The first five finalists of Gaia University celebrate their graduation
by Kathleen Battke & Declan Kennedy
Innovative education for sustainability, peace and development – that is the thematic core of the projects that the first finalists – three women and two men – worked on in order to reach their goal. Gaia University (GU) granted one Graduate Diplomas, two Master Degrees and two Post-Graduate Diploma at the Eco-village Lebensgarten Steyerberg in Northern Germany. 40 guests from the immediate region and from abroad attended the celebration.
The deputy Mayor of Steyerberg, Frank Siedenberg, welcomed all with words of joy and pride as his village had become a university town just one year previously. He put up the hypothesis that, according to the old sages, the gods had hidden their wisdom deep down in the individual human beings who would find it when the time was ripe – and Gaia University was now the sign that this ripeness of time has occurred.
‘Everyone is thrilled with the high quality of these projects which has not all that of a surprise, considering the individual competencies of the candidates’ said Liora Adler, one of the Founders and President of this international university.
After the final presentations of these projects that had happened in the previous week, Prof. Declan Kennedy said he was more that pleased with the outcome. Kennedy is the person that brought this young university in its first year to Germany – he is also the convener and Chairman of the Advisory Board : ‘If this achievement of Gaia University represents the level that can be expected in the training and education of change-managers for sustainability worldwide, then there is a good chance that we can overcome the challenges of today for to-morrow – namely in fields like climate change, restoration of the Earth, World and regional Peace, regeneration of our soil, forests and waterways, etc.’
Nils Droste (Badenstadt, Graduate Diploma) in his project, developed an innovative approach to sustainable education in a community exchange programme between Ecuador and Germany.
The year’s project of Antja Kennedy (Bremen, Master of Science) dealt with the connection of movement studies within decision-making processes in all walks of life. She will continue her learning process in the form of a book with DVD that will be published next year.
Dietmar Prudix (Sulingen, Master of Science) surprised everyone with his invention of a huge dice, using it playfully for solving conflicts especially in the business world. He plans on using his project results in his consultancy with top managers and also in a forthcoming book.
Kathleen Battke, who had a Master of Arts and works as a free-lance PR person and Katharina Weber, with a Master of Social Science received a Post-Graduate Diploma for their practical work on setting up the German Centre of Gaia University. They each took a separate topics: Kathleen a more theoretical approach to action-learning, incorporating ideas of GU with those of Otto Scharmer (Presencing as a social technology), Dee Hock (Chaordic Organisation) and Spiral Dynamics; Katharina planning and implementing an innovative strawbale building for a new retreat centre connecting a Zen with a Permaculture way of life as part of the Gaia University Regional Centre at Lebensgarten. These modules and building blocks will be of great help for the new Regional Centres of Gaia University being planned worldwide, e.g. for Portugal (Tamera), Brazil (IPEC, near Brasilia), USA – West (Ashland, Oregon) and USA - East (The Farm, Tennessee).
Further interim-presentations was made by Katharina Sander (Steyerberg) on her development of a study programme for Peace Management towards her MSc. (which would include Non-Violent Communication, Mediation and Gender Studies) - and Tobias Kempf (Belzig) about his project of designing sustainable festivals for youth in Germany and abroad - on his study programme towards a Graduate Diploma. They will both graduate in the autumn of this year.
On this day of receiving their degrees, these World Changers also formed an association of graduates and sponsors: Alumni Gaia University Network (AGaiN) – an association that will do fund raising particularly for scholarships and stipends for new Gaia University associates (students). Fees for Gaia University are relatively inexpensive for North American candidates, but candidates from so-called 2nd. World pay a little more than half and 3rd. World - one third. Donations are being sought to support needy applicants.
The World needs new activists and entrepreneurs who understand the problems of social and environmental degradation, Peak-Oil, Peak-Gas, and Peak-Nuke. The idea of Gaia University is both simple and progressive: out of their own projects, associates (Gaia university’s word for students) design possible future solutions for ecological, social and economic problems, using methods such as action learning and virtual workshops in a atmosphere of freedom in organising their own studies as well as having qualified mentors and an international network of supporters. Sustainability is the central theme for the content of the programmes.
Gaia University grants degrees of Bachelor, Graduate Diploma, Master of Science or Post Graduate Diploma (from 2008 on also a Doctorate) in cooperation with the International Management Centres Association (IMCA), UK and Revans University.
Thereby, Gaia University gives entrepreneurs, change managers in business and activists from the social movement equal opportunities to attain an internationally recognized education while they are engaged in activities that further peace, justice and the environment. All programmes on the post-graduate and higher levels are organised mainly through the Internet and take two years, (with an orientation and ending workshop of 15 to 20 days residence). They can be reduced to one year depending on the candidate’s life experience.
The first programmes in the German language will start on Oct. 17th until Oct. 24th. 2007 with an orientation week at Lebensgarten Steyerberg, Lower Saxony, covering the fields of: ‘Sustainable Money Design’ and ‘Peace Management’. The ‘Open Topics’ programme (likewise in German) will run parallel – see www.lebensgarten.de
The next orientation programmes in English will take place in The Farm, Tennessee, USA in October and November – see www.gaiauniversity.org
Posted by mitra at August 14, 2007 8:44 AM
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