co-founded Stop Ecocide International alongside the late Scottish barrister Polly Higgins, who originally championed the idea.
What began as a bold legal concept has become a rapidly growing international movement. Under Mehta’s leadership, Stop Ecocide now advises lawmakers, diplomats, and civil society actors in over fifty countries. From the European Union’s new environmental crime directive to proposals before the International Criminal Court, ecocide law is no longer fringe—it’s fast becoming a legal reality.
For Mehta, the goal is more than legislation. It’s about shifting culture. A society that treats serious environmental harm as criminal harm opens the door to systems of accountability that align with planetary boundaries
Photo: Nadya Kwandibens
If We Take Care of the Land, It Will Take Care of Us
Valérie Courtois
Forester · Executive Director, Indigenous Leadership Initiative · Member of the Ilnu community of Mashteuiatsh · TIME100 Climate Leader · Stanford Bright Award Laureate Happy Valley–Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada
The collective actions of Indigenous nations are the very embodiment of hope.
Valérie Courtois is a leading voice for Indigenous stewardship and land sovereignty in Canada. A member of the Innu Nation, she works to protect Nitassinan—one of the world’s largest remaining intact ecosystems and her ancestral homeland—through conservation initiatives rooted in relationship, responsibility, and respect for natural law.
As Executive Director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, she helps Indigenous nations lead the way in environmental governance through Guardian programs and the expansion of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. Her work ensures that land management not only restores ecosystems but also revitalizes language, culture, and community.
With deep knowledge of both Western forestry science and Indigenous worldviews, Courtois bridges traditions to show what regeneration truly looks like: healing land and people, together.
An Explorer’s Quest for Hope
Robert Swan
British polar pioneer · First person to walk to both the North and South Poles · Officer of the Order of the British Empire · Recipient of the Polar Medal by Her Majesty the Queen Palo Alto, USA
Hope is not a plan. But without hope, we are nothing.
Robert Swan’s story begins with a childhood dream to complete an unfinished mission—to follow in the footsteps of Captain Scott and succeed where his heroes fell short. With no experience and little support, he raised $5 million over seven years to fund expeditions to both poles, becoming the first person in history to walk to the South and North Poles.
But his mission didn’t stop there. With a charge from Jacques Cousteau to protect Antarctica as a natural reserve for peace and science, Swan launched a decades-long campaign to preserve the continent. His 2041 Foundation works to inspire and mobilize young people—those he calls today’s true explorers—through Antarctic expeditions and environmental education.
Don't Have Hope. Do Hope.
Vidar Helgesen
Norwegian diplomat and politician · Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO · Assistant Director-General of UNESCO · Former Minister of Climate and the Environment in Norway · Former Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation · Former Chief of Staff to the Norwegian Prime Minister Oslo, Norway
The sea, the great unifier, is man’s only hope.
Jacques Cousteau’s words still echo—but with a heavy question: can the sea still be our hope, now that we’ve pushed it to the brink?
Vidar Helgesen believes it can—but only if we shift from passive hope to active effort. The ocean, once thought too vast to fail, is under unprecedented stress: plastic pollution, acidification, overfishing, and warming waters are degrading its health at alarming speed. Yet alongside this crisis comes a turning point: global agreements, scientific initiatives, and mounting awareness are all signs that humanity is ready to act.
As head of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Helgesen urges us to treat hope not as a feeling, but as a responsibility. Ocean-based climate solutions—like blue carbon, sustainable fisheries, and nature-based regeneration—could provide a third of the emissions reductions we need. But only if we act decisively.
A Golden Rule for the Twenty-First Century: Treat the Lives and Wellbeing of Future Generations as We Wish to Be Treated
Jonathan Granoff
President of the Global Security Institute · Representative to the UN for World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates · Founding Member of the United Religions Initiative’s Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons · Prolific author · Recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, International Law Section · Nobel Peace Prize nominee Englewood, New Jersey, USA
Treat the lives and wellbeing of future generations as we wish to be treated.
Jonathan Granoff calls this the Golden Rule for the 21st Century—an ethical imperative rooted in our newfound power to shape the future. For most of history, human actions had little impact on generations yet unborn. Today, with climate change and ecological collapse, that has changed. A new moral standard is needed—one that links ancient wisdom with planetary responsibility.
Drawing on religious teachings, international law, and ecological insight, Granoff argues that the rule of property must give way to intergenerational duty. Hope, in his view, is not just optimism—it is conscience in action.
By lifting the Golden Rule as a shared ethic for nations, faiths, and institutions, Granoff envisions a renewed moral consensus—one that unites stewards of the Earth and peacebuilders, and restores love across generations.
Photo: Right Livelihood
Ordinary People Have Much More Impact Than They Can Even Imagine
Oleksandra Matviichuk
Ukrainian human rights lawyer · Head of the Kyiv-based Center for Civil Liberties · Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights · Coordinator of the grassroots group Euromaidan SOS · Nobel Peace Prizewinner Kyiv, Ukraine
Treat the lives and wellbeing of future generations as we wish to be treated.
We are used to thinking in categories of states and interstate organizations. But ordinary people have much more impact than they can even imagine.
In a world where international law falters and institutions stall, Oleksandra Matviichuk refuses to give in to despair. As missiles fall and atrocities mount in Ukraine, she names the brutal truth: law alone cannot protect us. But people can.
She writes from the front lines of a war that is more than territorial—it is a struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. If Russia succeeds in rewriting the rules of international order by force, the consequences will ripple far beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Yet Matviichuk’s message is not defeat, but defiance. When systems failed, ordinary people acted. They rescued the wounded, delivered aid under fire, and stood up for dignity in ways that states could not. In Ukraine and around the world, these everyday acts of courage became a bulwark of freedom.
Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law
F. W. De Klerk
President of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 · Awarded the 1993 Nobel Prize for Peace with Nelson Mandela, for dismantling apartheid Cape Town, South Africa
Treat the lives and wellbeing of future generations as we wish to be treated.
De Klerk believed that the world’s future depends on constitutional democracy rooted in human dignity, equality, and the rule of law.
In his presidency and beyond, he championed the principles of South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution—non-racialism, non-sexism, democratic accountability, and the rights of all people to live freely in accordance with their culture, language, and beliefs.
His hope: that these foundations of peace and justice will take root far beyond South Africa—nourishing free and inclusive societies around the world.
Storytelling for a Sustainable Future in Africa
Eloïne Barry
Founder and CEO of African Media Agency, a PR firm that helps international companies and NGOs expand audience reach across Africa · Founder of AMA Academy, training and equipping journalists and media professionals in Africa · Recognized as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent · Awarded Grand Prix Excellence of the ASCOM in Abidjan · Named by New African Magazine among the one hundred most influential women of the year Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Effective communication stands as a pivotal tool to galvanize global leaders and citizens towards sustainable action.
Eloïne Barry believes that communication is one of the most powerful tools we have in shaping a sustainable and inclusive future—especially in Africa, where oral tradition has long been a vessel of identity, resilience, and transformation.
From honoring nomadic heritage to elevating campaigns like Women in Farming, she shows how stories connect communities, build empathy, and drive change. Effective sustainability messaging, Barry argues, must speak not just to governments and institutions—but to everyday people, weaving together dignity, equity, and hope.
In her work, storytelling becomes strategy: a way to advance gender equality, highlight circular economies, inspire local agency, and reframe sustainability as progress, not sacrifice.
PART FIVE
HACKING HOPE: FROM REGENERATIVE NATURE TO GENERATIVE AI
Decanting Water from the Air
Iheb Triki
Tunisian renewable energy and water entrepreneur · Co-founder and CEO of Kumulus Water, producing drinkable water from solar energy and air · Named among the Choiseul 100 Africa Economic Leaders of Tomorrow for four consecutive years (2021–2024) · Former Advisor to the Minister of Energy and Mines in Tunisia · Marathons and IronMan 70.3 athlete Paris, France
There is water in the deepest desert. We just need to know how to extract it.
In the heart of the Tunisian Sahara, Iheb Triki awoke to a tent glistening with dew—and a realization that would change his life. That morning sparked the idea behind Kumulus Water, a solar-powered machine that transforms air into clean drinking water through a process inspired by nature’s own condensation.
Triki’s journey from corporate finance to climate innovation began with a deeper question: Who do I want to be? Choosing purpose over profit, he dedicated himself to solving two of Africa’s most urgent challenges—energy and water scarcity—by harnessing the power of technology and local entrepreneurship.
The Kumulus unit, compact yet powerful, now offers communities a path to water independence—without the need for plastic bottles or carbon emissions. But for Triki, its true impact lies in the message it carries: that dignity begins with access to life’s essentials, and that hope can be engineered through mindful innovation.
Harvesting Natural Microscopic Food
Pasi Vainikka
Co-Founder and CEO of Helsinki-based Solar Foods, farming single-cell organisms to produce high-protein food ingredients Helsinki, Finland
Now all we needed was a suitable microbe. The perfect specimen turned up near the Baltic Sea.
Pasi Vainikka is at the frontier of a food revolution—one where protein doesn’t come from plants or animals, but from the air. As co-founder of Solar Foods, he helped pioneer a process that uses renewable electricity and captured CO₂ to grow solein, a nutritious, protein-rich powder produced by microbes in fermentation tanks.
Inspired by history’s great shifts—from fire to agriculture to fossil fuels—Vainikka believes we’re entering a fourth wave: one where food is decoupled from land. In a world facing climate crisis, population growth, and shrinking biodiversity, that could change everything.
With its ultra-low carbon footprint and scalability far beyond traditional agriculture, solein represents more than innovation—it’s a new kind of hope. A reminder that with the right ideas, we can nourish people and planet, all at once.
Worming Our Way Past Plastics
Federica Bertocchini
Italian-born molecular biologist researching plastic degradation by biological systems with a focus on insects · Co-founder and Principal Investigator of Plasticentropy lab at the European Center for Biotechnology and Bioeconomy · Chief Technology Officer of Plasticentropy France Reims, France
Several hours later, I picked up the bag and was struck by its altered appearance. The plastic was now riddled with teeny holes.
A beekeeper’s discovery led to a scientific breakthrough. When Federica Bertocchini noticed that wax worms had chewed through a plastic bag near her beehives, she didn’t just see pests—she saw possibility. As a molecular biologist, she set out to investigate. The result? A revelation: wax worm saliva contains enzymes that can chemically break down polyethylene, one of the world’s most persistent plastics.
Today, Bertocchini leads a pioneering lab dedicated to developing enzyme-based solutions to tackle plastic pollution. Her startup, Plasticentropy, works to transform this biological curiosity into an industrial tool—an approach that may one day offer a real alternative to incineration and mechanical recycling.
Her message is both urgent and hopeful: if nature holds answers to our manmade crises, it’s time we start listening—especially to the tiniest voices.
Photo: Daniela Torres
Worming Our Way Past Plastics
Giuliana Furci
Chilean mycologist and author · Founder and Executive Director of the Fungi Foundation · Associate of the Harvard University Arboretum · Dame of the Order of the Star of Italy · Co-Chair of the IUCN Fungal Conservation Committee Santiago Province, Chile
Fungi act as the bridge between the living and the dead. Decay is the source of life.
Fungi have long been Earth’s quiet heroes—recycling, restoring, and sustaining life. For Chilean mycologist Giuliana Furci, fungi aren’t just fascinating—they’re foundational. A powerful encounter with a mushroom at 19 set her on a lifelong path of fungal conservation and public education.
Through the Fungi Foundation—the world’s first nonprofit focused solely on fungi—she’s helping reshape science, policy, and curriculum. Thanks to her work, Chile now requires fungi to be part of all environmental impact assessments, alongside animals and plants.
From breaking down plastics to remediating oil spills and supporting forest ecosystems, fungi are nature’s biochemical engineers—and critical to climate resilience.
Furci’s global push to update the 2Fs (fauna and flora) to 3Fs—fauna, flora, and funga—has influenced over 20 governments and institutions, including the UN.
Restorative Mangroves: Roots of Hope
Jurgenne H. Primavera
Filipina marine scientist and zoologist honored as one of Time magazine’s Heroes of the Environment for her research about mangrove ecosystem conservation · Chief Mangrove Scientific Adviser for the Zoological Society of London Arevalo, Iloilo City, Philippines
Mangroves are nature’s storm shields, fish nurseries, and carbon sinks—and every hectare restored is a step toward ecological justice.
Jurgenne H. Primavera’s life’s work stands at the crossroads of science, justice, and deep-rooted love for trees. A pioneer in mangrove research and restoration, she exposed the hidden costs of industrial shrimp farming, long before it was widely recognized.
Her advocacy helped reframe mangroves from “muddy wastelands” to vital ecosystems that protect coastlines, support fisheries, and store carbon more efficiently than most forests. After Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated her home country, her message became even more urgent: mangroves save lives.
From reversing shrimp ponds back into thriving wetlands, to launching community-led restoration projects like the Leganes Integrated Katunggan Ecopark, Primavera has proven that science-guided, locally rooted solutions can restore both nature and livelihoods.
A Future in Balance: Harnessing Data and Technology to Protect Nature
Sergio A. Fernández de Córdova
Executive Chairman of PVBLIC Foundation mobilizing media, data, and technology for sustainable development and social impact · Executive Chairman of P3 Smart City structuring public-private partnerships that embrace social change, digital infrastructure, and connected cities New York, New York, USA
Data is not just information. It is a fundamental right—just like clean air and water.
Sergio A. Fernández de Córdova believes that access to data can empower even the most vulnerable communities to protect their environment, plan for the future, and drive equitable growth. Through the PVBLIC Foundation, he has helped transform raw information into lifelines—from coral reef tracking in Tonga to forest conservation in Indonesia.
For Fernández de Córdova, data is the foundation, and technology—like geospatial tools and quantum computing—is the vehicle for action. His mission: to make environmental intelligence universally accessible so that nature and prosperity can thrive side by side.
From coastal villages to connected cities, he calls for bold, data-driven solutions to redefine our relationship with nature—turning ecosystems into engines of growth and resilience for generations to come.
Technology, Our Hero
Krishna Bodanapu
Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director at the IT solutions company Cyient Ltd, advancing sustainable technology in engineering and manufacturing practices · Chairman of Cyient DLM Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Technology is a great enabler and has the potential to be a hero in supporting the planet.
Krishna Bodanapu sees climate change not as an abstract future threat, but as a lived reality already shaping his children’s lives. Yet he places his hope in something deeply human: our ingenuity.
From motion sensors to renewable energy systems and remote diagnostics, Bodanapu believes that technology—if applied wisely and rapidly—can enable over 70% of the emissions cuts needed for net zero. Whether through digitized cities, smarter energy infrastructure, or greener industry, he argues that innovation must be central to our response.
Above all, he reminds us that climate action begins at home—with small, mindful acts, and a belief in our collective ability to build a better future.
A Safe Future: Trust, Resilience, and the Human Spirit
Kavya Pearlman
Global thought leader and researcher in cybersecurity and emerging technologies advising governments and global entities on standards, policies, and frameworks · Founder and CEO of X Reality Safety Intelligence (XRSI), working to safeguard the future through research on safety, privacy, security, and human wellbeing · Known as the “Cyber Guardian” · Multiple award winner San Francisco, California, USA
We must fundamentally reimagine how we process information, detect hazards, and make security decisions.
Kavya Pearlman envisions a future where immersive technologies and AI not only defend us from digital threats, but expand our human reasoning. She argues that conventional security tools—like passwords and firewalls—no longer suffice in a world of deepfakes, disinformation, and neural overload.
Through her pioneering work at XRSI, Pearlman is developing immersive cybersecurity tools that mirror our natural cognitive strengths—leveraging spatial awareness, intuition, and shared digital experiences to make complex threats tangible and comprehensible.
Inspired by her daughter, Inara, she advocates for a world where digital safety is built-in from the ground up—where future generations navigate the internet as instinctively and safely as walking through a well-lit room.
Seeing Eye to Eye: A Shared Vision of Humanity for AI
Nell Watson
Artificial Intelligence philosopher, engineer, and entrepreneur · Chair of EthicsNet, teaching machines prosocial behaviors · Executive Consultant Philosopher for Apple · President of the European Responsible Artificial Intelligence Office · Founder of QuantaCorp.io, pioneering deep machine vision · Author of Taming the Machine: Ethically Harness the Power of AI Belfast, Ireland
Our task is to imbue these systems with ethical principles from the ground up, ensuring they reflect our highest aspirations rather than our basest instincts.
Nell Watson’s vision is as philosophical as it is technical: she believes we can shape artificial intelligence not only to be powerful but profoundly aligned with human values. Her journey from developing machine vision tools to becoming a global leader in AI ethics reflects her deep commitment to guiding AI’s evolution responsibly.
Through platforms like EthicsNet and global governance efforts, Watson calls for transparency, accountability, and cooperation across borders to ensure AI systems act in service of human flourishing. For her, building ethical AI is not about domination or control, but cultivating a relationship—like that between humans and their once-wild companions, dogs—based on trust, training, and shared goals.
The Power of Information: For Good and Evil
David M. Milch
Physician and biotechnology investor · Philanthropist via the Dr. David M. Milch Foundation New York, NY, USA
The core question is whether the consciousness overloads we are immersed within can be safely navigated via intelligent problem solving into some state of collective balance… long enough to allow the only viable long-term solution to prevail: wisdom.
In an age overflowing with information, Dr. David M. Milch asks us to consider a deeper form of intelligence—one grounded in consciousness, not just computation. A physician and biotech investor, Milch sees humanity at a turning point, where technological brilliance must be balanced by emotional awareness and ethical wisdom.
He contrasts our accelerating grasp of data and systems with the fragile, often-overlooked pillar of feeling—what he calls the most elusive and vital component of our survival. Milch warns that intelligence alone, unchecked, may steer us toward overload and chaos. Only by nurturing wisdom—our ability to connect past, present, and future with fairness and truth—can we avoid the darker paths of our own invention.
PART SIX
HOPE IN BODY AND SOUL
Healing Collective Inherited Trauma with Psychedelic Plant Medicine
Sami Awad
Palestinian peace and nonviolent activist · Founder of Holy Land Trust · Co-Director of Nonviolence International · Facilitator at Ripples Alliance Bethlehem, Palestine
Healing the collective begins with healing the individual.
For Sami Awad, a lifelong peacebuilder rooted in nonviolence, true transformation comes not only through political strategy but through inner healing. In the midst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he turned to psychedelic plant medicine to confront inherited trauma—trauma passed down through generations of displacement, occupation, and fear.
His first experience with ayahuasca in Colombia became a turning point. In ceremonial settings guided by Indigenous wisdom, Awad encountered deeply buried pain—but also the resilience of his ancestors and the power of compassion. Psychedelic medicine, he believes, can unlock layers of grief and healing that traditional methods often can't reach.
For both Palestinians and Israelis, he argues, intergenerational trauma feeds cycles of violence and mistrust. By accessing and integrating these emotional wounds, individuals can begin to transform the collective story. Awad’s work with uninational and eventually binational ceremonies aims to foster empathy, courage, and a renewed vision of peace—grounded in spiritual healing, not just political agreements.
Reclaiming Hope for Peace
Oded Adomi Leshem
Israeli political psychologist · Founder of ReHOPE · Research Fellow at the Truman Institute, Hebrew University · Author of Hope Amidst Conflict Tel Aviv, Israel
If we want to advance peace, justice, or democracy, is it more important to raise people’s wishes and desires for these principles? or to increase people’s beliefs in the possibility of achieving them?
Writing from Tel Aviv under the shadow of sirens and war, political psychologist Oded Adomi Leshem offers a powerful framework for understanding hope—not as naïve optimism, but as a vital force for peace. In his “bidimensional model of hope,” he distinguishes between wishes (our deep desires) and expectations (our sense of possibility). For Leshem, it’s our unwavering desire for peace—even when it seems unattainable—that sustains us through the darkest times.
He calls this “optimal hope”: a form of hope rooted in clarity of purpose rather than in probability. Especially in moments of violence and despair, Leshem argues, it’s not just appropriate but essential to speak of hope—not because we expect peace, but because we choose to want it, fiercely and unequivocally.
In his research and activism, Leshem shows that these dream-driven aspirations are not just moral postures; they are catalysts for real change.
How Eco-Striving, Not Eco-Anxiety, Can Save the Planet
Samah Karaki
Franco-Lebanese neuroscientist, neurobiologist, and ecologist · Founder and Director of the Social Brain Institute using the cognitive and social sciences to design strategies for enhancing learning tools, organizational culture, and social and environmental justice · Author of Teamwork, Talent Is a Fiction, and Empathy Is Political Paris, France
It is curing the symptom to escape the source of the evil; it is psychologizing what does not emerge from psychology.
Samah Karaki challenges the idea that eco-anxiety is a personal weakness to be soothed. Instead, she sees it as a valid, collective emotional response to ecological collapse—one that should fuel action, not avoidance.
Drawing on her background in neuroscience and social cognition, Karaki reframes climate-related distress as a form of eco-striving: a drive not just to survive but to change the systems causing harm. She critiques the tendency to individualize responsibility, arguing that true transformation requires structural change and collective agency.
Manifesto for Health
Nicholas S. Peters
Professor of Cardiology, Imperial College London · Pioneering entrepreneur in the service of health · Founder and Chairman of Arpiem, London London, England, United Kingdom
As humans, we do what feels good—not what does good. The key is to make doing good feel good.
Nicholas S. Peters believes that the global health crisis is not just medical—it's behavioral. With decades of experience in cardiology and health innovation, he argues that the healthcare system must pivot from reactive sickness care to proactive, behavior-based health promotion.
Nicholas S. Peters believes the global health crisis is as much behavioral as it is medical. With decades of experience in cardiology and health innovation, he argues for a shift from reactive treatment to proactive prevention—driven by human motivation.
Rather than lecture people into healthy choices, Peters calls for systems that reward good habits, making healthy living feel rewarding and natural. He sees promise in connected health technologies and behavioral nudges that empower people to become active participants in their own wellbeing.
Breaking the Chains: Addressing Public Health Inequities in the Fight Against
Krystal Mwesiga Birungi
Zoologist, botanist, and entomologist · Field Entomology Coordinator for Target Malaria Uganda, part of the Target Malaria consortium and based at the Uganda Virus Research Institute · Researcher of Anopheles gambiae populations in Uganda · Speaker for the Global Fund Advocates Network Kampala, Uganda
As humans, we do what feels good—not what does good. The key is to make doing good feel good.
Krystal Birungi’s work is rooted in a deep personal history with malaria. As a survivor, her lived experience fuels her scientific mission: ending the disease’s grip on the most vulnerable—especially women and children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite being preventable and treatable, malaria persists as one of the leading causes of death in Africa. Entrenched health inequities—driven by poverty, gender inequality, and geographic isolation—keep lifesaving treatment out of reach. Birungi highlights the compounding burdens malaria imposes: lost education, deepened poverty, and impossible choices for caregivers.
But there is hope. At Target Malaria, Birungi leads efforts to reduce mosquito populations through innovative gene drive technology—a long-term, sustainable solution to vector control. Just as vital is community engagement: ensuring that those most affected are informed, involved, and empowered.
Eradicating malaria would save lives and unlock opportunity. Healthier children, empowered women, and stronger economies are within reach.
On Disability and Lessons for the Climate Crisis
Alex Ghenis
Writer, speaker, and strategist focused on disability rights and climate change · Director of Content for Climate Hive · Owner of Accessible Climate Strategies consultancy · Member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the California Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency program · Content Writer for the United Spinal Association and its New Mobility magazine Oakland, California, USA
That disability experience sounds a bit like the climate crisis, doesn’t it? Decades of traumas, with shocks, lulls, and feedback loops... and a concerning future we all need to prepare for.
Alex Ghenis draws a striking parallel between living with a disability and confronting the climate crisis—both marked by unpredictable challenges, chronic stress, and the need for preparation, resilience, and support. His experience with a spinal cord injury has shown him that survival depends not just on personal grit, but on systems, networks, and advocacy.
Disability, he argues, is shaped as much by social structures as by biology. Likewise, climate vulnerability stems not just from natural forces, but from inequities in income, geography, infrastructure, and governance. In both cases, the most marginalized are most affected.
From California’s rolling blackouts to global climate planning, Ghenis highlights the disability community’s hard-earned knowledge: how to navigate crisis, demand reform, and build resilience. As rising temperatures drive up rates of illness and injury, he urges climate advocates to draw on this lived wisdom.
PART SEVEN
CULTURE OF HOPE
Photo: Heritage Foundation of Pakistan
Barefoot Social Architecture
Yasmeen Lari
Renowned global architect and pioneer of zero-carbon design uniting ecological and social justice · Co-Founder and CEO of the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan · Winner of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal and Jane Drew Prize · Advocate for vernacular architecture and barefoot entrepreneurship Karachi, Pakistan
Architecture must prioritize humanity. It belongs not just to the powerful, but to the people—especially those who walk barefoot.
Yasmeen Lari’s transformation from “starchitect” to humanitarian visionary began with a radical question: What is architecture for? After a celebrated career designing corporate towers, she turned to mud, bamboo, and lime to serve Pakistan’s most vulnerable—especially women—through sustainable, self-built structures.
In response to natural disasters and systemic inequality, Lari developed Barefoot Social Architecture: a zero-carbon, community-led approach that empowers the poorest to rebuild their lives with dignity. Her designs—stilted community centers, smokeless earthen stoves, flood-resilient homes—blend ancestral knowledge with ecological innovation.
Following the 2022 floods that displaced millions, her "no charity" model enabled 1 million families to construct climate-safe homes using local materials, without handouts—proving that sustainable development can be affordable, dignified, and community-driven. Through this work, Lari shows that architecture can be a tool for justice, resilience, and planetary healing.
Turning Smog into Diamonds
Daan Roosegaarde
Dutch tech artist, architect, and entrepreneur creating social designs and sustainable prototypes for future cities · Founder and Creative Director of Studio Roosegaarde · Named by Forbes and Good 100 as a creative changemaker · Professor of Design and Innovation at Tongji University, Shanghai · Member of the NASA Innovation team Rotterdam, South Holland, The Netherlands
We first have to imagine a better future, and only then can we create it.
Daan Roosegaarde is on a mission to clean the air—one bold prototype at a time. Through his visionary Smog Free Project, he’s built the world’s largest outdoor air purifier: a seven-meter-tall tower that creates pockets of clean air in polluted cities from China to the Netherlands. The tower even transforms captured smog into carbon-based jewelry—turning waste into a symbol of hope.
Roosegaarde’s approach blends art, science, and activism. From the Smog Free Bicycle, which cleans air as you ride, to clean-tech workshops that spark civic imagination, his work challenges the idea that pollution is inevitable. With his mantra schoonheid—meaning both “clean” and “beautiful” in Dutch—Roosegaarde invites us to design our way to healthier, more hopeful cities.
In Purpose: Sampling the Sounds of Climate Change
Kiran “Madame” Gandhi
American electronic musician, producer, drummer, and activist known for her percussive sound and message of gender liberation and planetary empathy · Former drummer for M.I.A. and Thievery Corporation · TED Fellow and BBC 100 Women · Winner of the 2023 Songwriters Hall of Fame Abe Olman Prize for excellence in songwriting and leadership London, England, United Kingdom
May we always use our gifts to be in service of something greater than ourselves.
Kiran “Madame” Gandhi transforms the soundscape of climate change into music with purpose. On a 2022 expedition to Antarctica, Gandhi used self-built underwater microphones to record the natural world—capturing the haunting beauty of melting glaciers, playful penguins, and wild sea lions. Back home, she reshaped these sounds into beats, basslines, and synths—proving that even ice and animal calls can move a dance floor.
Through her Antarctica Pack and collaborations with EarthPercent, Gandhi invites listeners to fall in love with the sounds of nature—and, through that love, to act in its defense. Her music challenges the disconnect between humans and the planet by creating emotionally resonant, environmentally sourced compositions. For Gandhi, empathy is the bridge between creativity and climate action—and rhythm is the language that gets us there.
Photo: Kirsten Lara Getchell
How Music Makes Us Better
Indre Viskontas
Neuroscientist, opera singer, and science communicator · Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco · Creative Director of Pasadena Opera · Author of the bestselling book How Music Can Make You Better San Francisco, California, USA
Music isn’t music until a brain makes it so.
Indre Viskontas blends science and song to explore music’s profound impact on health, emotion, and human connection. A professional opera singer turned neuroscientist, she investigates how making music rewires the brain, strengthens social bonds, and helps us feel that we matter.
Music, she argues, isn’t just entertainment—it’s medicine. Whether easing pain, calming anxiety, or connecting us with others, its effects are measurable at the neurochemical level. And as technologies make it easier than ever to personalize and track our musical experiences, Viskontas envisions a future where music becomes a core tool for wellbeing, community, and care.
Through stories from her own life and emerging research, she shows that music is more than sound—it’s a social glue, a memory keeper, and a source of awe that helps us feel less alone in the world.
Art as Connector and Catalyst
Stein Olav Henrichsen
Former Director of the Munch Museum in Oslo commemorating the life and work of artist Edvard Munch · Former artistic and administrative leader of the contemporary orchestra BIT20, Opera Vest, and the Bergen National Opera · Musician Oslo, Norway
Art embraces and touches upon our lives from birth to grave, whether we know it or not.
Stein Olav Henrichsen believes in the profound power of art to transform, connect, and inspire. Whether through the haunting depth of a Rothko painting or the swelling emotion of a Schubert quintet, he reflects on how art speaks across boundaries—between people, cultures, and disciplines.
Drawing from personal experience and large-scale cultural projects, Henrichsen argues that art can fuel civic pride, regenerate cities, and open space for hope. From the Bilbao Effect to The Angel of the North, he has seen firsthand how bold cultural investments can spark renewal.
At a time of global fragmentation, Henrichsen calls for new alliances between art, science, business, and policy. He envisions art not only as an individual experience, but as a shared tool to address inequality, inspire collaboration, and remind us of what binds us together.
Dancing Hip Hop and Hope
Larybel Olivero
Choreographer and Artistic Director of three-time silver medalist Da Republik dance crew and Núcleo Extremo dance academy · Country Director of Hip Hop International in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Breaking is the embodiment of hope.
For Larybel Olivero, Hip Hop is far more than entertainment—it's a transformative force. From the streets of Santo Domingo to the world stage, she’s seen how dance ignites confidence, discipline, and community in youth facing adversity.
As the founder of one of the Dominican Republic’s most acclaimed dance crews and academies, Olivero has helped a generation of dancers turn movement into meaning. With resilience, rhythm, and a deep sense of belonging, they redefine what’s possible—rising from the margins to become athletes, role models, and leaders.
Through Hip Hop, Olivero sees young people finding their voice, their faith, and their future—one beat, one step, one story at a time.
Educating Our Way Out of Poverty
Luisa Sanchez
Colombian-American Youth Ambassador for the World Literacy Foundation · Journalism Co-Lead, Senior Editor, and Board Member of Kentucky Student Voice Team · Student at Boyle County High School Danville, Kentucky, USA
Education is a privilege. And a font of hope.
Luisa Sanchez understands the transformative power of education not just through statistics, but through stories—beginning with her grandmother Alejandra, who never stopped dreaming of becoming a lawyer despite a life shaped by poverty and limited access to schooling in rural Colombia.
After emigrating to the U.S. as a child, Luisa fell in love with language through books, and turned that passion into advocacy. Today, she writes boldly about educational justice, mental health, and youth rights—and leads literacy campaigns to close opportunity gaps worldwide.
For Luisa, education isn’t just about learning—it’s about agency, dignity, and building futures we’re proud to live in.
Educating Our Way Out of Poverty
Maria Popova
Bulgarian-born essayist, poet, and blogger · Founder and writer of the digital newsletter The Marginalian · Creator and host of The Universe in Verse, celebrating science and the natural world through poetry · Author of Figuring and The Snail with the Right Heart · Editor of The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science & Poetry Brooklyn, New York, USA
It is only what we can imagine that limits or liberates what is possible.
Maria Popova explores the role of artists during civilizational upheaval—those “phase transitions” when the world seems to unravel, but in truth is reforming. Drawing on thinkers like Hermann Hesse, E.M. Forster, and James Baldwin, she makes the case that the creative spirit is our most reliable instrument for reimagining the possible.
In times of disarray, art is more than beauty—it’s structure, insight, and resistance. It is, as Forster wrote, “the lighthouse which cannot be hidden.” Through The Marginalian, Popova continues to shine that light—illuminating the wisdom, tenderness, and imaginative force that help us navigate the chaos, and reshape it into something more humane.
Hope in Books
Adam Potkay, PhD
William R. Kenan Professor of English and Humanities at William & Mary · Author of Hope: A Literary History, The Passion for Happiness, and The Story of Joy Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
The best place to find hope is between the covers of a book.
Adam Potkay traces hope’s complex relationship with literature, from sacred texts to post-apocalyptic novels. Across cultures and centuries, hope has been both praised and cautioned against—sometimes a source of strength, other times a prelude to suffering. He shows how fiction allows us to explore the full emotional and moral landscape of hope: its joys, its illusions, and its enduring necessity.
From Jane Austen’s romantic plots to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Potkay explores how literature reflects and shapes our hopes—even in the face of war, climate collapse, or extinction. His final wish is simple and profound: that books, like children, will outlast us. Because to hope in books is to hope in memory, in meaning, and in the moral imagination of humanity itself.
Tapestry of Tradition
Samina Ansari
Kabul-born Founding Director of Avyanna Diplomacy, focused on social sustainability, inclusive growth, geopolitical risk, and cybersecurity law Oslo, Norway
It is through our sorrows that we find the strength to endure, and it is through our love that we find the courage to persevere.
In a heartfelt letter to her daughter, Samina Ansari traces the threads of identity, resilience, and hope woven through generations of Afghan history. Returning to Kabul after decades in diaspora, she encountered both the scars of conflict and the enduring spirit of a culture steeped in beauty, hospitality, and tradition.
Her reflections are both personal and political: a mother’s love, a woman’s memory, a nation’s longing. Against the backdrop of a fractured homeland, she lifts up the role of cultural heritage and storytelling as acts of defiance and dignity. In doing so, she offers her daughter—and all of us—a reminder that identity can be both rooted and expansive, shaped by both sorrow and strength.
Kids for a Better World
Sagarika Sriram
Climate advocate and changemaker · Founder (age ten) and CEO of Kids for a Better World (K4BWorld), a global nonprofit educating youth in sustainability · Student at Boston College · BBC 100 Women honoree · UN Youth Climate Advisor Dubai, United Arab Emirates
There it was in a nutshell—the power of technology to build awareness and educate children, motivating them to live in a more sustainable way.
At just ten years old, Sagarika Sriram turned concern into action by launching Kids for a Better World, a digital platform designed to inspire climate literacy and real-world impact among children. From eco-points to carbon footprint calculators, from local clean-ups to global workshops, she built an inclusive, tech-powered movement rooted in empowerment, education, and creativity.
Her work proves that when young people are equipped with the right tools, they don’t just absorb climate anxiety—they rise with climate agency. Sagarika’s vision is clear: a generation of children not only prepared for the future but actively shaping it.
Breathe: Reconnect, Respond, and Reclaim
Eva Hilhorst and youth graphic journalists
Dutch editor-in-chief of Drawing the Times, a graphic journalism platform · Illustrator and visual reporter · Instructor of Visual Reportage at the School of Media, Utrecht Academy of Arts Amsterdam, North Holland, The Netherlands
Through illustration and storytelling, we can visualize what is often invisible—how climate change feels and how it affects real lives.
Through bold lines and vivid storytelling, Eva Hilhorst brings voices from the margins into focus. In collaboration with young locals and refugees in Greece, Breathe captures the lived realities of climate injustice through graphic reportage—stories drawn from experience, resilience, and hope.
Produced with the support of Athens Comics Library, Comicdom Con Athens, ActionAid, and the EU’s #ClimateofChange project, this work reminds us that the climate crisis is not just science—it’s personal. It’s memory, place, and voice. And it demands not just data, but deep attention.
Illustration by İdil Doğar through the child artist initiative of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), a member of the General Assembly of the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO. Watercolor and felt-tip markers on paper.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
Emily Dickinson
American lyric poet who lived in Amherst, Massachusetts (1830–1886)
“Hope” is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul – And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard – And sore must be the storm – That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land – And on the strangest Sea – Yet – never – in Extremity, It asked a crumb – of me.
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