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Federation through Action
In 1999 The Economist issued a challenge—to write a short essay describing what the world would be like in 2050; I gave my contribution the title "World in the year 2000". Nobody can predict what the world would be like in the year 2050, I explained; but the answer will crucially depend on how we see the world and how we act now. I then pointed to the warnings that our current trends are not sustainable; that we are headed towards a systemic collapse; and concluded with a call to action—to create an embryo of a whole new order of things or paradigm; no matter how small; because our future and especially our children's lives and livelihoods will be crucially different depending on whether the dissolution of the present paradigm is conceived as a construction or a new one—or not.
The holotopia initiative is a practical implementation of this proposal.
Holotopia is a prototype through which our older generation can act as Z-players and empower our next generation as A-players to create a different world (instead of coercing them to fit into this old and dysfunctional one). My blog post Noah and the Elephant is the landing post into holotopia initiative that highlights this all-important point.
You may here once again see the holotopia's capacity to turn even "the huge problems now confronting us" into assets: The moment we (no longer see the world 'in the light of a pair of candles', but) 'turn on the light'—we see all that competition and power games is not in anybody's interest; that we all must join forces, and collaborate to empower our next generation to create an entirely different world. I have been toying with the idea to turn "geocide" into a keyword; and use it to point to a whole new kind of crime—that we'll all be culpable of; by doing no more than the business as usual!
As I said—holotopia being a prototype, it has a carefully designed and choreographed impact model and deployment plan. This two-step call to action I am about to propose has been designed as a way to put the ball in play; to begin the impending paradigm change.
As a practical way to change our collective mind; by first of all changing our mindset (which compels us to create "the huge problems now confronting us", while we try to resolve them); and then changing the way in which we communicate—and by elevating us above "the world" and "the information jungle", foster (the collective mind that will give us) the kind of awareness we the people now vitally need.
The Liberation book has that as function—to ignite the dialog; by providing an initial prototype of new thinking, and of the future vision alias holotopia; and organizing us the people, and the frontier thinkers in particular, as transdiscipline around it, to evolve it further and legitimate it and give it credibility
This being my academic call to action, I'll also point out why this knowledge federation proposal is academically as rigorous as mathematical theorems are:
I am not telling you how the world is; I am acting as our situation demands.
When proper light's been turned on—we see that we have no time to lose. Having seen myself as a small cog in the large machinery whose function is to produce knowledge—I endeavored to think and act as it may best serve this role.
I invite you to join me in this so timely self-organization.
As academia's—and society's—evolutionary organ.
And as a practical way to to empower our next generation—and the next-generation scientists or academic researchers in particular—to be creative in ways that their situation demands; and in particular and more concretely—to re-create the systems in which we live in work, instead of learning how to fit in and compete within their confines.
By instituting knowledge federation we'll also play the strongest card we have in our hands, act upon the "systemic leverage point" that we control when confronting the power structure—the information; the university's prerogative to tell the world what the information needs to be like; and on a more fundamental level—to provide a new, federated epistemology and methodology for creating truth and meaning.
This can be done in a number of ways; but the concrete way, which is already in implementation is to institute the knowledge federation at the Inter University Center Dubrovnik under the patronage of the World Academy of Art and Science. The IUC has the world's leading universities as members; their students can take the IUC courses for credit, with the consent of their departments. Ands the WAAS is a academic organization whose members do not distinguish themselves by their "publication records"—but by making a real difference in the world.
The idea now is to launch the Collaborology course as an instance of the game-changing game; where the WAAS members would act as Z-players and the international students and entrepreneurs as A-players.