We at the World Future Council work to pass on a healthy planet and fair societies to our children and grandchildren. We envision a sustainable, just and peaceful future where universal rights are respected. To achieve this, we research, identify and spread the best and most sustainable policy solutions worldwide.
Passionate about the ocean, its ecosystems and marine wildlife, Ocean Sole recycles flipflops that are found littered on beaches and in waterways of Kenya.
Every single Ocean Sole product is handcrafted to protect the oceans and teach the world about the threats of marine debris.
As a bizarre and yet very real phenomenon, thousands and thousands of flipflops are washed up onto the East African coast creating an environmental disaster. Not only spoiling the natural beauty of our beaches and oceans, the rubber soles are swallowed & suffocated on by fish & other animals, they obstruct turtle hatchlings from reaching the sea and are a man-made menace to our fragile ecosystems.
Our creative team of artisans transforms the discarded flipflops into elephants, giraffes, lions, rhinos, dolphins, sharks, turtles and more. These colourful masterpieces come with an important message about marine conservation whilst bringing smiles to people all over the world.
Be a part of the pollution solution and join us on a flipflop safari!
350.org is building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries.
350 means climate safety. To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 392 parts per million to below 350 ppm. But 350 is more than a number—it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.
350.org works hard to organize in a new way—everywhere at once, using online tools to facilitate strategic offline action. We want to be a laboratory for the best ways to strengthen the climate movement and catalyze transformation around the world.
We operate at a large scale to take on the world’s greatest challenge. In October of 2009 we coordinated 5200 simultaneous rallies and demonstrations in 181 countries, what CNN called the ‘most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.’ On 10/10/10, we organized a day of climate solutions projects–from solar panel installations to community garden plantings–and changed communities from the bottom up with over 7000 events in 188 countries. And at the end of last year, we coordinated a climate art project so large it had to be photographed from a satellite in outer space.
In 2011, we are building people power in every corner of the planet. With a huge mobilization planned for September and a series of bold campaigns in strategic countries around the world, we’ve got big plans. With the help of millions of people, we’ll create a wave a hard-hitting climate activism all over the world that can lead to real, lasting, large-scale change.
We think we can turn the tide on the climate crisis–but only if we work together. If an international grassroots movement holds our leaders accountable to realities of science and principles of justice, we can realize the solutions that will ensure a better future for all.
Wildlife Conservation
Protecting an astounding diversity of species. (Humans included.)
Africa is home to keystone wildlife species that are facing extinction, including the mountain gorilla, Grevy’s zebra, and Ethiopian wolf. To protect populations from further decline, our on-the-ground safeguards involve training rangers and using sniffer dogs to stop wildlife traffickers. Wildlife must survive in their natural habitats, so we empower local communities through conservation-friendly development and work with international agencies to protect Africa’s natural resources.
Critical to protecting these vital ecosystems are people. Sharing land across the continent, local communities and wildlife often live alongside each other, leading to struggles for space and water. If people and wildlife learn to live together — inside and outside of protected areas — the future for all will thrive.
WildlifeDirect (previously the Africa Conservation Fund) was founded in 2004 by the prominent Kenyan conservationist and paleoanthropologist, Dr. Richard Leakey, and former World Bank Representative to Kenya, Harold Wackman. WildlifeDirect was initially conceived as an online platform to provide a voice to African conservationists to protect wildlife as an important global heritage. By publishing their blogs, the aim was to raise awareness and funds for individuals and organizations on the frontlines in otherwise ignored conservation areas.
In the early years, WildlifeDirect highlighted the plight of gorillas in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, successfully campaigned to ban the pesticide Furudan that was being used to poison lions in Kenya, and supported the Mara Conservancy following the collapse in tourism revenues as a result of the post-election violence in 2007.
In 2012, in response to the poaching crisis affecting the elephant population, WildlifeDirect redirected its focus to elephant protection. The following year, WildlifeDirect launched its flagship campaign, Hands Off Our Elephants, under the patronage of the First Lady of Kenya, Her Excellency Margaret Kenyatta. For the first time in history, a First Lady of Africa adopted a conservation campaign. Over the past few years, the campaign has been widely recognized for its singular successes in advocacy and generating unprecedented local support for wildlife conservation never before witnessed in Kenya.
Our Councillors
The World Future Council (WFC) consists of 50 eminent global change-makers from governments, parliaments, civil society, academia, the arts and business who have already successfully created change. They identify urgent themes and determine the agenda for our work.
How we work
In close collaboration with civil society, members of parliament, governments, businesses and international organisations we research future-just legislation and advise and support decision-makers in the concrete implementation.
Where we work
The WFC Head Office is located in Hamburg with further offices in Geneva, New York, Prague, and Windhoek. Our Councillors work on all five continents. Contact us for further information.
As a major land steward at the edge of the Great Rift Valley, the Gallmann Africa Conservancy / the Gallmann Memorial Foundation is dedicated to creative, sustainable conservation – People and wildlife flourishing together, through research, education and the arts.
The GMF/GAC is a non-for-profit charitable organization active in Ol ari Nyiro, Laikipia Nature Conservancy, West Laikipia, Northern Kenya. It was created by Kuki Gallmann to honour the memory of Paolo Gallmann and Emanuele Pirri-Gallmann -her husband and son- who both died tragically in Africa, and are buried in Ol ari Nyiro.
The Gallmann Memorial Foundation in Ol Ari Nyiro on Kenya Eastern Rift Valley Laikipia Plateau due to sustained protection of its unique ecosystem and tree cover, and of its underground waters and natural springs -and of its varied topography- ARI NYIRO, IMPORTANT BIRD AREA (IBA) and KEY BIODIVERSITY AREA (KBA) no 064, is now uploaded officially in Birdlife International website with following link: http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ol-ari-nyiro-iba-kenya
Tsavo Trust is a field based, Kenyan not-for-profit conservation organization working towards protecting wildlife and its habitat.Tsavo Trust believes in conserving the vast wilderness of the Tsavo Conservation Area, that encompasses Kenya’s biggest Protected Area, is home to Kenya’s largest elephant population, several iconic Tuskers, numerous high value species and one of the few truly wild places with significant wildlife left in Africa.
This national heritage is under threat and faces multiple challenges including wildlife crime, climate change and habitat loss.
Tsavo Trust works on a unique strategy, in partnership with Kenya Wildlife Service and other partners on direct wildlife conservation projects as well as engaging specific local communities in the stewardship of community conservancies, so as to encourage participation in conservation activities that bring many varying benefits to those marginalised people that border the formal Protected Areas.
Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network (UWASNET) is the national umbrella organisation for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the Water and Environment sector. UWASNET is crucial in helping government realise its targets of alleviating poverty and achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through universal access to safe, sustainable water and improved sanitation. UWASNET plays this vital role in partnership with other key sector players such as the Government of Uganda, Development Partners (DP’s) and the private sector.
Youth Conservation Awareness Programme (YCAP) was first conceptualised in the year 2007, and has revolutionised over the years with different names such as Alcedo Wildlife and Kakesi Wildlife. The name YCAP was modelled around our main theme of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD); through which we have changed many communities and helped stir a generation that cares about the environment.
We are a registered non-profit organization that mainly focuses on spreading Environmental Awareness. Our work is based on helping communities change perspectives towards the environment, so as to be involved in sustainable conservation activities that will improve their livelihoods.
Syngenta is a leading agriculture company helping to improve global food security by enabling millions of farmers to make better use of available resources. Through world class science and innovative crop solutions, our 28,000 people in over 90 countries are working to transform how crops are grown. We are committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) is a Parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Environment. The Agency was established by NESREA (Establishment) Act, 2007, thus repealing the Federal Environmental Protection Agency Act Cap F10 LFN 2004.
The vision of the Agency is to ensure a cleaner and healthier environment for Nigerians, whereas its mission is to inspire personal and collective responsibility in building an environmentally conscious society for the achievement of sustainable development in Nigeria.
The broad mandate of the Agency is to enforce all environmental laws, guidelines, policies, standards and regulations in Nigeria; and to prohibit processes and the use of equipment or technology that undermine environmental quality. It also has responsibility to enforce compliance with provisions of International agreements, protocols, conventions and treaties to which Nigeria is signatory.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has worked assiduously on the review of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (Establishment) Act, 2007 which was amended this year 2018. The reviewed Act addressed certain observed legislative inadequacies and noticeable drafting errors in the old Act which has continued to stall the operations of the Agency and weaken enforcement measures.
One of the major changes addressed by the amendment is the inclusion of the Federal Ministry of Health in the composition of the Governing Council of the Agency. This is considered overdue considering the very critical and strategic role of the Federal Ministry of Health in public health and environmental matters.
Imperatively the amendment now empowers the Agency to be able to establish and enforce administrative penalties. This will in no small measure strengthen her enforcement measures.
The provision of Section 30 of the Principal Act hitherto was a major impediment in the enforcement drive of the Agency; hence the amendment to enable the Agency’s authorised officer(s) to seal and close down premises or facilities, whose pollution to the environment is of imminent danger to life and property, while an application to the Court for a warrant or order is being sought.
In the old Act provisions on penalties were not deterrent enough as the hands of the Judges were tied to the operational words, “not exceeding”. In the amended Act now the word, “not exceeding” has been replaced with the words “not less than” wherever it appears in the Act, which gives the presiding Judge the latitude to issue out appropriate sanctions to erring facility or person.
The issues on wrong cross-referencing was also addressed in the amendment. This will help in doing away with ambiguity and inconsistencies in the old Act, for instance under Section 31 which provides for offences and penalties made reference to section 3 of the Act which is on the composition of the Governing Council of the Agency.
AVIATION
Provide weather forecasts and reports for safe operation of flights. These services include:
- Terminal Aerodome, Enroute and Destination Weather Forecasts & Trends;
- Briefing of Pilots & Airmen on expected weather at various points
- Provision of routnd the clock weather report of points of departure, en route and destination by radio transmission.
- Significan Weather Reports– Vital tool for flight routing during movement, etc.
NON AVIATION
NIMET also generates services and products (such as Seasonal Rainfall Prediction, Quarterly & Annual Weather, Agromet Bulletin, Hydromet Bulletin, etc. These are used in the following sectors:
- AGRICULTURE (Food Security)
- MARINE TRANSPORT
- WATER RESOURCES
- HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION
- DISASTER MANAGEMENT
- CONSTRUCTION
- ENVIRONMENT MANAGEMENT, ETC
- HEALTH
- INSURANCE
- COMMERCE
“The Nature – Culture – Historic and Technology destination”
The Abune Yoseph Massif is one of the country’s Most Important Bird Areas. It measures 4284 masl the country’s third highest point, Abune yoseph, Zigit and Abohoy massifs are endowed with afro alpine floras and fauna. Cordial community; historic rock hewn churches of St. Lalibela; one of country’s satellite technology site, therefore it will be a place where you attentions can find various.
The Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) provides holistic, country-driven support to accelerate the development, deployment and transfer of locally relevant climate and clean energy technologies. The KCIC provides incubation, capacity building services and financing to Kenyan entrepreneurs and new ventures that are developing innovative solutions in energy, water and agribusiness to address climate change challenges. The Kenya CIC is an initiative supported by the World Bank’s infoDev and is the first in a global network of CICs being launched by infoDev’s Climate Technology Program (CTP). The Kenya CIC is funded by the United Kingdom’s UKaid and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Centre For Research in Environment Kenya
Creek-Kenya has been supporting stakeholders, clients and organizations across East Africa and beyond attain and realize their business goals efficiently, cost-effectively and with the minimum of environmental and social impact.
In 2005, Richard Leakey outlined to Stony Brook his concept for an institute that could provide the permanent infrastructure to enable year-round research in this remote area of sub-Saharan Africa. The University enthusiastically endorsed the idea of TBI, committing funds for the Stony Brook end of the project. Additional fundraising began in 2006; construction of temporary facilities for a long-term field camp on the east side of Lake Turkana (TBI-Ileret) commenced in 2007; the camp was fully operational by year-end and was the site for the first Kenya-based Human Evolution Workshop in 2008. Construction of the first full field center on the west side of the lake (TBI-Turkwel) was completed in 2012. Construction of permanent facilities at TBI-Ileret commenced in 2012, and is scheduled to be completed in 2016.
Formally, Turkana Basin Institute, Ltd. is the title holder for the fixed assets in Kenya known as TBI-Nairobi, TBI-Turkwel and TBI-Ileret (together known as “TBI Kenya”) and is under an agreement with the Government of Kenya, through the National Museums of Kenya, to serve as a repository for the archaeological and paleontological heritage of the Lake Turkana region.
In 2013, Richard Leakey and Stony Brook University President, Samuel L. Stanley, established the TBI International Advisory Board. Comprised of prominent philanthropists and scientists from around the globe, this group meets twice a year to share ideas and discuss how best to ensure the success and secure the mission of the Institute. This dynamic group has assumed a lead role in TBI’s fundraising efforts through their own generous contributions.
Welcome to the Buckminster Fuller Challenge (BFC) archive! Here you will find a comprehensive history of the BFC program and a curated archive of the ‘best of’ entries reviewed by the program from 2007-2017 making visible the vibrancy and dedication of an emerging field of comprehensive, whole-systems designers. This searchable archive is offered as a resource and tool for educators, the design community, and the general public to use to discover the remarkable ideas and successful projects at work in the world today.
ORIGINS AND HISTORIES
In 2010 Fuller Challenge juror David Orr – the esteemed sustainability educator and author – remarked that human civilization has entered the historical equivalent of shooting the dangerous rapids of a treacherous white-water river. With a broken paddle. Blindfolded.
Buckminster Fuller put it in stark relief with this famous question: Are we heading toward Utopia or Oblivion? He challenged his contemporaries to creatively respond to the urgency of this moment by re-framing the crisis as an opportunity pointing to humanity’s “option to make it – to live successfully without compromising the ability for all of life to thrive.”
Fuller demonstrated through his research and design practice that the resources needed for all forms of life on the planet to live in relative peace and prosperity exist. Creatively deployed, these resources are more than enough to raise the standard of living for everybody.
He called for a revolution by design –not political or military – but a revolution driven by the problem-solving creativity of design combined with the empirical demands of science.
Fuller’s practice took a comprehensive approach, starting with the whole; anticipating future trends and needs; employing the scientific method; and aligned with nature’s operating principles. He saw that this way of thinking and doing was to be the future of design. He called his practice design science. And in the 1960’s he launched the Design Science Revolution with an open call to the world’s creative communities “to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.”
In 2007 The Buckminster Fuller Challenge Prize program reintroduced Bucky’s vision. After extensive research we determined that the development of a competitive prize – an open call to anyone creatively addressing any of the world’s most urgent problems – would enable us to accomplish several goals:
1. honor the legacy of Fuller and create a prestigious program that would encourage innovation and recognize integrity;
2. draw attention and support to the thinkers and doers applying a comprehensive, whole-systems approach to designing solutions to the
great challenges we face today;
3. leverage the power of a prestigious innovation prize to demonstrate the importance of whole systems-thinking and its integral function in design-
thinking;
4. educate a new generation of designers to take up Fuller’s Challenge to transform our world through design, by showcasing world class projects
and celebrating the people behind them”,
Over the program’s ten-year history (2007-2017) the Fuller Challenge attracted thousands of initiatives from across the globe, tackling every conceivable issue facing humanity and the planet today. Each team submitted an application that was subject to a rigorous vetting process in which our esteemed review team and juries invested hundreds of hours of investigation, research, and debate to select our honored entries.
First recognized in 2011 by Metropolis Magazine as “socially responsible design’s highest award”, the program conferred an annual grand prize of
$100,000 to a project that best fulfilled the entrance criteria and embodied what we have called the ‘spirit of the Challenge’. Winning projects are visionary initiatives that address multiple problems simultaneously, and evoke inspiration for others to study and replicate.
The winning team also received with The Omnioculi, a commissioned sculpture created by artist Tom Shannon in collaboration with geodesics expert Joseph Clinton.
While one project was selected as the winner, each year the Fuller Challenge program awarded resources and support to an additional 40-60 projects through our Catalyst Program. These projects typically represented the top 20% of the entry pool and received opportunities for additional funding and investment, pro-bono legal services, fast-track access to accelerator programs, mentorship opportunities, and international press coverage.
The projects included in the archive demonstrate that design can and must be applied to every aspect of the global system, and reveal a groundswell of successful solutions to our most complex and urgent problems.
With an expanded view of design’s scope, we were able to recognize design innovation in places and projects that were unusual and new. And in the process we discovered an extraordinary group of passionate people with an unusual capacity to feel a deep sense of generosity for the future. It is our hope that
history will look back on their sacrifice, commitment and creativity to recognize that these were the trimtabs of our time who navigated us to safer shores, calmer waters, a world that works for all.
On behalf of the Fuller Challenge staff, review team and our generous supporters we thank you for your interest in this project and hope you will enjoy this archive!
-Elizabeth Thompson, Founding Director
Mpala facilitates and exemplifies sustainable human-wildlife co-existence and the advancement of human livelihoods and quality of life. We do this through education, outreach, and by developing science-based solutions to guide conservation actions for the benefit of nature and human welfare.
HOPE worldwide Kenya (HWWK) was registered in 1999, although prior to this, a team of Christians from Nairobi Christian Church, a member of the International Churches of Christ, would reach out to and serve the needy through benevolent activities.
These voluntary activities attracted more people to participate and before long the vision translated to an established institution that would carry out the activities in a legal, coordinated and professional manner.
Initially HWWK received financial assistance from Rotarians for Fighting AIDS and Rotary Club of Nairobi East to help vulnerable children in Mukuru with provision of basic education and appropriate nutrition. Rotary Club of Nairobi East supported HWWK to build a Hall in Mukuru Kwa Ruben to serve the community.
HWWK programs were officially launched on 23rd February 2003 in Mukuru Informal Settlement by the then U.S. Ambassador Mr. Johnny Carson. Thus began our work with HIV prevention.
The work of HWWK has been made possible through resources mobilized from various donors and agencies including the U.S. Government, the Global Fund, the Canadian government, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Swedish International Development Agency, Shell Oil Products Africa, the Walmart Foundation, trusts, other charities, and individual donors.
The Kibale Chimpanzee Project, established by Dr. Richard Wrangham in 1987, is a long-term field study of the behavior, ecology, and physiology of wild chimpanzees. Our researchers and field staff conduct daily behavioral observations on a group of approximately 60 chimpanzees in the Kanyawara region of Kibale National Park, southwestern Uganda. This research contributes to our understanding of primate behavioral diversity, human evolutionary ecology, and chimpanzee conservation. Please see our publications page for information about this research. On a daily basis, KCP field staff and researchers collect data on chimpanzee social behavior, party composition, ranging, feeding, and health. These observations are supplemented by collection of specialized data, including detailed records of play, tool use, hunting, aggression, and forest phenology. We also conduct non-invasive urine sampling, for hormonal analysis, and fecal sampling, for genetic studies.