What matters to me

I am a scientist with a PhD in ecological chemistry, and a full-time international evaluation and strategy specialist at present based near Geneva in Switzerland.

Now specialising in global transitions and transformative development, I work across the world, from local to global level, in spaces that connect transformation, systems change, evaluation and futures expertise. 

Before the pandemic I used to travel on long-distance flights at least once per month; now – good for the planet – somewhat less.

South Africa is my home.

I am an Afrikaner, member of the first white tribe that explicitly described themselves as part of Africa.

My forefathers came to South Africa from France in 1690 and from Scotland in 1810. We were both the oppressed and the oppressors - the former because of the British colonisation and especially the Anglo-Boer wars that gave rise to the first notion of concentration camps. And the latter, clearly demonstrated by our history of apartheid that only ended in 1994 under President Nelson Mandela's strong and charismatic leadership.

The interconnectedness of these events, and the remarkable history of my country and my continent have shaped me, and continue to have a strong influence on my work.

I am driven by the need for all of us to create, with a sense of urgency, a better world in this era of intensifying, interacting crises

• a world where we live in respectful harmony with the whole community of life on Earth in all its forms, consuming just what we need for our basic wellbeing;
• a world where all lives have equal value, and where everyone has at least one chance to live with dignity;st what we need for our basic wellbeing;
• a world where dominant narratives about 'development' and 'developed' or 'advanced' societies are replaced by more truthful ones, based on a systems view of history and of life, and a more equal distribution of power within and between societies.

I love innovating, finding solutions, working with young people, debating, and being philosophical - while having fun in the process!

I am intrigued by the big picture of how the world actually works, and how it impacts on what we are and what we do. For some years I took this interest to extremes, drawing daily from 15 different media, investigative journalism outlets and research studies from around the world in an effort to understand how the world really works, and why. This phase has passed, but I continue to use and deepen my knowledge of the dynamics below the surface that shape our world.

I therefore do my best to look at matters from multiple perspectives, as the facets of a prism or crystal will reflect light in different ways.

I believe in the integration of the contributions of modern science with the different healing and other traditions that have survived over the centuries despite the onslaught of rational thinking and narrow notions of the scientific method. We still have much to discover. How can we reject what we cannot yet observe, measure or understand?

I therefore also believe that we should have a much more holistic understanding of health, life and our connection with the Universe. Among others we need to respect the mind-body-context connection that science has belatedly started to prove, including the impact of our food and lifestyles on our wellbeing and on the ecosystems on which all life depends.

I am one of the most fortunate people in the world. How can I then not love life, and live with gratitude!