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Over many years ebbf‘s ”make it meaningful” series of events has allowed participants to exchange ideas and examples of how to build a just, prosperous, and sustainable civilization through our daily work.

Themes we have looked at during these conferences have included redefining excellence, redesigning the corporation, and investigating the concept of sustainable wealth. However, one question that we come back to at every learning event is: How can I put this into practice on Monday? How do my actions influence the work I do and the world I live in?

The next in ebbf‘s make it meaningful series of learning events will be dedicated to answering that question.
With the help of like-minded people, you will have the opportunity to examine your circumstances, the spaces you live in and the wider trends that are re-shaping the world; so that together we can work out how your actions will contribute to change, meaningful change, in the world around you on Monday morning.

Speakers, learnshops and meaningful conversations to choose from, living an ebbf learning experience:

As in every ebbf event we open our minds through thought-provoking ideas, deepen our understanding of those ideas through meaningful conversations, and be inspired by new thinking, which will give us the courage and methods to implement new meaningful models of work in our workplaces.

You can enjoy a curated learning experience: the combination of sparks of inspiration from keynotes, dynamic meaningful conversations and interactive learnshops, sparkled with those informal conversations with very like-minded yet a very diverse group of individuals. People who share your wish to explore how to connect your passion to contribute to a prosperous, just and sustainable civilisation, with action and influence in our daily work.

make it meaningful series 

Ebbf’s make it meaningful series are the result of over 20 years of experience, evolving its international events. We discovered that people are not just looking for knowledge. They want to participate. And even more important, they want to contribute. Together we challenge the working environment and come up with ways of making our work more meaningful, connecting it to a wider purpose.

The vision of ebbf is: ‘contributing to a prosperous, just and sustainable civilization’. We continuously help the exploration and connection of this goal with our daily actions and growing positive influence in our daily workplaces; making change happen at the level of the individual, organizations and institutions.

exploring justice in your workplace

Is Justice something you aspire to in your life?
In this, the next in the series of ebbf “make it meaningful” international learning events, we will explore together:
what does justice look like in the workplace?
How can we create just workplaces?

meaningful conversations with  diverse, global spread of inspiring participants

What makes this learning event series unique? The international spread, quality and passion of the group of like minded people who attend these events. The humble yet determined posture of learning of participants means that ebbf facilitates the context (theme) and content (speakers and discussions), but you will determine the outcome.

ebbf is an open global learning community

What people value most in attending ebbf events are the meaningful conversations. We have therefore developed a program to make them the central part of the three-day experience. The second layer is the visitors, who come to have meaningful conversations around the theme of the event. The third layer is the speakers, learnshops, and action labs that give us different perspectives on this theme. We leave the event with new processes, new ideas and tools for change, new connections that each of us can use in our own communities allowing us to spread those meaningful conversations and learning.

DAY 1 – 9TH OF MAY

17:00 – 18:00

Opening session

The journey begins – a welcome to the conference and information about how you can make the most of this three day ebbf – IEF learning event.

18:00 – 18:30

The Ubuntu Spirit

Selebogo Molefe introduces us to the Ubuntu spirit of South Africa by offering us the opportunity to get to know the valuable insights of people attending the event in this “connect – engage – contribute” get to know each other session.

19:00 – 20:30

Dinner

Enjoy the first ebbf dinner in the beautiful English Elizabethan atmosphere of Selsdon Park. Participate in meaningful conversations around topics that are relevant to you, with an international group of like-minded individuals, sharing similar issues and yearning to act as you do.

20:30 – 21:00

KEYNOTE: Asim Haneef

Using the Media as a tool for Social Change: Reality TV in Egypt

How can the Power of the Media be harnessed to build a better world? In addition to showing us all that’s wrong in the world, can today’s media be used to strengthen and empower the citizen sector, inspire the next generation of youth leaders, and accelerate the spread of environmental, economic and social best practices?

(click to read about Asim)

Asim Haneef

Asim-Haneef

Asim Haneef is a British TV Producer, Journalist and Communications Strategist with 8+ years of experience currently living in Cairo, Egypt and working as the Director
of Global Development and Executive Producer at Bamyan Media (www.bamyan.org) – a pioneering social enterprise specializing in creating Reality TV for Social Change. In 2014, he developed and successfully launched ‘El Mashrou3’ (The Project), Egypt’s first-ever Reality TV show about business
and social entrepreneurs. The groundbreaking TV show + the ‘beyond the show movement’ attracted millions of viewers and created a large action-led ‘on-the-ground’ + online community as it sought to highlight the ingenuity, passion and skills of the youth of the country – providing a positive news story in the midst of a revolution and counter-revolution, and at a time

in which the nation urgently needed to hear some hopeful stories about the enterprising nature of its young people. The ambitious ‘Edutainment’ Media project is now being expanded globally across Tunisia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Somaliland and several other countries.

A firm believer in harnessing the power of Media to build
a better world, and with a background in technology, entrepreneurship and social innovation, Asim has previously worked as a Journalist and Digital Producer for some of the biggest News organizations in the world including Al-Jazeera English, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, Journeyman Pictures, Guardian Films, Ceasefire and BBC Worldwide.

21:00 – 21:30

Influence through accompaniment the ebbf way

Short pitches made by three participants will offer you three ways to get personally influence and get involved in ebbf’s accompaniment experience. Accompany a participant’s project / Accompany a participant to overcome an issue.

DAY 2 – 10TH OF MAY

07:30 – 09:00

Breakfast

09:30 – 09:45

Welcome to Saturday

We get you in the right frame of mind with a program engaging your eyes, ears and mind. We will then introduce you to what you can expect in this second day of the conference.

09:45 – 09:50

Learnshop Introductions

The individuals hosting this morning’s parallel learnshops will give you a brief introduction to their sessions so you can decide what direction you want to take your active learning.

09:50 – 11:00

KEYNOTE: MARC RIVERS

My path of influence, living personal spiritual values in the corporation.
Marc will be sharing his experience of sharing and living his personal values, in his C-position in a global corporation, the challenges, the lessons and the surprising confirmations of his personal path of exploration and positive influence.

(click to read about Marc)

Marc Rivers

Marc-River-fw

Marc Rivers was appointed Head of Finance of the Pharmaceutical Division of Roche in February 2013. Previously he was the Region Finance Head of Western Europe after four years as the Region Head of Finance for Asia Pacific. He joined Roche in 2005 in Basel, Switzerland as Head of Finance for Global Pharmaceutical Development. Prior to joining Roche, Marc held various finance roles at Eli Lilly including Regional Finance Director for Eastern Europe, CFO of Japan and various financial roles at Lilly’s US headquarters.Marc obtained a Masters in International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina in 1995 and is a dual US and Swiss citizen.

11:00 – 11:30

Coffee or Tea Break

11:30 – 13:00

1st Parallel learnshops and walking with … sessions

13:00 – 14:45

Lunch

The individuals hosting this morning’s parallel learnshops will give you a brief introduction to their sessions so you can decide what direction you want to take your active learning.

14:45 – 14:50

Learnshop Introductions

The individuals hosting this afternoon’s parallel learnshops will give you a brief introduction to their sessions so you can decide what direction you want to take your active learning.

14:50 – 16:00

KEYNOTE: OSCAR ROSA & SJOERD LUTEYN

Tranforming companies into communities
Oscar and Sjoerd will reflect how to create the conditions in organizations to become a community, where the soul of the organization is the driving force.

(click to read about Oscar & Sjoerd)

Oscar Mendez Rosa

oscarforweb
Oscar Mendez Rosa – Transforming Companies into Communities Co-Founder and thinker at Refresh Interactions holds two degrees in Marketing and Communication as well as Art Direction and Graphic Design. As co-founder and Art Director of Refresh Interactions – a company for online communication and marketing strategy in the Netherlands – he creates unique concepts for clients all over Europe. Oscar believes in the responsibility of a business to contribute to the development and wellbeing of society as a whole. Oscar’s idea worth spreading embraces the idea of transforming companies into communities which opens up new capacities for cooperation and reciprocity in business. Placing the idea of service at the center, a dynamic framework is created, which allows creativity to flow and people to develop on all levels of their being while contributing to a an ever-advancing civilization.

Sjoerd Luteyn

Sjoerdforweb
Sjoerd has been an entrepreneur for more than 15 years and he is co-founder of Refresh Interactions. He accompanies organizations to transform into communities. This is done by a process of building strong relations inside and outside the organizations; relations based on trust and common purpose. Sjoerd is always looking for deeper layers and essence; stories that define the true reasons of why people are engaged with one another.

As being educated in communication & marketing, art- direction & design and classical music, Sjoerd has developed a unique perspective on how things are related. From this perspectives he helps client to develop creative strategies in a collaborative process.

Sjoerd has been an entrepreneur for more than 15 years and he is co-founder of Refresh Interactions. He accompanies organizations to transform into communities. This is done by a process of building strong relations inside and outside the organizations; relations based on trust and common purpose. Sjoerd is always looking for deeper layers and essence; stories that define the true reasons of why people are engaged with one another.

16:00 – 16:30

Coffee or Tea Break

16:30 – 18:00

2nd Parallel learnshops and walking with … sessions

18:00 – 19:00

Active informal hour

19:30 – 20:45

Dinner

20:30 – 21:30

An evening of keynote and magic with John Scherer

John will start by offering a compelling keynote answering in his own way “how can I influence my work and world?” sharing how a new leadership and spiritual perspective can make this happen. He will follow his 30 minute keynote with a truly magic show, you can rest assured: you will be both inspired and entertained.

DAY 3 – 11TH OF MAY

07:30 – 09:00

Breakfast

09:30 – 09:45

Welcome to Sunday

Getting you in the right mood with a visual experience to inspire your day. We will then introduce you to what you can expect in this last day of the conference.

09:45 – 10:45

KEYNOTE: STEPHANIE AKKAOUI HUGHES

Innovating Interactions – How can I innovate my daily interactions to influence my work and world?

Global constructive and deconstructive forces are constantly redefining our global economy and business practices. Our responsibility – everyone’s responsibility – lies in contributing to the positive and constructive ones of these forces.

(click to read about Stephanie)

Stephanie Akkaoui Hughes 

Stephanie
Stephanie is part of a new breed of young visionary architects, who operate beyond the nowadays restrained realm of architecture. A strong advocate of value created through cross-disciplinary interactions, Stephanie believes that the most sustainable innovation will happen at the intersection of different fields. Sustainability, as she defines it is the daily innovative solutions and opportunities we ought to actively create for a sustained long-term future.

Born and raised in the tumultuous city of Beirut, Stephanie quickly learned to navigate amidst an incredibly diverse, unpredictable, complex, and extremely lively environment.

After 5 years practicing at OMA alongside internationally acclaimed architect Rem koolhaas, Stephanie founded AKKA, a consultancy firm specialized in sourcing, designing and sustaining spaces for human interaction. AKKA is driven by the vision of Architecting Interaction. Architecting Interaction is an ongoing exploration of sustained human interactions. It investigates how can we design contexts that foster human interaction in its different forms, including collaboration, learning, creativity and innovation. Architecting Interaction explores human interactions on a scale of intervention, ranging from furniture to interiors, architecture to urban interventions. At the heart of AKKA lies the dedication to innovate human interactions.

11:00 – 11:30

Coffee or Tea Break

11:15 – 11:45

KEYNOTE: SELEBOGO MOLEFE

The South African Model of Influence, Cooperation and New Entrepreneurial Models.
South Africa is a country marred with political and social controversy that is giving the country bad headlines on the international stage.

(click to read about Selebogo)

Selebogo Molefe

selebogo

Selebogo Molefe better known as DrLifesgud is a social entrepreneur who’s a marketer at heart. He’s maverick approach to solving problems in South Africa has earned him a seat at the entrepreneurial dinner table. As the founder of The Hookup Dinner, a fast-rising ambitious startup movement for entrepreneurs in Africa, he has the privilege of connecting & engaging with the best minds focused on building a culture of entrepreneurship in Africa. He’s a champion of the rising African startup culture and sees his purpose & passion in life as that of CONNECTOR & ENABLER. DrLifesgud is also a brand ambassador for the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship (founded by Richard Branson) as well as the White Ribbon Campaign (the largest male-led effort to end violence against women). He sits on the board of The House Group, a Berea-based shelter that rehabilitates young abused girls. He finds his strength in his Christian faith and bases a lot of his life & business decisions on morally sound ethics and values. He is the Chief Entrepreneurship Officer of Lifesgud Global Investments which he co-owns with life-long friend and business partner Phakiso Tsotetsi. Together they’re ready to provide locally relevant, global solutions with a strong African identity. DrLifesgud is a proud father to Gugu & Sinothile (still in the oven) and husband to his better half Lungi.

Connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+ or LinkedIn: @DrLifesgud MARC RIVERS Marc Rivers was appointed Head of Finance of the Pharmaceutical Division of Roche in February 2013. Previously he was the Region Finance Head of Western Europe after four years as the Region Head of Finance for Asia Pacific. He joined Roche in 2005 in Basel, Switzerland as Head of Finance for Global Pharmaceutical Development. Prior to joining Roche, Marc held various finance roles at Eli Lilly including Regional Finance Director for Eastern Europe, CFO of Japan and various financial roles at Lilly’s US headquarters. Marc obtained a Masters in International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina in 1995 and is a dual US and Swiss citizen.

12:00 – 13:00

The Closing session

Where Friday evening “accompanied” individuals share what and how they learnt and were accompanied and plenary session where we share our answers and our proposed actions to the question theme
of the event “how will I influence my work and world?”

13:00 – 14:30

Final Lunch and goodbyes

SATURDAY PARALLEL SESSIONS

1st session – 11:30 to 13:00

Our path of influence, living personal spiritual values in the corporation (Marc Rivers)

We will be exploring together with Marc our experience and possible ways forward, sharing and living our personal values in our workplaces and corporations. Explore not only the challenges we are facing but also what is changing in the world allowing new levels of conversation and influence to arise.

Leveraging the power of women and men in the workplace (Maja Groff and Nava Hinrichs)

It has been noted that “in business, there’s abundant evidence that inclusion of women in senior positions is linked to better results.” The non-profit research organization Catalyst has found that corporations with the greatest number of women board directors earn a 26 percent higher return on invested capital than those with the fewest women. Other surveys have found that four out of five board members report that boardroom diversity “generally results in increased value for shareholders.” It is also suggested that the overwhelmingly male leadership in the finance sector may have led to the excessive risk-taking causing the GFC. Spiritual and psychological principles bearing on gender balance also emphasize the merits and / or the necessity of gender balance in human endeavour. Yet, if this is the case, why do gender imbalances persist in business globally, across a range of sectors? Of Fortune 500 companies, only 18 percent of board members are female.
Participants are invited to an inter-active session, directly addressing the conference theme, “How can I influence my work and world?,” and engaging in a personal and professional dialogue about gender parity in the workplace. 

 

How can the Power of the Media be harnessed to build a better world? (Asim Haneef)

We will explore together both the role of mainstream media / new media and our own personal role, having all of us become effectively media centres of distribution of news thanks to our social media presence. How can we use this new ability to influencing the world through new communication channels and opportunities?

2nd session – 16:30 to 18:00

Transforming companies to communities (Oscar Rosa & Sjoerd Luteyn)

In an open reflection session, you are invited to co- design models and expiriments we could all learn to apply in our daily work, in order to transform companies into communities. We will review this from the perspective of individual innitiative, within the frame of community.

What kind of leadership style will I need to “influence my work and world?” (John Scherer)

How can we, as individuals, influence our workplaces? How can we do it in collaboration with others? And how can we ensure that it is not just – any – influence: we are looking for the kind of influence in our workplaces that does contribute to a more prosperous, just and sustainable civilization? Exploring the application of a new values-based leadership.

Discovering, connecting and putting into action your genius (Alex Cabon)

Alex has been able to introduce and lead in his company, PWC, a very new kind of workshop:
Firstly it allows individuals to find their “genius”, identify the best in ourselves. In a second phase we learn how to be spiritually connected with oneself, with what surrounds us, how to be in the state when you are at your best and able to use your talents most effectively. Then finally we discover our dreams, we see how we can unleash the vision we have for our future and our impact.He will be offering us this professional experience allowing us to discover, connect and action “our genius”.