Committed to Saving Life on Earth? Understanding Activism

Environmental activism is often misunderstood, particularly in the corporate world. This is partly because the media tend to focus on dramatic acts of disruption and controversies rather than taking the time to understand activists’ motivation and deeper message. Partly also because by pointing on needed system-level changes, activism disrupts the safe, familiar world vision which has been business’ scene for the last two centuries. Dialogue between business and activists is a rare but much needed approach to get ahead in our brittle and unstable world. This will be our focus in this session of ICBE sustainability series.

Rianne ten Veen is what the press calls an environmental activist, founder of Green Creation, now based in the middle of the Netherlands. We will explore with her the ins and outs of her commitment : why did she engage in environmental activism? What are her aims and hopes? How does this translate in her daily life and action?

In the spirit of Initiatives of Change, there will then be time for a free and open sharing of ideas and experiences between participants, first in small groups then in interaction with our speaker. The session will last 75 minutes, from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. GMT (do check your time difference with GMT).

More on our speaker: Ms Rianne C. ten Veen has a broad interest and work experience with a passion for dignity, justice, a habitable planet for all. With an interdisciplinary academic education (LLM, MA, MSc, PGDip, PGCert), she is a multilingual independent disaster governance, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue facilitator, consultant and trainer. Brought up part-internationally (#TCK), after a first degree in Leiden (NL), and a commercial & policy start in Belgium, she then spent a decade at a disaster management INGO, and a decade at a consultancy (some of which part-time, overlapping other work). She has been a PhD researcher on globalisation and surveillance. She was a member of the management team of Islamic Foundation for Ecology & Environment Sciences (IFEES), and co-founded 'Faith and Climate Change' (a Birmingham Friends of the Earth project) plus initiated Environment focus in the Board of the Birmingham Council of Faiths. In 2009, she self-published a 'save cash& planet' style book from Islamic perspective: '199 ways to please God, how to (re-)align your daily life with your duty of care to Creation' (ISBN: 978-1844266296) and set up Green Creation. In 2018 my then home (built before NL was a democracy) almost won most sustainable home in Groningen. She now lives in the middle of the Netherlands in a sustainable Tiny House, near a national park.