Interweaving Change

Interweaving Change is an open process to inspire responsible leadership, unlock creativity and collectively envision a just and sustainable future. Alongside leaders and communities from across Europe and the Mediterranean, we want to take the culmination of large-scale crises in 2020 as a starting point for hopeful thinking in times of radical upheaval and to collectively create planetary visions for new modes of coexistence.

Change is already out there. When looking closely, we see change emerging everywhere in society and its niches. But often such threads of change are perceived as fragments. To reflect on and tackle the complex challenges of our time, we aim to interweave these threads of change into a collective framework. For that, new cartographies are needed – beyond cultural, political, institutional or disciplinary boundaries.

The patterns of new beginnings may come to the surface through interweaving threads of change. Interweaving Change is about opening up spaces for empathetic encounters, meaningful connections and artistic speculations necessary to responsibly lead toward a more just and sustainable future.

The BMW Foundation’s Responsible Leaders Network is a diverse and joyful community of purpose, connecting more than 1,800 Responsible Leaders in over 100 countries. Each member commits to playing an active role in shaping the network: connecting with others, sharing knowledge or experiences, collaborating, and co-creating across sectors, cultures and countries. Members of the network are highly diverse in origin, profession and background, yet they are united by a shared purpose to advance the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

We believe in the strength of the Responsible Leaders Network as a community of purpose. What’s more, we believe in the power of community – in communities’ ability to provide a sense of belonging and purpose, and in their potential to foster collective impact.

Growing curious about the change that we can achieve together rather than alone, we invited a selection of six change-creating communities with strong ties to the Responsible Leaders Network to join and interplay with us in our inquiry into the threads of a more just and sustainable future.

ATÖLYE is a 21st-century creative services organization that places an Academy and a Strategic Design Studio within a vibrant Creative Hub.

The interdisciplinary interaction that takes place within ATÖLYE is enabled by our diverse community. Consisting of individuals working in different professional areas including the creative industries, social sciences, business development, technology and engineering, our community develops new ideas, prototypes them, and shares their experiences.

Central is the dream of an Art decompartmentalized, fun and open, where the multidisciplinary exhibition becomes an artistic experience.

Art is Central!

The community platform Curious Minds (STATE Studio) is an open environment where members can build meaningful connections over time and engage in creative, collective experimentation. Working in small groups on the wicked problems of our times, the members explore new forms of collective thinking and learning beyond disciplinary boundaries.

Digitalisation has long since ceased to be an option. On the contrary, the world needs innovative solutions and strategies to keep on turning even in challenging times. Under the motto Connect. Transform. Create., we believe that DAN has an important role to play in shaping our future across all spheres: whether arts & culture, business & the future of work, citizen participation, gender equality & inclusion or online media & journalism.

As the platform for digital pioneers in the MENA region DAN connects all those who contribute to the transforming of our life into a better future.

Not every community has a name, not every community needs a brand. But in every case, community evolves around something that connects – your craft, your place or the desire for a more just society. East London is a creative hub full of individuals and organisations affecting change in different ways. To reflect the different concepts that make community, we invited a hybrid selection of local communities based in East London through members of our UK Responsible Leaders Network to participate.

Reach for Change is an international non-profit founded in Sweden. We find local social entrepreneurs and empower them to develop and scale innovative solutions to improve the lives of children and youth so that they can reach their full potential. Since 2010, we have supported more than 1,000 social entrepreneurs in 18 countries, improving the lives of 4 million children and youth.

The BMW Foundation promotes responsible leadership and inspires leaders worldwide to work towards a peaceful, just and sustainable future. Through its activities, the Foundation aims to advance the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

We INSPIRE leaders, through our leadership programs and encounters, to take their social and political commitment to the next level – across communities, cultures and countries.

We CONNECT leaders through our global BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network, a diverse, collaborative and joyful community that drives positive change through collaborative action.

We INVEST in impactful organizations while encouraging leaders to embrace venture philanthropy and impact investing as effective tools for social change.

STATE Studio is an art-science gallery and exhibition laboratory in Berlin, founded and developed in partnership with Wissenschaft-im-Dialog, the umbrella organization for science communication in Germany. It is a place for creative synergies between science, art and innovation, for discovering and exploring the breakthrough developments that shape our future. Through its open exhibition laboratory, it showcases inspiring works of artists and researchers, exploring the creative friction between cutting-edge science, artistic expressions and societal discourse.