What Matters to Me

South Africa is my home.

I am an Afrikaner, a 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 British colonisation and the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902, where the British established the first concentration camps formally recognised as such. The latter, demonstrated by our history of apartheid that only ended in 1994 under Nelson Mandela's leadership. Since then, South Africa has been in the process of transforming from a country caring about 5 million people, to one that has to serve 65 million.

The remarkable history of my country and my continent has shaped me — and continue to have a strong influence on my work.

I have always been driven by justice, and now also by the urgency with which we need to transform at global scale, towards a world where we live in harmony with the whole community of life on Earth.

A world where all lives have equal value. Where might is not right. Where dominant narratives about 'development' and so-called 'advanced' societies are replaced by more truthful ones, based on a systems view of life and a more equal distribution of power.

We do not have the luxury of time in a world in crisis.

I do my best to look at matters from multiple diverse perspectives and knowledge systems. My work demands this. I do most of my work in Africa and Asia, where the vast majority of (wonderful) people live. But I appreciate and occasionally visit or work with societies across all six continents.

I am intrigued by how the world actually works beneath the surface — the dynamics that shape what we are and how we act. I try to get solid evidence. I refuse to be told what to believe, or to be misled by dominant narratives and carefully curated propaganda in media, politics, education or religion.

I believe in integrating modern science with healing and knowledge traditions that have survived centuries despite the onslaught of narrow rationalism. We still have much to discover. How can we reject what we cannot yet observe, measure or understand? We need a far more holistic understanding of health, life and our deep connection with the natural world.

I cherish love and beauty, both in my work and in my personal life. I enjoy innovating, finding solutions, working with young people, debating, and being philosophical — while having fun in the process.

I have been privileged! So I love life, and live with gratitude.