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The Spirituality and Nature Dialogue: responsibility, inspiration and behaviour change

Why attend
Our speakers are not just spiritual leaders but critical thinkers, engaged activists, and visionaries in their own right. They promise to bring passion, wisdom and hope to a much-needed debate about the state of humanity and our broken relationship with the natural world. No matter what your personal beliefs, this dialogue is for you!
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With over 80% of humanity claiming to follow a spiritual belief system, today’s spiritual leaders have a major role to play in addressing the environmental and climate crisis. From provision of large-scale relief services, or villagers in extremis coming for succour at a house of prayer – vulnerable people come to the door of religious leaders. Religion and spirituality are one of the few spaces where human behaviour is addressed from within, where collective altruism happens and where changes in human drivers can change at a scale from the very local to global. This dialogue brings together religious and spiritual leaders from mainstream and indigenous traditions to discuss the real root causes of biodiversity loss and climate change. Where has humanity’s relationship with nature and our planet gone wrong? Can humanity change to act with the greatest care and responsibility? The high-level speakers, themselves radical thinkers, change makers and activists, will inspire the plenary.

Session agenda

Moderator

Dr Grethel AGUILAR

IUCN Deputy Director General,
IUCN
Switzerland

Moderator
14:00 - 15:30

Speaker

Cardinal Peter TURKSON

First Prefect - Dicastery for promoting Integral Human Development,
Vatican
Italy


14:00 - 15:30

Mr Fazlun KHALID

Founder,
Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences
United Kingdom


14:00 - 15:30

Mr Matthieu RICARD

Founder, Shechen Temple,
Karuna Shechen
Nepal


14:00 - 15:30

Mrs Olga LETYKAI-CSONKA

Ethnologist,
Switzerland

Speaker
14:00 - 15:30

Ms Sadhvi BHAGAWATI SARASWATI

Pujya,
Parmarth Niketan
India


14:00 - 15:30

Dr Thomas SCHIRRMACHER

Secretary General and CEO,
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
Germany


14:00 - 15:30

Hosts