Calendar: past events 

Iain McGilchrist and Phoebe Tickell
 Imagination: A Way to Remake the World

“We are pleased to announce the next event in our free online seminar series Attention as a Moral Act - Iain McGilchrist in conversation with Phoebe Tickell on Wednesday 12th April (7pm UK / 8pm CEST / 2pm EST / 11am PST)

Phoebe Tickell is a biologist, systems thinker and founder of Moral Imaginations – an organisation driving a movement of imagination-powered activism, placing life back at the centre of the economy, politics and systems of governance. Phoebe works across multiple societal contexts and has advised government, the education sector and the food and farming sector. Most recently, she has worked with Camden Council to train council officers in the skills of collective imagination and horizontal leadership.

Wednesday April 12th 2023 (online), 7pm UK / 8pm CEST / 2pm EST /11am PST

In this online conversation, Phoebe and Iain will explore imagination as a way to remake the world. In particular, they will consider how imagination and intuition can be complementary to reason and rationality; how imagination can be a way to make sense of reality; and how imagination can be in service to morality. This conversation promises to be an engrossing encounter as Iain and Phoebe discuss the theoretical implications and practical applications of imagination in light of the hemisphere hypothesis.

The event will last 100 minutes, with approximately one hour for the main conversation followed by time for questions from the audience.

25th April 2022 - Keynote Speaker at The Inner Development Goals, Stockholm

I was a keynote speaker alongside speakers such as Robert Kegan, Amy Edmonson and Otto Scharmer to just over 4,000 people (1,000 live in the Stockholm Concert Hall, 3,000 online participants).

I was invited to present on my work on collective imagination and Imagination Activism, and took people through a 15 minute imagination exercise where they imagined speaking with a member of the future generations.

• 27-28th June 2019 - OPEN COOP - Organising and Facilitating, London
  
  OPEN 2019 Community Gathering – Decentralised Collaboration
  When: Thursday, 27 June - Friday, 28 June
  9:00 am - 8:00 pm - Add to: iCal - gCal

• The OPEN 2019 Community Gathering is an open space event designed to strengthen the network of communities and organisations that are working on building a collaborative, regenerative economy.
  
  Who is OPEN 2019 for?

  OPEN 2019 is an inter-network event for community builders, network organisers and key connecting members of organisations from a wide range of progressive communities. We welcome all cooperators, rebels, mavens, network builders, systems architects, open source developers, and anyone else who is interested in designing and building our collective future. The idea is to network the networks by creating deeper connections and relationships between some of the key connectors from a wide range of mutually aligned communities.

• Who is OPEN 2019 for?

• To kick off each day attendees will be introduced to a handful of new, distributed, cooperative, technical and social projects, through a selection of lightning talks. After that attendees will be guided to co-design the event by proposing, refining and voting on the content for the rest of the two days’ sessions. Experienced facilitators from the Enspiral network will help us create a ‘container’ for our time together. Working in small groups we will discuss, debate and feedback ideas to the wider group, to ensure everyone has a chance to have their say and that the collective wisdom of the group is captured and shared.

• With an informal evening dinner and drinks and more networking opportunities, there will be plenty of time for building deeper understanding and relationships too.

• 25th June 2019, The Future of Work: The Humans are Coming

  6:30pm, hosted by Havas in Kings Cross, London
  

  I’m speaking at an event in London later this month and I would love to invite you. It’s run by the Minds@Work movement who promises “an evening of mind-bending talks with 5 remarkable speakers, to imagine a future where work actually generates thriving mental health."
  

  Event description
  

  Technology is changing the working world, helping us achieve extraordinary feats and altering the way we interact with each other. Everything and everyone is moving faster than ever before. Is this environment optimised for humans? The majority of people who experience a mental health problem say that work is a contributing factor. Humans deserve better.

  The future of work is squarely in our hands; will we be wise enough to use our superpowers to create workplaces that serve humanity - that make us all healthier, happier and more fulfilled? This is our mission.
  

  Join us to hear talks by:

  • Mo Gawdat. - formerly Chief Business Officer for Google X, now author and leader of #OneBillionHappy movement

  • Magdalena Bak Maier  - neuroscientist, Ted speaker and author of two books on productivity and the heart/mind connection

  • Gethin Nadin - bestselling author of “A World of Good”, employee engagement expert, director at Benefex

  • Phoebe Tickell - renegade scientist creating decentralised, non-hierarchical and participatory organisational cultures

  • Nic Marks - Ted speaker with over 2m views, founder of employee happiness measurement software, Friday.

  
  For more information, view the event trailer for “The Humans are Coming” and visit the event page on the Minds@Work website.
  
  For Tickets: To unlock your ticket for this sold old event, go to the Eventbrite page and click “register”. Do not join the waiting list; instead — click “enter promo code” and enter the word “moonshot”.

• 11th June 2019, 1pm CET, “Blockchain and Other Future Technologies: What Do We Need to Know?” - Panel Discussion with Holger Nauheimer
  
  Every day we hear of new technologies which have the potential to turn the world (of work) upside down. While Artificial Intelligence and Big Data is on everybody’s agenda, there are other technologies which will have a great impact on organizations and society. The GIZ Blockchain project explores the potential of such technologies for projects of international collaboration. In the session we will be talking about

·         Which technology trends are mature enough to be relevant for GIZ?

·         What is Blockchain and what is its potential for changing governance models of organizations?

·         How do NGOs use Blockchain for emergency projects in Africa?

·         How can we develop technology solutions together with start-ups?

·         How to leverage innovation in the light of risk avoidance of governmental agencies?

 Experts:
Franz von Weizsäcker, Blockchain Lab GIZ (https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/67045.html)
Fabian Gompf, Parity (https://www.parity.io)
Phoebe Tickell, Futurist and Systems Designer, London (http://www.phoebetickell.com)

• 28-30th May 2019, “Going Horizontal” - Experiential Training in Practical Distributed Governance (4 Day Training), Nijmegen, Holland
  www.goinghorizontal.co/events
  "‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ IS NOT AN OPTION ANYMORE.”

• What are the skills and practices I need to thrive in a more horizontal, self-organised and flexible future of work?

• Are you looking to clarify or strengthen the way you bring more purpose, accountability or transparency into your organisation or community?

• Are you curious about shared decision-making and self-directed learning and development?

• What would our interactions look like if we approached each other with curiosity, openness and trust?

We are living in times that invite us to straddle both vertical and new horizontal leadership paradigms. Major shifts in mindset out of a vertical culture are happening, and there are organisations globally which are beginning to evolve into more participatory, agile and horizontal workplaces. People want to be part of teams that are empowered, engaged and autonomous – while staying connected to the purpose and strategy of the organisation.

This training is built around the book Going Horizontal (Berrett Koehler Publishers, 2018) – a collection of practices to bridge old and new ways of working – supporting every person to practice their way into their personal leadership.

People use a ‘horizontal mindset’ to make decisions and organise their lives every day. Yet when we enter (vertical) organisations, we often face challenges to bring this mindset into our work. This training will strengthen, accelerate and deepen what you already do outside of work, and show you how to bring it into your workplace. We will actively practice methods that can help you in the places you are stuck or don’t know how to start, and offer new practices to keep growing.

Shifting mindsets is your biggest lever of system change, and the community of people propelling this change is quickly spreading across the globe. Come meet and join them.  

I gave this workshop as a Collaborator of Percolab.

The website of the training is here.

• 16th May 2019, Private (Closed) One-day Workshop with Monadic on “Practical Distributed Governance”, Berlin
  Workshop for 15 people on practical distributed governance and horizontal leadership.

• 10-11th May 2019, Blockchain & Science 2-day Conference with AKASHA Foundation, Barcelona
  Exploring blockchain technology and DLT potential impact on academic science and publishing. A group of academics and blockchain researchers and developers in participatory workshop format.
  
  
  

• 9th May 2019, Keynote, Future of Work Conference by Seats2Meet, London
  
  
  

• 29-30th April 2019, COALA Workshop, Florence (Italy)
  Distributed governance and blockchain law workshop (www.coala.global)
  
  

• 16-24th April, International Bateson Institute, San Francisco
  Warm Data Labs Strategy session and fundraising
  
  

• 28th March 2019, Datacom Building - New Zealand
  Workshop and Masterclass: ”Designing organisations for life-long learning”
  Closed workshop at Datacom New Zealand (https://www.datacom.co.nz)
  Practical and experiential workshop
  
  

• 27th March 2019, Wynyard Innovation Neighbourhood, New Zealand
  Executive Briefing and workshop: Millennial Culture and Empowered Networks
  As part of my New Zealand tour on ”Designing Organisations to be more Human”, I also delivered a briefing and workshop for executives at the 8 largest companies of New Zealand: ASB Bank, Datacom, IAG, Air New Zealand, ASEEB on the emerging work culture of millennials and the future of the workplace being an empowered network.

• 26th March 2019, Project Connect, New Zealand (https://the-project.co.nz/)
  Keynote: “Designing Organisations to Be More Human”
  More about the keynote in this Medium post.
  
  The WINTalk Project Connect Event Series is a collaboration between AUT (Auckland University of Technology), Wynyard Innovation Neighbourhood and the US Embassy of New Zealand, bringing together the respective successes of AUT’s Project Connect event programme and Wynyard Innovation Neighbourhood’s WINTalk events.
  
  “The partnership represents over five years of combined experience, goodwill, market presence, and thought leadership; as well as the ability to attract top, international, subject matter experts to New Zealand for keynote, masterclass and exclusive executive briefings.
  
  Equal parts inspiration and enlightenment, WINTalk Project Connect events offer a rare chance to meet the global change agents that are spearheading the strategic, creative and commercial implementation of digital technologies and business innovation.
  
  At each event, attendees will gain a better understanding of today’s opportunities and tomorrow’s possibilities, as well as crucial insights into new business ideas, models and strategies. They will meet future business partners, collaborators and co-conspirators and be exposed to ideas that will re-invent their approach to… everything.”

• January 2019, DGOV Foundation Council, Berlin
  Organised and Facilitated
  
  Find out more about DGOV Foundation here: www.dgov.foundation. I am now part of the Core Team of DGOV and continue to work in coordinating the future strategy and a global community of researchers and developers running experiments and developing common understanding of distributed global governance.

• November 2018, Enspiral Project Kitchen, London (Newspeak House)
  Organised and Facilitated
  
  In collaboration with the Kairos EU Entrepreneurial Network, I organised an evening workshop on “collaborative entrepreneurship” with a series of talks, a participatory workshop and dinner for 35 participants.

• October 2018, Kairos EU Summit
  Hosting a “Future of Work” Think-tank session
  
  The Kairos Society will be hosting the Kairos EU Summit in Barcelona from October 19-21 with over 200 of the world’s brightest entrepreneurs tackling Europe’s most pressing challenges.

  Kairos is a community and fund that focuses the next generation on problems worth solving. Having collected over $25 million for its venture fund and supporters such as Tim Draper, Bill Clinton and Richard Branson for its community, Kairos is serious about tackling global issues.
  
  Find out more here: https://novobrief.com/kairos-eu-summit-to-tackle-europes-most-pressing-challenges-in-barcelona/7397/.

• October 2018, Going Horizontal Training (Certified by the University of Barcelona)
  Organising and Training
  
  The first 4-day residential “Going Horizontal” training for more human organisations and non-hierarchical leadership, with a University certification by University of Barcelona in “Future of Work skills”.

• September 2018, Human Networks Convergence, Barcelona
  Organising and Facilitating
  
  In collaboration with Ouishare: https://humannetworksfestival.ouishare.net/
  This 3-day immersive event brought together network leaders from around the world to develop thinking and collaboration around a “network of networks” and Human Networks conference, to happen in 2020.

• May 2018, Gaia and Symbiosis short course, Schumacher College (UK)
  (Teaching alongside Stephan Harding and Merlin Sheldrake)

  
  As the ecological crisis gathers pace, there is an urgent need to develop ecological ways of living that are relevant for our times.
  
  Ecology is the study of life’s relationships between Earth’s diverse organisms, rocks, atmosphere and waters. It is these relationships that constitute Gaia: our self-regulating, living Earth which has been hospitable for life over billions of years.

  Symbiosis, the intimate living together of vastly different organisms, has been a key component in life’s long evolutionary journey, to the extent that Gaia has been characterised as ‘symbiosis seen from space’.  In this course, we ask what we can learn from both Gaia and the sciences of symbiosis that might help us to effectively navigate our way through the current crises.
  
  This short course will introduce you to the details of some of the most striking symbiotic relationships in the biosphere, including an exploration of the bacterial and fungal symbioses which are so critical for the health of our planet. We’ll explore the principles of Gaian self-regulation, and will discover how symbiosis has made hugely important contributions to the creation and maintenance of a liveable Earth both today and over geological time.  We’ll consider how a deep understanding of Gaia and symbiosis impacts ourethics and philosophy, our social organisations, our politics, our responses to climate change and even theways in which taxes are collected and distributed.

  The course is for both scientists and non-scientists who want to learn what the latest scientific understanding about the living dynamics of our planet can teach us about how we can best deal with climate change, biodiversity loss and social disruption, and about how nature can inspire us to lead more fulfilling, more richly connected personal lives.
  
  About me:
  "Phoebe is a biological systems scientist turned social alchemist, motivated by translating the teachings from the scientific world into a language for how we can create a life-sustaining society. Having explored the potential of solutions in science and technology, she’s now taking those learnings and applying them to human systems.
  
  She started off her academic career at the University of Cambridge, where she specialised in plant, algae and microbial systems - before researching algal genetics at Imperial College London. She finds the biological world fascinating and awe-inspiring, especially by its 'pattern language', and the behaviour of biological networks, communities, symbioses: i.e. the biology of relationships - from the micro to the macro.
  
  She’s exploring what it might mean to exhibit ‘biological leadership’ - learning to lead from a place of deep wisdom of Nature’s patterns and gestures. She is part of various systems-change projects where she puts her understanding of networks, systems and cooperation into practice: Future Farm Lab, which creates learning opportunities and experiments that re-wire the food system, and Enspiral, a de-centralised and DIY social enterprise network. She is also a facilitator of Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects.

• April 2017, Youth Initiative Program (Y.I.P.), Sweden
  Visiting Teacher
  Initiating projects and open collaborative networks

• March 2017, Reading University, MSc Food and Politics Lecture
  Visting Lecturer
  "Innovating innovation: creating new technologies on different operating systems".

• 21-24th February 2017, Enspiral’s “Summer Fest”, Wellington New Zealand
  Open space workshops

• February 2017, Royal College of Art
  Speaker and Advisor, BioDesign Challenge
  Advisor and final judge for the RCA BioDesign Challenge: http://biodesignchallenge.org
  With the theme 'food' - gave mentorship through Future Farm Lab.

• January 2017 - present, Schumacher College, Devon
  Facilitator and Programme Designer
  Resident systems designer in education and science.

• November 2016, Schumacher College, Devon
  Visiting Lecturer, Holistic Science MSc
  Teaching on the Holistic Science Masters programme was an absolute dream. Following on from the legacy of previous teachers at Schumacher, namely the infamous and much admired Lynn Margulis, we dived into the topic of endosymbiosis, and the rich spectrum of intimate relationships present in Nature. We spanned an enormous scale, from the molecular mechanisms of chloroplast evolution all the way to intimate interspecies relationships and mutualisms - to our very own gut microbiome which controls and coordinates far more than we realise - from allergies and disease sensitivity to emotional states!

• November 2016, Archer Academy, London
  Independent
  Visiting "Mad Scientist" - a tour of the relationships between humans and biology through the ages, and a creative assignment in designing bacteria and plants to solve world problems.

• November 2016, Global Generation Skip Garden, London
  Independent
  Bringing together science, religion and the Universe Story.

• July 2016, Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire
  Guerilla Science & Future Farm Lab Workshops
  Workshops delivered around our future of food, and alternatives to current modes of animal and plant agriculture... Delivered with a full sensory component: taste, smell, touch, and immersive!

• 8th June 2016, Royal College of Art, London
  Visiting Lecturer
  Workshop on engineering cyanobacteria for MSc Innovation Design students, collaborating with Marin Sawa, Biodesigner

• 1st June 2016, Royal College of Art, London
  Visiting Lecturer
  Urban farming and agro-ecology: moving to a sustainable food system

  
  Algal bio-factories, lab-grown animal-free "cultured" meat, powdered vanilla-flavoured complete nutrient supplement drinks, accelerated selective breeding combined with genetic engineering to produce super-charged nutrient rich vegetables – if we have any need or use for vegetables at all…

  Future Farm Lab explores the future of our food, how we got there, and what we can do to shape a more sustainable, nutritious, colourful and resilient food system one bite at a time. Joined by her team of cellular agriculturist Abi Glencross and science communicator Sophie Peri they will be presenting their work along serving up some thought-provoking and taste-tantalising experimental samples and refreshments!

• 7th May 2016, Tomorrow's Reading (Future Fest), Reading
  Guerilla Science Workshop
  The Future of Food with Guerrilla Science & Future Farm Lab
  
  See the review of the event here!

• April 2016, Crossmodalists Meet-up, London
  Future Farm Lab Programme
  Science Meets Art: Testing Taste and Perception and Immersing in the Future of Food
  
  A series of hands-on experiments as an experience for attendees and also a valuable chance to collect data on public perception, and opinion, around protein alternatives and the potential future of our food. Followed by a feedback session, discussion and Q&A.
  

• March 2016, Exhibition at the Science Museum, London
  Independent
  Future of London 2050: Algae as Food and Feed

• February 2016, Lecture at Imperial College London
  Independent
  "The Synthetic Biology revolution: the road to realistic sustainability in the near future"
  
  A lecture given to final year undergraduates to stimulate discussion and healthy skepticism around the role synthetic biology will and can play in our future. Followed by Q&A.

• December 2015, Workshops at Bombay International School, Mumbai
  225 Academy
  "Programme DNA, Design Your Own Super-bug and Solve World Problems"

• December 2015, Exhibition at the Science Museum, London
  Independent, collaboration with Imperial College London
  "Algae in Space -- the potential of algae to grow our food and fuel on space voyages!" (click here to read about the exhibition and see photos)

• July 2015, Workshops at King George V School, Hong Kong
  225 Academy
  "The Evolution of Humans, Nature and Technology"
  

• April 2015, Workshops at Tanglin Trust School, Singapore
  225 Academy
  "Designing a New World with Nature’s Guidance: Biomimicry"
  
  "Re-wiring Your Brain: the Neuroscience of Stress, and Mindfulness"
  

• March 2015, Workshops at Dubai College, United Arab Emirates
  225 Academy
  "The Intersection of Science and Life: Wonder"