On the 16th of September over 200 participants traveled to Bonn from 15 countries in order to participate in the conference Inspiration for Living Change, jointly organized by IFOAM and COLABORA.


Eleven Alternative Nobel Prize laureates, Vandana Shiva (India), Percy and Louise Schmeiser (Canada), Ibrahim and Helmy Abouleish from SEKEM (Egypt), Frances Moore Lappé (USA), Taeko Ogiwara und & Ikuko Sasaki from the „Seikatsu Club Consumers Cooperative Union“ (Japan), Melaku Worede (Ethiopia), Maria Salete Campigotto from the „Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra“ (Brazil), Pat Mooney (Canada), as well as the World Food Prize laureate, Hans Herren (Switzerland), introduced themselves and their work during informative plenary sessions. Please watch the video summary of the messages from the event below.



Jakob von Uexküll, founder of the Right Livelihood Award, stressed in his welcome speech the need for our society to embrace change.

With topics like ‘Food Policies for Food Security and the Potential of Eco-Intensification’, ‘The Political Agenda for the Paradigm Shift’, ‘Organic Agriculture – the way Ahead towards Sustainable Food Production’, ‘Biodiversity versus Monotony’ and ‘From Genetic Engineering to Nanotechnology – How to Combat Paramount Threats’, participants were inspired to ‘live change’ themselves. The diversity of the topics that were debated reflected not only the wide range of the laureates’ activities, but highlighted how manifold the foci of interest within the organic movement are. You can download the program here.

During the workshop sessions, participants were able to meet laureates, prominent dialogue partners and moderators face-to-face. Virtual teams in Germany, Tunesia, China, Belgium, Italy, Zambia, USA and Switzerland were tied into the workshop discussions via video livestream.

The publication of the ‚IFOAM Declaration for Living Change’ during the final plenary session was another highlight of the day: common convictions and demands, jointly formulated by the organizers and laureates, and endorsed by dialogue partners and moderators, serve as an appeal to embrace change.

This Declaration, supported by committed speakers and participants, puts in the foreground trust in Nature’s capacities, respect for humankind and the environment, the urgency of a sustainable development that respects biodiversity and social well-being. The Declaration can be signed by interested parties and is available for download in English and German via the IFOAM website www.ifoam.org

Video impressions and key statements of the laureates will also be published on this page.

** This conference was carbon neutral thanks to our cooperation with Soil & More: www.soilandmore.com



Vandana Shiva (India)
”...for placing women and ecology at the heart of modern development discourse.”

Click here for a video portrait of Vandana Shiva.




Percy & Louise Schmeiser (Canada)
"... for their courage in defending biodiversity and farmers' rights, and challenging the environmental and moral perversity of current interpretations of patent laws".

Click here for a video portrait of Percy & Louise Schmeiser

Ibrahim & Helmy Abouleish (Egypt)
”...for a 21st century business model which combines commercial success with social and cultural development.”

Click here for a video portrait and here for the presentation of Ibrahim & Helmy Abouleish



Frances Moore Lappé (USA)
”...for revealing the political and economic causes of world hunger and how citizens can help to remedy them.”

Click here for a video portrait of Frances Moore Lappé.



Die Seikatsu Club Consumers Cooperative Union (Japan)
”...for creating the most successful, sustainable model of production and consumption in the industrialised world.”

Click here for a video portrait and here for the  presentation of the Seikatsu Club Consumers Cooperative Union.

Melaku Worede (Ethiopia)
"...for preserving Ethiopia's genetic wealth by building one of the finest seed conservation centres in the world."

Click here for a video portrait of Melaku Worede.



Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra (MST) (Brazil)
"...for winning land for landless families and helping them to farm it sustainably."

Click here for a video portrait of MST.




Pat Mooney (Canada)
"...for working to save the world's genetic plant heritage."

Click here for a video portrait of Pat Mooney.




Hans Herren (Switzerland)
"to protect the world’s food supply is both one of the highest and most basic of callings. Dr. Herren has answered that call in an exemplary manner" (N. Borlaug, Founder of the World Food Prize)

Click here for a video portrait and here for the presentation of Hans Herren

For additional information and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Denise Godinho (d.godinho@ifoam.org)



The 'Inspiration for Living Change' conference includes the participation of three well-known artists who will contribute to creating a truly inspirational mood at what will be an unforgettable event. Click here to learn more about the artists.