2023 Dialogues
A Decolonial Approach to Systems/Complexity with Vanessa and Giovanna de Oliveira Andreotti
How is the systems and complexity field complicit in modern colonial processes? What would it mean for us to confront our complicity? In order to divest from unsustainable ways of thinking, relating, and being, the systems field must confront its own complicity. In this session, Vanessa and Giovanna de Oliveira Andreotti have a cross-generational mother and daughter conversation, highlighting the challenges – and possibilities – as our old systems die and new systems need nurturing.
Vanessa de Oliveira Andreotti
Vanessa is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. She is a former Canada Research Chair in Race, Inequalities and Global Change and a former David Lam Chair in Critical Multicultural Education.
Giovanna de Oliveira Andreotti
Giovanna is a recent graduate in psychology, a dancer and a dedicated dance instructor. Giovanna’s insights on the practice of hospicing modernity stem from her upbringing and deep immersion in the zeitgeist of GenZ.
Systems Thinking in Action: Laying the Foundations with Linda Booth Sweeney and Somava Saha
Coined by sociologists, asystemic thinking is the inability to think about complex systems and their dynamics. It’s one of the reasons America experienced costly delays that allowed the COVID virus to spread uncurbed for weeks. So, why isn’t systems thinking more prevalent in our post-pandemic world? In this session, Linda Booth Sweeney and Somava Saha discuss how we can make systems thinking actionable and practical for everyone.
Linda Booth Sweeney
As an education innovator, author and strategist for healthy socio-ecological systems change, Dr. Linda Booth Sweeney is internationally recognized for her efforts to make systems thinking actionable by a wide range of audiences.
Somava Saha
Somava Saha, MD, MS (aka Soma Stout) has dedicated her career to improving health, wellbeing and equity through the development of thriving people, organizations and communities. She has worked as a primary care internist and pediatrician in the safety net and a global public health practitioner for over 20 years. She has witnessed and demonstrated sustainable transformation in human and community flourishing around the world.
Caring Economics with Rian Eisler
With Riane Eisler, Eli Ingraham, and Dr. Lyla June, we discuss the role of feminine partnership values in systems thinking through the lens of economics, and pathways toward greater cooperation between various schools of systems thinking.
Riane Eisler
Riane Eisler, JD, PhD(h), is the recipient of many honors, such as the Distinguished Peace Leadership Award earlier given to the Dalai Lama, and internationally known for her groundbreaking contributions as a systems scientist, futurist, and cultural historian. She is author of many books, including The Chalice and the Blade.
Eli Ingraham
Eli is currently CEO of the Center for Partnership Systems, an organization founded by Riane Eisler to accelerate the shift to Partnerism, a socio-economic model that values caring, nature, and shared prosperity.
Lyla June Johnston
Dr. Lyla June Johnston (aka Lyla June) is an Indigenous musician, author, and community organizer of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages. Her multi-genre presentation style has engaged audiences across the globe towards personal, collective, and ecological healing.
