KONSTANTINE VLASIS?your shot of evergreen #inspiration from Global Regenerative Voices who really have something to say

Be inspired by Konstantine Vlasis!

Name: Konstantine Vlasis

Company / Institution: New York University; Hornafj?reur Research Centre

Title: Environmental Composer and Audio Storyteller

Website: www.konvlasis.com

LinkedIn profile: www.dhirubhai.net/in/konstantine-vlasis

Country of origin: United States

Country you currently live in: Iceland

Your definition of Regeneration: A process of healing and becoming through creative practice.

Main driver that keeps you going: I am motivated by an enduring ethos of care and recognition that life is precious.

The trait you are most proud of in yourself: The ability to connect and communicate with others through music.

The trait you most value in others: I marvel at people’s capacity for care. I think this includes expressions of compassion, empathy, and patience.

Passions & little things that bring you joy: The smile of my partner; a poetic moment in a meaningful song; the taste of freshly baked cornbread; the sound of ocean waves; the smell of crisp autumn air; stories shared with loved ones; helping others achieve their dreams; the nostalgia of memories.

The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path: I am just now meeting some of the Inspirators!

A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: I take regeneration to be a process of becoming through which one can heal. As someone interested in sound, music, and the act of listening, I believe that a sense of play and creativity is crucial for one’s regenerative journey. Recognizing your capacity for creativity and play, then, is perhaps one starting point.

Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you:?Using the qualifiers “green,” “eco,” “natural,” or any other jargon that is more performative than genuine.

An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: You may never experience the future you help create. Abandon 'saviorism' - YOU are the hero you’ve been waiting for. Forgive and be kind to yourself.

• Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional: Emergent Strategies: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown;
• Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit;
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer;
• On Time and Water by Andri Sn?r Magnason

Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:

Any work by Sky Hopinka. I really love the sensory ethnography documentary work of Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash. I could also watch Perfect Days by Wim Wenders and O Brother, Where Art Thou? by Joel and Ethan Coen on repeat.

Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: Twenty Thousand Hertz, All Songs Considered, and Song Exploder.

Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: There’s too much to list here! But I have recently been enjoying the satirical poetry of Jesse Welles and the incredible sounds of Sam Amidon.

Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Do you feel as if you give part of yourself to places you travel and live? I feel that way. And I think it’s because my memories and meanings of any “place” have always been made through relationships—whether my relationship to people, nonhumans, or the environment itself. I find this important to demystify “places,” and reframe them in terms of what you yourself give to them. For me, East Village in New York City holds my aspirations; the municipality of Eyjafjarearsveit, North Iceland holds my heart, and the woods of Van Buren County, Spencer, Tennessee holds my soul.

Events we should attend / Best places for networking (online or offline): Anywhere you feel genuinely called or where people are doing things you are passionate about - go there.

Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: You can imagine the future as optimistic or pessimistic. In both instances, you are here. And you will help create the worlds yet to come in 2030. Just ask yourself what you want the world to be and get to work.

The Inspirator(s) you are endorsing for a future edition:

• Dr. Angela Sn?fellsj?kuls Rawlings
• Dr. Elaine Gan
• Dr. J. Martin Daughtry

The quote that inspires you:

"There is a recognition that building community is a requisite foundation for building a better world.” (Ayana Elizabeth Johnson)

Your quote that will inspire us:

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Inspirators is an impact-driven consultancy spotlighting regenerative leadership stories from all corners of the world and helping sustainability speakers become more visible and inspiring presences.

Through a questionnaire similar to Marcel Proust, but with a modern twist, we offer evergreen inspiration and curated conversations with +120 global voices from +80 countries. Diversity at its best from all walks of life: book authors, renowned speakers, explorers, Indigenous leaders, disability rights advocates, film producers, biologists, artists, activists, and all those who walk the regenerative talk.

Some of the luminaries who answered our questionnaire include?Princess Esmeralda de Belgique, John Elkington, Fawzia Koofi, Riane Eisler, Leen Gorissen,?Wallace J. Nichols,?Steven Laureys,?Neema Namadamu,?Ha Vinh Tho, Wayne Visser, Jojo Mehta, Ilarion Merculieff, Frances Valintine, Nays Baghai, Don Four Arrows Jacobs, Niall McCann, Sam Feldt, Popi Borboroglu, Lola Akinmade,?Daniel Christian Wahl, Jyoti Ma, Leyla Acaroglu, Heela Yoon, Anton Treuer, Christian Busch, Hinemoa Elder,?Peggy Oki,?Liv Arnesen, Richard Louv and many others!

We welcome you into a storytelling ecosystem that invites you to slow down and reflect by offering an essence-focused perspective on what being a regenerative leader truly means. We offer a diversity of ideas for all those who want to be not only thriving leaders but also the flourishing humans this world is craving.

Our consultancy services focus on two impact areas:

• Transformative Storytelling for global community building. We create personalized story series in the form of interviews to help sustainability leaders and companies build and activate their communities creatively and position themselves as trustworthy sources of inspiration and thought leadership.
• Speaker Visibility programs. We advise and equip sustainability speakers with the guidance, connections, resources, and tools to become visible and inspiring thought leadership presences on global stages.

Dare to reach out, we have exciting ideas for you!

Ioana & Theodora

https://www.inspirators.org/

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