oikos Newsletter
December '16
be informed - get involved - make a difference
Dear Reader,
Nature always knows when the winds, tides, and weather are changing. It always welcomes this change with gusto while at the same time being more enriched by what the last season taught it. Similarly, oikos is enriched with a new President. We welcome Levan Pangani and extend our wishes to him as he takes over at the oikos headquarters for the next two years.
November is never a quiet month, especially with the FutureLab, the Leadership Meetings and lots of Alumni activity. Read all about the exciting outcomes in this edition. Keep the dice of sustainability rolling by applying for the oikos Spring Meeting on Consumer Power in Hamburg or engaging with the oikos Winter School on the Fashion Industry. Don't forget to mark your oikos calender with everything happening in the coming months.
We recommend to meet our Alumni of the Month, Katlego Moilwa from Johannesburg, and read about the experience of organizing the FutureLab from the FutureLab Team in our 30 seconds.
Most importantly, stay healthy throughout the cold December or, if you're on the other side of the globe, enjoy summer!
Happy reading!
oikos Students
"We Want People to Start Something" - oikos FutureLab
 The FutureLab kicked off on November 7 with an inspirational call to action by Antje von Dewitz, CEO of the sustainability outdoor brand VAUDE. What followed were two days of learning and doing with our Learning Circles gathering to plan the year ahead and plenty of new connections to drive the oikos mission forward. You can watch part of the FutureLab in our recorded live stream. For a quick impression, watch the great FutureLab Video. And click through the pictures in our Facebook Album. If you cherish the written word, click below for our website article.
The oikos Winter School is Now Accepting Applications
 The 13th oikos Winter School “You call it Eco. We call it Common Sense. Sustainability in the Fashion Industry” will take place March 5-11, 2017 in Witten, Germany. The conference aims to provide open-minded students with a sound knowledge of the ecological challenges of the fashion industry today. Lectures by high-level speakers (e.g. Larry Brown, Vice President of Esprit) and interactive workshops will shape your journey. Interested? Write the team at info@oikos-winterschool.org or click to apply.
Participants Explain How oikos LEAP Changed Them
 Sound leadership is relevant and universities are eager to know how to develop it. We were lucky to have two of our oikos members and participants in the Advanced track of our Leadership Program featured in the online magazine 'HSG Focus' of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Access the article in German language.
oikos Presidents Met at LEAP Intermediate
 On November 4th a group of chapter presidents walked through sunny Speicher, just into the Swiss Canton of Appenzell. Around 35 oikos presidents and representatives attended the 3-day Leadership programme, designed especially to their needs. Presidents had the possibility to discuss governance, process improvements, to create project ideas and action plans with the help of project management tools, and identified and discussed gaps within our educational system.
The First Francophone Meeting in Brussels
 On Friday October 21st, the first oikos regional meeting entirely run in French kicked-off. Twenty-five members from the oikos French speaking Chapters gathered in the north of Brussels ready to debate and discuss concepts for "alternative economies". On the agenda were transformations in consumption, energy and a more in-depth look at the circular economy. There was also time to meet each other and connect about their local projects.
30 seconds with...
Christoph Rappitsch, Nimisha Ghorpade, Christopher Burgahn, Bhakti Khot - oikos FutureLab Team 2016
"Is it a sunny day or a rainy one? Does the speaker have a parking space alloted? Are the participants insipired? Do you know how to say welcome in Georgian? Did our Facebook post go viral? Informed the participants on the app about the next session? Are there enough chairs in the workshop rooms?
These are a few things that go through your mind if you are the organizing team of the FutureLab. We remember when you laughed and when you decided to ask a question. We remember when you grinned, looking at the almond cake, or when you lost track of time in conversation with a fellow participant because you had the opportunity to interact with oodles of time. We remember your "aaha" moment of Eureka when you sat in the workshops, or your moment of self-absorbedness while you reflected after a Learning Circle session. We remember every like, smile, word of criticism, comment, applause of appreciation, words of determinination, hugs shared during painful goodbyes, promises made to carry a project forward, twinkling of eyes when you met someone like-minded, the amazement when you saw two days flash before your eyes in what seemed like two minutes. We remember signing up for being the #oikosFL16 Team and we're grateful to bid goodbye as different persons.
We remember it all like it was just yesterday and it is etched freshly into our minds because that is what being on the FutureLab Team does to you.
And we hope you have the courage to give this transformation to touch, move and inspire you next year during the 30-year anniversary of oikos." (Nimisha Ghorpade)
Read about the experience of organizing the FutureLab 2016 in the words of our team. Find the complete article here.
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Let people know what you are up to and submit your news for the next newsletter to:
newsteam@oikos-international.org
For more oikos news keep an eye on our news articles here.
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