Starting with groundbreaking ideas about the nature of our consciousness, to research showing the stunning intelligence of nature: buckle up for an event that might just change how you think about the future.

What if this is not merely an era of change, but the change of an era? Scientific ideas about our connection to nature, our deep entanglement with the rest of life on the planet, are fundamentally changing. Cutting edge insights from fields as diverse as ecology, philosophy, biology and physics increasingly show our deep and complex connections, rather than the story of individual separation that has been dominant for the last century. Is our current scientific and societal paradigm ready for a shift? Or is that wishful thinking?

Future Affairs x Leiden European City of Science 2022
brings together leading thinkers, artists, researchers, and pioneers to explore what's ahead in this time of disruption and change. How can we prepare for the mindshifts on the horizon? Starting with groundbreaking ideas about the nature of our consciousness, to research showing the stunning intelligence of nature, to quantum physics painting a deeply strange picture of reality. And indigenous wisdom that rings strikingly relevant in these modern times: buckle up for an event that might just change how you think about the future.

Together with world leading thinkers and pioneers like Philip Goff (Galileo’s Error), Chief Phil Lane (Leader of the Ihanktonwan Dakota and Chickasaw Nations), Cristiane de Morais Smith (professor in theoretical physics), Claudy Jongstra (Guernica de la ecologia) and Li An Phoa (Drinkable Rivers Movement) we try to grasp the changes ahead.

About NRC Future Affairs
For the Dutch daily newspaper NRC philosopher Jessica van der Schalk and journalist Wouter van Noort interview leading pioneers and thinkers about systems change and our shifting relationship to nature and technology. We organize live events and host podcasts that reach up to 40,000 listeners, the weekly installments of the e-mail newsletter reach around 50,000 curious souls. Previous interviewees include Toby Ord, Jeremy Lent and Philipp Blom.

Location: Pesthuis, Leiden

Time: 13.00 - 18.00 uur

Tickets: Tickets for the location are sold out. Tickets for the livestream (and Future Walk) are still available! Get your tickets here.

More information on the website.