The Villars Symposium - Instilling Systems Leadership in Environmental Solutions-Oriented Young People

Article by John G. McCarthy

The Villars Institute kicked off its inaugural Symposium June 21-24 in the Alpine village for which it is named, described as “A place to be inspired and return to.” The renovated Villars Palace Hotel provided the venue for this gathering of 150 “Villars Fellows” - students aged 13-19 nominated by their schools, and from The Knowledge Society (TKS) - and over 50 senior professionals, academics, entrepreneurs and explorers.?

The goal of the Villars Institute is to “accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy by striving for systemic change via intergenerational and transdisciplinary collaboration” according to the Chair of the Foundation, Julia Marton-Lefèvre .

Lee Howell , Executive Director of the Villars Institute and veteran organizer of the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings in Davos, led the Symposium program and lectured on “systemic change” and “systems leadership” in a bid to inspire and motivate the young participants to act on global environmental challenges.

Howell deployed Villars Institute Board Members with world class credentials on environmental matters such as Chair, Julia Marton-Lefèvre, former Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ), and Vice Chair, Professor David Gann CBE , Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Sa?d Business School, 英国牛津大学 , and Chair of the UK Atomic Energy Authority .?

The combination of plenary sessions with Q&A, smaller group meetings on specific topics, and open seating at buffet-style, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, allowed for plentiful and relaxed interaction among students and faculty during the two-and-a-half days.

Awareness of “Wicked Problems”

Howell's message to the Villars Fellows: “The world today is a big, complex system and you need to understand a system to fix it.” Symposium experts briefed the students on the need for ocean stability, energy security backstopped by nuclear while fusion research progresses, an economic system aligned towards environmental solutions, and the necessity to fix the “broken systems of agriculture and of food.”?

Gunhild Anker Stordalen , Executive Chair of EAT Foundation, urged the gathering to adopt the “Planetary Health Diet” to “be healthy yourself and help the planet.”

Call to Action?

Robert Swan , the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles, stated that “The greatest threat to the planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”?

Meagan Fallone , 2018 Hillary Laureate and former CEO of Barefoot College, pointed out that “Big, complex systems have entry points where you can make a helpful contribution” using new technologies or even laws as tools of change. She exhorted the students to “Ask questions you feel in your gut…We need your crazy, indetectable and impossible ideas!”?

Stefania Innocenti, Senior Research Associate in Behavior, Finance and Social Studies at Oxford University, pointed to the “Theory of Nudge” whereby there are “sensitive points where a little kick will produce a massive effect” in changing behaviors. She urged the students to “Devise nudges”.?

Mindset Required

Robert Swan described the “Explorer’s Mindset” as a prerequisite for young people “making the journey to net-zero carbon”. He said, “We are all exploring how to get there.” He continued with a passionate appeal: “The last great exploration on Earth is for us to survive on Earth….and the solution is YOU, in this room.”

“Boldness has genius, power and magic in it,” Swan added. He called on the students to “Act when you see a problem, the explorer’s key to survival.”

Jade Hameister OAM , a university student in Melbourne and the youngest person in history to pull off the “Polar Hat Trick” (skiing to the North and South Poles and crossing Greenland), urged the youngsters to be brave: “Bravery is a requirement - make change the goal and do not fear making mistakes. Our actions inspire others to be brave. Our collective future depends on you to be brave.”

The Earth Prize Inspiration

Top performing teams of high school students from The Earth Prize 2022 competition from Vietnam, Taiwan, and South Korea were invited by the Villars Institute to take part in the Symposium.

The Earth Prize is an initiative of the Geneva-based The Earth Foundation , which offers awards to student teams which come up with practical solutions to specific environmental sustainability problems. The Earth Foundation - a Villars Institute partner - was represented at the Symposium by its Founder, Peter McGarry , its Chief Executive Officer, Angela McCarthy , her three person Executive Team, plus three Youth Board members: Saoirse Exton from Ireland, Sagarika Sriram from Dubai and Matteo Markel from Switzerland.

On June 23rd, The Earth Prize 2022 winning and two runner-up teams presented their solutions under the heading “Finding a Prize Winning Problem” in three separate sessions in the “Vaud” meeting room.

The winning team from Summit Education Services in Hanoi told how the problem of rotting unharvested dragon fruit led them to discover that the dried peels were highly absorbent and biodegradable, the perfect core for what became their “Adorbsies”, women's sanitary pads and a solution to the problem of mainly plastic, non-degradable pads, choking landfills. The three young ladies - Dorothy Tran, Huyen Luong and Uyen Bui - are using their $100,000 prize money to apply for a patent and invest in product development and contract manufacturing.

The two runners-up for The Earth Prize on hand presented their similarly ingenious solutions: the “Dyelute” filtering kits that degrade dye wastewater produced by the textile industry in Taiwan (GEMS Academy) and the CIECO reusable cup circulation system that replaces 20,000 otherwise disposed plastic cups per annum at their cafeteria ( Chadwick International School , South Korea).

Following each presentation, Villars Fellows, Symposium lecturers and Vlilars Institute board members engaged in lively Q&A sessions with the visiting students. By lunchtime, The Earth Prize competitors and their solutions were the talk of the dining hall. As Adrian Monck , Head of Public and Social Engagement at the World Economic Forum and Leader of the Global Shapers and Global Leaders Programs, stated “Stories of positive change inspire people to say ‘I could do that,’ ” and the Villars Fellows seemed to take that on board after learning from The Earth Prize competitors’ achievements.?

Reasons for Hope

Towards the end of the Symposium, several speakers expressed reasons for optimism about the future:?

David Gann: “We have cost-free sharing of information around the world. AI and machine learning offer more insight.”?

Cameron Hepburn , Professor of Environmental Economics at Oxford University: “So many more brilliant minds are working on dealing with climate change than ever before.”

Aimée Christensen , Chief Executive Officer of Christensen Global Strategies: “There are so many ways to make an impact, and you can shape the system for the longer term. Follow your passions.”

?Closing Address

Subra Suresh, President of 新加坡南洋理工大学 (NTU) and previous President of Carnegie-Mellon University, gave the Symposium’s closing address entitled “Systems Thinking at the Intersection of Learning, Technology and Humanity.”?

He began by pointing out that many of the 20th century's greatest engineering achievements have become major problems for the 21st century. Meanwhile, the current generation must also address the “accelerating pace of change from the development and adoption of new technology.” He remarked that at the “systems level”, there are challenges from social stresses, globalization, geopolitical factors, intergenerational tensions. Industry 4.0 (the fourth industrial revolution), ethics and policy, AI versus human intelligence, and “loss of truth and beauty of the imprecise in an era of ‘perfection’ and ever accelerating speed and stress.”

Suresh urged the Villars Fellows to “Plan for a 60 year career in different fields plus rigorous continuous learning;” use “digital hygiene” to avoid misinformation; and commit to “responsible innovation through systems level thinking,” examining every aspect of a problem.?

He felt strongly that “humanity must be brought into technology” and that undergraduates in sciences should be exposed “to the arts, psychology, philosophy, the literary classics, and ethics” in the spirit of American liberal arts colleges, which he noted is “missing in Asia.”

Suresh held up NTU and its smart campus as a model for a sustainable future at the university level by meeting the following challenges: “mitigating its impact on the environment; harnessing the science, art, and technology of learning, including a lifelong partnership with alumni; controlling technology's impact on humanity; and taking responsibility for the needs and challenges of healthy living and aging.” The NTU Sustainability Manifesto “embeds sustainability in the curriculum,” he asserted.?

Wrapping up his address on an inspiring note, Suresh spoke of “The Power of One,” how one person or group can bring about change. As an example, he praised US President Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 Land Grant College Act, which made it possible for states to establish public colleges by the development or sale of federal land grants “to benefit the agricultural and mechanical arts.” Suresh’s Alma Mater, Iowa State University, became the nation's first Land Grant institution. Suresh? exclaimed, “One president with a vision transformed higher education in the United States….and in the middle of a civil war!”

Nodding to the Villars Fellows, Suresh smiled saying “Your generation of 15 year olds is much more savvy than mine was, so I am optimistic about the future.”

A Charge to the “Villars Fellows”

As the Villars Fellows prepared to head home for the summer, Lee Howell requested them to complete the Green Survey, flagging the issues which are most important to them; propose initiatives; join the spirit of entrepreneurship; work on their leadership skills; and participate and engage with the Villars Institute online.?????????

Energized and Inspired

Angela McCarthy of The Earth Foundation summed up the feelings of many participants about the Villars Symposium experience: “We are all so energized and inspired from such a powerful gathering, which reminded us how important it is to meet in person. All the students have made new friends and contacts that will propel them further intellectually and emotionally. Everyone looks forward to next year’s Symposium, which will bring talented people of all ages together again to inspire and educate such brilliant youth, our future leaders.”??????