Speakers for 2013 SLOW LIFE Symposium

THIRTY WORLD-LEADING SPEAKERS from business, science, travel and education will be featured at the 2013 SLOW LIFE Symposium at Soneva Kiri from Nov. 7-10 in support of this year’s theme Innovation through Collaboration. It is the fourth global SLOW LIFE Foundation event.

All Symposium participants at the four-day symposium are known visionaries, ‘mavericks’ or champions of environmental causes and each share an unshakeable belief that when we join forces, it is possible to make a big impact on environmental problems in a shorter period of time and bring about transformational change.

Their expertise includes threatened biodiversity and accounting for natural resource capital in business and their influence has been derived principally from their own actions.

This year’s chairman, Jonathon Porritt, is the founding director of Forum for the Future and an original pioneer of sustainable business, who commented earlier:

“We’ve been able to bring together an extraordinary group of people. I feel very privileged to have been asked by Sonu Shivdasani to act as chair this year’s Symposium. One of the most important things that I can say on behalf of the SLOW LIFE Foundation is that this is a big investment for the Foundation – in us, our energy and our creativity. We are all hoping that bringing people together in this way, in this place, will generate plenty of inspired, innovative thinking, and lead to some ground-breaking outcomes and new collaborations.”

Jochen Zeitz introduced the environmental profit and loss account to PUMA and luxury apparel corporation PPR (now Kering) while Pavan Sukhdev led the UN TEEB reports (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) which have had a huge influence on how business accounts for biodiversity threats.

More recently, Zeitz co-founded The B Team with 2011 Symposium participant Sir Richard Branson, with the aim of transforming the way that business defines the bottom line, with people and the planet having equal importance to profit.

Dorinda Elliott, global affairs editor for Condé Nast and a fierce proponent of WHOLE WORLD Water, will provide expertise on sustainable tourism and the impacts – both positive and negative – on the environment.

Using stunning imagery from The Human Quest, Johan Rockström, lead scientist for the Planetary Boundaries concept will take participants on a journey across the planet, explaining how each of the planetary boundaries are inter-connected and how humans can prosper while remaining safely within these boundaries.

Resident marine experts include renowned oceanographer and Time Hero of the Planet, Sylvia Earle who was called “Her Deepness” by the New Yorker, “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, and first “Hero for the Planet” by Time magazine. Also joining for the second time is marine conservation activist and actor Daryl Hannah.

Adventurer and ocean advocate David de Rothschild, led the Plastiki Expedition in 2010 to alert the world to the devastating effects of single use plastics; BLUE Marine Foundation co-founder Chris Gorell Barnes will report on the protection of the Turneffe Atoll in Belize, a campaign bourne out of connections made at the 2011 Symposium.

Award-winning filmmaker, writer and oceans storyteller Jon Bowermaster will provide expertise and commentary during the event, which will be posted on the Symposium website.

Dr. Larry Brilliant, founding director of Google.org and CEO of Skoll Global Threats Fund, has overseen the last case of smallpox with WHO and saved millions from blindness; Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project was recently asked to develop a giant botanical garden to regenerate the Chinese industrial city of Dongguan; Martha Lane Fox, dotcom entrepreneur, social inclusion advocate and youngest female member of the UK House of Lords, will discuss the power of alliances to accelerate change and transform businesses; Peggy Liu, chairperson of JUCCCE and instigator of the China Dream, will share a vision of a sustainable future for China; Laura Turner Seydel, chairperson of the Captain Planet Foundation and board member of the Turner Foundation, will talk about the importance of collaboration.

Jenifer Willig and Karena Albers will discuss the obstacles they overcame to launch their global WHOLE WORLD Water campaign, which was another initiative from the 2011 SLOW LIFE Symposium and that the SLOW LIFE Foundation co-founded.

The campaign is aimed at eliminating branded bottled water in favor of sourced water that is then filtered, bottle and sold. A percentage of proceeds fund safe drinking water initiatives around the world. Opportunities to bring transformational change via a united industry is also on their agenda.

For more information: www.slowlifesymposium.com
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