At the beginning of this year Renaissance2 was just a very exciting vision amongst a small group of people. Six months later this vision is starting to become reality, and our progress is now accelerating as we connect with more and more people inspired by the possibilities. What follows is a brief update on our activities to date, and a preview of what comes next.

Spring

During May 2008 we held an Inaugural Workshop for Renaissance2 at Chateau La Tour Apollinaire in Perpignan, France. This event included seven participants who have been closely involved in the early stages of exploring the vision, and our goal was both to develop the vision into a more concrete form, as well as to experience firsthand a few elements of the first Galatea programme which will be piloted this October.

Summer

It’s been an incredibly busy month with trips to the wilderness on the border of Provence and the Languedoc-Roussillon (for a course on “Finding Your Genius” with Michel Salof-Coste); London (for the Future Considerations Board on which I am a non-executive director) and Brussels (to give a speech for the 60th anniversary of AIESEC’s founding on state of the world and sustainability with panel including the Vice President of Europe, Commissioner Gunter Verheugen). Of AIESEC, former United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan said:

The United Nations has long recognised that the imagination, ideals and energies of young men and women are vital for the continuing development of the societies in which they live. AIESEC has contributed to this development by serving as an agent of positive change through education and cultural exchange to develop a broader understanding of cultural, socio-economic and business management issues.

Please take a look at the amateur video from the Brussels event below- a professional video is being produced by AIESEC International- details to follow. The Chair of the panel was Martin Bean from Microsoft and panel members included Jermyn Brooks (ex-senior partner at PWC and board member of Transparency International), Romina Rosado, myself and Juan, (the newly elected President of AIESEC International). There are two videos of the AIESEC event, where we address the challenges we face as a planet and some of the possible solutions: part 1 covers the keynote speakers and part 2 the Q&A in the panel session: http://youtube.com/rlw777.

We have also been in meetings with the Club of Budapest here in Perpignan and are now off this week to Paris for a further meeting with the latter and their network, which includes leaders such as Vaclav Havel, Michael Gorbachev, Peter Ustinov, Elie Wiesel, Arthur Clarke, Edgar Mitchell, Edgar Morin, HH the Dalai Lama and Maurice Béjart. (See http://www.clubofbudapest.org).

Autumn

Renaissance2 will begin finalizing its global advisory board, faculty, sponsors and donors during the autumn. If you are intrigued by the possibilities of playing one or more of these roles, please contact me for an exploratory conversation.

The Galatea “Kathmandu” Programme

We are organising part 1 of the first Renaissance2 programme at the Chateau this October- called “Galatea”, it is a pilot in which selected senior leaders and professionals will be sponsored to consider how they can make a major difference in the world. There are three parts:

Part 1- Personal Orientation & Leadership- “Kathmandu” focuses on getting to know yourself and your mission, finding the necessary support and inspiration, and developing a whole new range of capabilities through nature, strategy, art, psychology, integral practices and music. Sustainability is a core theme along with creativity, innovation, leadership and strategic integral approaches to getting things done now. Beginning with establishing your personal vision you will develop life and career strategies, personal networking skills, establish your own unique leadership style, link this to the values and cultures you aspire to work with, and then develop personal management, knowledge navigation and performance measurement goals to prepare you for your journey. This includes a comprehensive psychometric and values assessment of you as a leader present and future.

Part 2- Organisational & Large Systems Change– “Basecamp” develops the skills required to initiate and lead major change programmes in large groups, communities and organizations, with a focus on sustainable development and innovation- a series of methods and techniques known as “sustainovation”. Starting with a diagnosis of the challenges and opportunities in the natural, social and business environments you are moving through, you will work with a small team to evolve a supportive ecosystem and sustainable economic models through which you can align the larger systems you wish to influence and shape. You and your team will then develop collective value systems and cultures, business and management processes and knowledge management and systemic performance measures which you can use to benchmark your progress. You are now ready for the final stage, the climb to the summit.

Part 3- Making a Strategic Difference– “Summit” opens up the possibility of making a strategic difference in the world through a project based on your personal mission and vision, enabled by the basecamp skills and network you have acquired to shift large scale systems toward elegant and sustainable outcomes. You will have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities, precision use of change and transformation techniques, mastery of alignment, courage and vision. Above all, you will have started to leave a legacy which will live beyond you and your generation, to the world. On the Summit we will celebrate beautiful outcomes and elegant transformations, with awards from Renaissance2’s sponsors and donors.

You will be assigned a group of coaches and mentors for the duration of the Galatea programme, which will also involve regular assessments of your progress and development.

If you are interested in learning more about how you could become involved in the Galatea programme, please e-mail me at drwood@wanadoo.frfor further details. I look forward to hearing from you!

Dr. Robin Wood is Founder and President of Renaissance2.