05 Sep Igniting Positive Transformation: Change Agents Connecting Across Continents (Part 2)
Consciousness Transformation in Asia
Conference participants Priscilla and Lily Yea with our Buddhist escorts in front of Asia University.
The call for transformation is echoing throughout Asia. Over the past few years I have visited Hong Kong and China. In June, 2014, this call brought me to Taiwan, where I met with scholars, scientists and spiritual teachers to participate in a series of global exchanges.
I began at the International Symposium for Transdisciplinarity at Asia University. The private university in Taichung County was founded early in the 21st century. The focus of the congress was “Science, Applications, and Transdisciplinary Education.” Both invited and selected papers were presented “emphasizing transdisciplinary, transnational and transcultural global problems.” Organizers of the conference were members of the Academy of Transdisciplinary Learning and Advanced Studies (The Atlas).
The organizers invited participants to help “understand the complex issues related to development of global sustainable society in all possible opportunities, both physical and social: from clean or renewable energy use, vibrant local economies, and sustainable agriculture, to community involvement in decision-making, biodiversity, and mixed-use urban planning as well as where people enjoy living and working together, now and in the future! The meeting was co-sponsored by the Academy of Transdisciplinary Studies (ATS),Texas Tech University; Ministry of Education, Taiwan; International Center for Transdisciplinary Research & Studies (CIRET), France; and the George Kozmetsky Endowment (GKE).
I was surprised to learn that TheAtlas and its village had elected me as a Fellow of this visionary society. It was an honor to be included in a luminary group of leaders who are applying transdisciplinary studies within a global context.
My talk at Asia University was titled, “Emerging Worldviews: The Art and Science of Transformation.” Other invited speakers included Raymond Yeh, Lily Yeh, the Venerable Bodhi, Robert Block, Dr. Basarab Nicolescu, Dr. Atila Ertas, and many others, covering a wide range of topics and disciplines.
Javier Collado, one of the conference participants, presented on cosmodernity. He offered his comments on the conference at his blog: http://www.globaleducationmagazine.com/educarparavivir/?p=1340&lang=en
In my next blog, I will continue to share what I learned in Taiwan while traveling on to other conferences, meetings, and lectures.