Be the change you want to see in the world!

A living example for a more sustainable world, that is what I am. 

♥ An internationally experienced professional, I work as a positive catalyst toward social change.  I am context aware and work preferably with participative, multistakeholder approaches for sustainable development, both in Europe and abroad.

♥ For my work, availibility and experience click in the menu on the  Contact Competencies en C.V. or at trackrecord; for my outlook on some of the subjects click one of the images below.

♥ Integral, inclusive and coherent......that is what I aim for.
Whether it concerns integrated rural development, personal and organisational development (creating WE), restoring natural cycles in agriculture and food production, i.e. agri-food networks, sustain, re-peasantisation,  the relationship between sound soil-management, agrobiodiversity and the vitality of food (Dutch Network for Vital Agriculture and Food), urban agriculture, or  the indispensable transdisciplinary knowledge approach and endogenous knowledge development.

♥ My principles and core values are reflected in my approach to work: 
1.  Sound interaction of culture and nature, visible in harmonious landscapes: "By what you eat and what you purchase you create your global environment";
2.  'Inclusive knowledge": endogenous, local knowledge, transdisciplinary knowledge, participative approaches. 
3.   Restoring the coherence, harmony and efficiency of complex systems.
4. Working with partners in Alliances and Network-organisations,
5.  The ambition to contribute to a world in balance, ecologically and socially.
For checks and balances I use nine guiding principles when making agenda's strategies and decisionmaking towards sustainable development (see below)  

♥ Culture-vs- nature: the way we treat nature and the earth in order to use its resources has led to depletion, loss of biodiversity, disappearence of cultural heritage. A more sustainable world is possible through a change in attitude, restoration of complex agro-ecosystems, use of endogenous knowledge, "urban agriculture", leadership, local and regional agricultural chain dynamics, capacity and institution building.

♥ Sustainable development: are we concerned about planet earth, or about our survival? mostly the latter! Since our natural resources won't be sufficient for our increasing world population, we will have to change the way we organise our societies.  Cradle2cradle, organic agriculture, sound soil management, ecological foorptint, consumersorganisations, transition towns, renewable energy, salt water cultures will make the change as would stopping to eat beef (1/3 of the worlds agricultural grounds are used for feed; 1 kg of beef needs 80 times the amount of water as 1 kg of chicken) 

♥ Principles for sustainable development. Planet, People and Profit have been guiding principles, but are not easily applicable as instruments for decisonmaking or organising. I find the 9 principles toward sustainable development very effective to live by and to decide by:
1. stimulate diversity, complexity and interconnectedness;
2. relate to human measurements and golden ratio in town and countryside development;
3. express the values from which you work, like i.e. partnering with nature, ; 4. involve all stakeholders, including young and old people and their (endogenous) knowledge and experience;
5. act from personal development and leadership;
6. use renewable energy, diminish footprint;
7. sustain sound soils and use water carefully.
8. ecological footprint - measuring effects before acting!
9. Values: discuss from which human and cultural values you undetake new actions or policy.

♥ A matter of civilisation. A real solution demands 'civilized' behavior:  decisions taken are to favour civilisation instead of ego's. This is about creating the balance  between materialistic and immaterialistic, individual and collective benefits. It's about a synthesis between globalisation and regionalisation, not looking for difefrence, but for conecting opportunities; looking for organising principles behind problems and solutions. We need a more feminine, integrative, connective approach towards co-creating. We need "midwives to deliver us into the new world" (quote Herman Wijffels)  
♥ Midwives-for-a-new-world. Jelleke is such a "midwife" who "delivers" people and projects into the light of a new and sustainable era, by facilitating and catalysing, with new types of cooperation, alliances, network approaches, rehabilitation of natral cycles, involving people and their best qualities and using universal principles.
♥ Inspired action. The combination of being clear on what you want and taking only inspired actions is highly effective and the only way to have what we all say we want: a life that is powerful and makes a difference while we feel motivated, peaceful, with a sense of enjoyment and ease every step of the way.
♥  A new era: according to the Spiral Dynamics theory we are underway to another era and level of civilisation; along a spiral shaped 'route' we move from an orange coloured 'materialistic/ egocentric dominated society' (20st century) via a green 'sociocentric' and a yellow 'integral en systemic' level to the  turqouise level, rooted in synergy in which solutions for worldproblems prevail over individual purposes or stakes of particular groups.