Bio Stories

Join the circle

16:30 - 18:00, 18th of October, 2021 MOLECULES: How do we value the living world? Speakers: Emma van der Leest, Marleen van Bergeijk, Douwe Korting, Natsai Audrey Chieza 16:30 - 18:00, 19th of October, 2021 MISSION: What relationships do we have and want to have with nature? Speakers: Julia Rijssenbeek, Maurizio Montalti, Roel Bovenberg, Pim Klaassen, Megan J. Palmer 16:30 - 18:00, 20th of October, 2021 MONEY: What systems, tools and infrastructures shape our relationships with the living world? Speakers: Rob Beudeker, Tom Bosschaert, Lotte Asveld, Christina Agapakis

We need to talk

For millennia, people have gathered in circles to discuss the world that surrounds them – sharing ideas, asking questions, establishing meaning and purpose. As we stand at the dawn of a new science, the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology gathers to discuss how and why we design and repurpose the building blocks of nature. Faber Futures aims to extend the conversation from specialist global discussions to include plural perspectives rooted in local contexts – to open up the circle to all. Together we will examine how we can work with nature to shape a future that centres the values of equity, sustainability, solidarity and humility – and build a world in which we all want to live.

A global network

In 2020 the World Economic Forum formed a new Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology. Synthetic biology is developing approaches to design and repurpose the building blocks of the living world, and the Council’s mission is to explore which futures are made possible and which may be desirable. Natsai Audrey Chieza, founder and CEO of Faber Futures, is a member of this Council and has led the team at Faber Futures in the development of new strategies for stakeholder engagement to stimulate and inspire the Council’s work. The resulting framework is BIO STORIES. BIO STORIES is the product of a multi-stakeholder collaboration led by Faber Futures and has been developed in close communication with members of the Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology, and the council’s program manager, Elissa Prichep. The project would not be possible without the support, contributions and guidance of Dr. Megan J. Palmer and Dr. Melissa Salm and in association with the Bio Policy & Leadership in Society (Bio.Polis) Initiative and the h.earth (humans+earth) grotto at Stanford University.