Speakers

Presentation of the speakers and the contributions proposed for the Symposium.

1) Daniel Cesar Robaldo - The evolution and function of Myths in Human History.

The presentation traces a path through human history and its connection to myths, explaining in detail how these have evolved from the discovery of fire to the present day. Drawing on forty years of research in education and information and communication technologies (ICT), the author has observed in the programs implemented by his foundation how a humanizing education leads young people to explore their deepest desires in a non-violent way. They project their utopias into a future filled with hopeful and possible images.

The author will connect these experiences to his fifteen years of research into how utopias fuel the myths of various American peoples. Through his travels in various countries of the continent, he has been able to observe the evolution of these myths, which have adapted to the different cognitive levels developed as a result of new experiences, until today, when a materialistic culture denies utopias and promotes individualism, in contrast to the flourishing of past cultures guided by myths.

However, the author perceives the first signs of the birth of a new myth and invites the audience to actively participate in its construction. With a historical perspective inspired by New Universal Humanism, the author will present a framework for the "Mythical Process", applicable to any culture and useful for understanding not only the evolution of cognitive processes, but also the origin of the search for the sacred, understood as "intuition". In this way, the speaker anticipates the contents of his next book.

Daniel Cesar Robaldo. Independent Humanist researcher for over 40 years, affiliated with the School of Silo (New Universal Humanism). Writer and lecturer in the fields of education, comparative religion, and cultural anthropology. Currently conducting research on myths in the Americas and serving as president of the Da Vinci Foundation in Argentina.

2) Ernesto “Tito” De Casas - Profile of Silo and his contributions.

Here I present an approximation to Silo, Mario Rodríguez Cobos, a universal mendocino, whom I met since the 60s, until his departure in 2010.

His activities to disseminate his universalist contribution to personal and social development have been numerous, in two specific areas: the New Humanism and the Message. His literary work is multifaceted and is published in the "Complete Works" and in other texts, also available on the silo.net website in several languages. Moreover, other authors collect his proposals and expand his contribution in various aspects, as we will see in the conference.

The thesis sustained here is that Silo is an author of the present and the future, who helps to overcome archaic conceptions, which still persist by inertia. His book "Humanizing the Earth" is explicit in its proposals, as is his spiritual contribution entitled "The Message of Silo". Thus, both in the intellectual and mystical fields, he offers significant experiences to those who are interested, opening doors to the future in this uncertain juncture of humanity.

Ernesto “Tito” De Casas. Nace el 29 de marzo de 1947 en Mendoza, Argentina. Hijo de José Ernesto y Leonor González, ambos dentistas, radicados en Luján de Cuyo y es el mayor de dos hermanos. Padre de 3 hijos y casado con Teresa Gutiérrez. Después de la escuela primaria cursa el bachillerato en el Liceo Agrícola DF Sarmiento que completa con el ciclo básico de Bellas Artes. Estudia Inglés y se convierte traductor técnico. Se integra a los comienzos del Movimiento Humanista, que funda Silo en la provincia, participando en todas las etapas del Siloismo. Realiza diversos viajes por el país y después irá a Europa y EEUU, y Asia, residiendo en Tokio, Japón y Madrid antes de regresar a su provincia. Escribe y publica Todavía hay Futuro y Entorno a Silo y hace diversos aportes y estudios de temas afines al Humanismo.

3) Adolfo Carpio - "Chile and the world at the crossroads" (book presentation).

What is happening in the world today? What does the future hold for us? These and other questions are on the minds of many of us. Answering these questions is not an easy task. The characteristics of the times in which we live, in which quick and short-term responses, dystopias and the search for easy solutions to complex issues prevail, complicate the panorama even more. However, it is a necessary task to try to understand the world in which we live, what to expect, and adjust a life project. In other words, these questions that we ask ourselves are existential in the purest sense of the word. They compromise our existence as individuals and as a society.

Adolfo Luis Carpio. Born in Buenos Aires in 1951. B.A. Comparative Religions from the University of Puerto Rico. He has dedicated himself professionally to software engineering. Specialist in generalities. He began his participation in the Humanist Movement in Buenos Aires in 1971. He has developed activities in Buenos Aires, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, New York and now in Santiago and Valparaiso. He is a full member of the Humanist Center for Studies "Instituto Tókarev" and applies at the Center for Studies in the Study and Reflection Park "Los Manantiales".

5) Luis Javier Botero Arango - Is a society that doesn't kill possible?

Based on over 25 years of research by Dr. Glenn D. Paige and Dr. James W. Prescott, as well as the World Health Organization's World Health Report, the possibilities, necessary changes, and steps to be taken to create a society that does not kill are presented.

Luis Javier Botero Arango. MSc in Industrial Engineering (Integrated Human Systems), Iowa State University, USA. First winner of the Gene Sharp Activist Award for Nonviolence - Palestine, 2005. Nonviolence Trainer, certified by the University of Rhode Island - USA, 2000. Over 20 years of experience as a manager in the Colombian private sector. Nonviolence Advisor to the Government of Antioquia, Colombia (7 years). Nonviolence Advisor to the Mayor's Office of Medellín, Antioquia (3 years).

6) Eugenia Anahí Figueroa - The Communal Paradigm of Good Living.

The process of change emerging today in the region, from the perspective of indigenous peoples, radiates and impacts the global environment, promoting an ancestral paradigm, the communal paradigm of the culture of life for good living, based on a way of life reflected in a daily practice of respect, harmony and balance with everything that exists, understanding that in life everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated.

Eugenia Anahí Figueroa. I am an advanced student of Social Communication, with 8 subjects left to graduate. I am looking for a job opportunity that will allow me to continue developing the knowledge I have acquired and to continue the learning process in the field of communication with indigenous identity.

7) Giorgio Gaviraghi - The Future of Humanity: Evolution or Extinction?

In recent months, the applications and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have grown exponentially, suggesting that the Technological Singularity—an event whose consequences we cannot foresee—is near, possibly even before 2029, as predicted by Ray Kurzweil, one of its leading theorists.

In this context, AI is increasingly capable of performing "human" tasks, threatening not only jobs but the very existence of humanity should AI dominate. According to the Sapientia scale, our progress is leading us towards evolutionary advancements, including Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs), enhancements to our biological bodies with extended lifespans and cures for many diseases, thus creating a superior being through technology. This also encompasses entry into new environments such as space, following the transition from sea to land by living beings.

With the advent of the Technological Singularity, where superintelligent AIs become independent of humans, their priorities might diverge from ours, potentially leading to a future vastly different from what our anthropocentric view anticipates. If AIs were to dominate, humans could become secondary, and projects dedicated to human advancement, particularly in medicine, might lose the momentum gained in recent years.

In this presentation, we aim to explore alternative scenarios for the Singularity and other possibilities for both humans and machines. For instance, space, being more suitable for machines than biological beings with their life needs, could be the first sector where machines might exclude human participation. All stages of the Sapientia scale (human body, territory, environment, technology) would need to be re-evaluated and revolutionized by the participation of machines and their different priorities.

As shown by the Sapientia scale, some hypotheses for collaboration to achieve a symbiotic coexistence between humans and machines would depend on the speed at which technological and other advancements could be made available, allowing humans not to be surpassed by the capabilities of machines. BCIs, mind uploading, and other medical advancements could improve human conditions, offering cooperative alternatives and preventing machine supremacy.

We are at a critical juncture in our history, and we must recognize the situation, analyze development trends, and enhance the capabilities of the biological being, even if augmented by technology. It is essential to find common ground between humans and machines for a symbiotic coexistence that allows progress for both parties within a framework of universal benefits. This presentation is based on these principles.

Giorgio Gaviraghi. Architectural degree fromthe Milan Polytechnic. Responsible as project manager for major international projects, also acting as CEO for international companies operating in Europe, the US, Latin America and the Middle East in the field of design and construction. Author of over 80 papers ranging fromspace, transportation, city planning, design and other topics, including authoring articles and books.

8) Hugo Novotny - "Light, Gravity, Time, and Mind - We are not alone" (book presentation).

The generations that have shared these first decades of the 21st century have been part of a dramatic and unprecedented evolutionary transition of humanity. On the one hand, the political and economic forms, institutions, beliefs, and values of an old world are crumbling; and the powerful who still seek to sustain them to preserve their power and privileges are dragging the societies of practically the entire planet into wars, genocides, climate catastrophes, and all kinds of inequalities and injustices.

But at the same time that this drama unfolds, a new sensibility is being born; a new landscape of travelers of the deep, the cosmos, and the mind is emerging. Paradoxically, as Science advances in the exploration of the origins of the Universe and life, in the search for other worlds, other lives, and other intelligent beings, humans are beginning to discover within themselves consciousness, the "inner gaze," and the intention that moves it, in themselves and in others; to glimpse an evolutionary intention that drives everything, a Plan that lives in all that exists.

A new spirituality, capable of inspiring a new evolutionary leap in human beings, is beginning to manifest itself, softly and silently, in different latitudes. An inner religiosity that is growing, giving way to a new universal sacred myth. Within ourselves, we begin to feel that we are not alone, nor are we chained to this time and this space.

Hugo Novotny (1956) was born in Santa Fe, Argentina. He is a writer, researcher at the Parque de Estudio y Reflexión "Carcarañá" parquecarcarana.org and the Humanist Pedagogical Current copehu.org, and a Russian language translator. From a young age, he has participated in the philosophical and social current known as Universal Humanism, founded by the writer, thinker, and spiritual guide Silo (Mario Rodríguez Cobo, 1938-2010). He promotes the translation and publication of Silo's work in Russia, Mongolia, and other Asian countries. He resided in Moscow for twelve years. Among his books are: "La conciencia inspirada en la Filosofía, la Mística, el Arte y la Ciencia" co-authored with P. Figueroa and C. Baudoin (2012); "Luz y tiempo – Representaciones del Universo, espacio-temporalidad y sustrato de creencias en la conciencia humana" (2018); "Caminos espirituales del Asia" (2020) and "Luz, gravedad y tiempo – En todo lo existente vive un Plan" (2021). His writings in Spanish, English, and Russian are available at hugonovotny.academia.edu, he currently resides in the city of Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, and participates in the Community of Silo's Message.

9) Javier Tolcachier - El Foro Humanista Mundial. Una utopía en marcha.

More than three decades ago, on October 7th and 8th, 1993, the First World Humanist Forum was held in Moscow. On that occasion, the founder of the Humanist Movement, SILO, stated that "the objective of this forum would be to study and take a position on the global problems of the world, structurally relating the phenomena of science, politics, art, and religion." He also specified that the Forum "aspires to become an instrument of information, exchange, and discussion among people and institutions from the most diverse cultures of the world, and that it also aims to take on the character of a permanent activity so that all relevant information can circulate immediately among its members." Over the years, various Humanist Forums have been held in different parts of the world, giving continuity to this impulse. More recently, a group of humanists from Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America has been proposing to take advantage of the accumulated experience, inviting to connect the various Regional Forums in a permanent World Humanist Forum, which would serve as a platform for dialogue and joint action for organizations and people from different fields and cultures to continue laying the foundations of the Universal Human Nation. The presentation will explain the processual character of the World Humanist Forum, comment on its antecedents, the guidelines for its updating and vision for the future, and invite you to join this Utopia in Motion.

Javier Tolcachier. Born in 1960 in Córdoba, Argentina. His existential restlessness and early interest in the possibility of social transformations merge into an intense search, until he finds in Siloism a wonderful synthesis to embrace the best of causes: Humanizing the Earth. Within the framework of the dissemination of Universal Humanism - a current of thought founded by Mario Rodriguez Cobos (Silo) - he has organized and participated for over four decades in communication and training activities in different countries of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He is a researcher at the Center for Humanistic Studies in Córdoba and a columnist for the international news agency Pressenza. Among his works are the books "Memories of the Future", "The Fall of the Dragon and the Eagle", "Humanizing History"; "Trends", along with lectures, articles, studies, and monographs that seek to apply a humanist perspective to various fields of human activity. He lives with his wife and two children in his hometown.

10) Guillermo Cabruja - Community education, literacy in prison settings and low-income neighborhoods of Rosario and surroundings areas.

We are a group of people united in the Civil Association "Alfabetización Santa Fe" who carry out voluntary work. Our work focuses on literacy for young people and adults deprived of their liberty in prisons, as well as in the various low-income neighborhoods of the city of Rosario, where the community is experiencing a situation of social vulnerability. Our team is made up of various actors in society: workers, students, professionals from different disciplines, and representatives of various spheres of daily life.

Education is a human right, and we know that school dropout and failure are the product of social inequality. We are inspired to carry out popular education that restores to individuals the capacity to act and transform the reality that has historically excluded them. The idea was born in our city 12 years ago, to respond to concrete educational problems in the population, and began in penitentiary units.

Together with volunteers from our city and the "Multisectorial de Solidaridad con Cuba" organization, we implemented the program called "Yo, sí puedo," which was created in Cuba by Leonela Relys and successfully developed in different countries around the world. The dynamic is to work collectively with internal facilitators, who act as a link with the participants in the literacy workshops, generating solidarity relationships and consolidating social bonds.

The 2015 Education for All Global Monitoring Report estimated that around 781 million adults are illiterate, and that two-thirds of them are women. Consequently, illiteracy exacerbates gender inequality in access to education and the free development of personality. At the local level, our organization estimated a figure of 30,000 illiterate people in the city of Rosario in February 2020. As a result of the highlighting of this problem by studies and surveys carried out in 2018, the National University of Rosario was challenged by the situation and invited us to work jointly with the Law School of the UNR through the Social Linkage and Access to Justice Area, creating the University Extension Program "Literacy and Access to Justice."

The Program seeks to address different dimensions of literacy, focusing on contexts of social vulnerability, involving researchers, teachers, students, non-teaching staff, social organizations, and government agencies in the literacy task. In this way, we seek to establish and strengthen a comprehensive intervention network with schools, clubs, popular libraries, neighborhood associations, soup kitchens, etc.; that demonstrate the importance of working together for equal rights. We have already taught around 500 people in prison, and we are working with children, adolescents, and adults from various neighborhoods in the city of Rosario.

Guillermo Cabruja. Founder and Coordinator of "Alfabetización Santa Fe". Civil Engineer. Master's degree in Marketing and Commercial Management from ESEM Business School - Madrid, Spain. Businessman. Peronist activist.

11) Judy Grisales Alape - Sustainable leadership: better people, better systems.

In a world that is increasingly interconnected and facing global challenges such as climate change, inequality, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by violence, the need for sustainable leadership is becoming increasingly urgent. This presentation will explore the concept of "Sustainable Leadership" on the premise that, to build resilient and equitable systems, it is essential to cultivate leaders who are both ethical and effective.

Judy Grisales Alape. CEO of the Global Sustainable Leadership Network. Creator of the Zero Hunger Humanitarian Social Responsibility Network (Colombia & Venezuela 2020). Co-founder of @profeCAN Leaders in ZOOcial Responsibility. Director of @poliTalksclub -People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Podcast 2030. Professor at the Technological Units of Santander -UTS- . Currently directs the International Commission for Sustainable Development -Agenda 2030- Global Women Leaders. She also leads the Policy and Governance commission at Nethuman.org . Political woman, activist, social worker and change agent in favor of citizen participation, the defense of the human rights of children, adolescents and families in LATAM and the Caribbean.

12) Angel Rogelio Guerra Revolorio - "Angelito's Educational Journey and the Power of Images" (book presentation).

This presentation positions education as a central and transformative project in the life of a human being during childhood and adolescence. The project focuses on the life story of Angelito, set in Guatemala during the 1990s and 2000s, and his various attempts to educate himself through public education. In this sense, the book presented here consists of two fundamental parts for the protagonist: the construction of images and the strengthening of images, through which he shows the aspirations, desires, and motivations that guided him throughout his journey.

In the first part, the author recounts how these needs for education were expressed from his core of dreams and how, from that place, triggers were launched into his memory that configured images with which he carried out various daily activities to achieve his goals. At the same time, the author recounts various events he experienced from birth, such as belonging to a rural family, both parents being illiterate, a father who was an addict, witnessing his mother's suicide at the age of seven and his father's abandonment, having a late and precarious entry into school, and being withdrawn from elementary school against his will at the age of fifteen, and experiencing various types of uprooting. While these events were unfolding, his images were also being strengthened, which were always anchored to his education project.

Due to this, in the second part, the author recounts various decisions he made to achieve his goals even as a child, guided by images based on internal records that motivated him and brought him happiness as he progressed.

Finally, the author closes the book based on his biographical experience with an epilogue that invites reflection on the value of our aspirations, the true meaning of resilience, and the fundamental milestones that mark our transformative education, and the roles that our family, society, and the State assume and how that impacts our human development.

Angel Rogelio Guerra Revolorio. Doctoral candidate in Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. - Master in Habitat and Urban Poverty in Latin America. - Bachelor in International Relations from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala.

13) María Dolores Hernández Mosqueda - Legal regularization of migrant women through social work intervention.

The aim of this project is to raise awareness of the situation of risk and vulnerability faced by migrant women as a social problem, compounded by the lack of legal regularization. This prevents them from having the right to basic services, as well as from receiving more direct guidance on their migratory situation. Through social intervention in the field of social work, care and support would be provided to promote the social inclusion and cohesion of migrant women.

María Dolores Hernández Mosqueda. I am Mexican, from Mexico City, and I am completing my studies in Social Work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in the SUAYED system. I arrived in Spain with my children as an asylum seeker, due to the gender-based violence I experienced in Mexico. Since my arrival in Spain, I have been included in the circuit of care for victims of gender-based violence, where I have been subject to the care protocol offered by this circuit. I consider myself a social activist, in favor of justice. My social participation in this country is through social accompaniment of migrant people, especially women. I am the creator and coordinator of the ENCIDEM project (Enlace Integral de ciudadanas(os) del Mundo) which offers care and interventions to meet the needs of vulnerable groups, especially migrant women. I promote the dignity of domestic work and care. I volunteer for the Red Cross and other social entities. I participate in forums, talks, seminars, and meetings where issues such as migration, foreign affairs, education, gender-based violence, care, entrepreneurship, from the perspective of social change and public policies are raised. I offer workshops and talks where I promote a gender perspective based on equality and equity. Living outside of Mexico has made me realize that no matter how difficult life may be, you can always contribute to social change from wherever you are.

14) Rodrigo Arce Rojas - Symbiotic Humusnity.

Our civilization has been built around human well-being, which is commendable; however, it is insufficient to address the severe civilizational crisis we find ourselves in, which manifests in multiple ways in the environmental, economic, social, political, and axiological spheres, among others. Although humanism is permeable to ecological approaches, it still has a strong anthropocentric imprint based on human exclusivity that attributes qualities to humans that are not replicated in other expressions of life.

With our current level of scientific knowledge, it is possible to affirm that several characteristics previously considered unique to humans are not, as expressions such as culture, politics, and morality are also manifested in animals, albeit to a different degree than in humans. It is now possible to affirm that consciousness, intelligence, agency, and even technology are more widespread attributes in all expressions of life, although they vary qualitatively compared to humans. This realization invites us to expand the moral community to include other expressions of life, without resorting to a bio-egalitarian proposal but rather marked by respect for all expressions of life for their intrinsic value.

It is within this framework that the concept of "humusnity" is proposed to refer to all expressions of human and non-human life (more than human, other-than-human) in recognition that we are all ultimately humus, earth, all formed from a common base of chemical elements in different proportions. It is not just a way of recognizing ourselves as part of nature, although specific attributes have led us to create a second nature, but to make an ontological shift from a utilitarian relationship with nature to a relationship of conviviality, from the pursuit of material development and accumulation to a relationship of biocultural well-being, where both human well-being and the well-being of nature matter. In this way, the search for utopia has to do with co-habiting based on an ethics of care extended to all expressions of life. This is not an ideological position but the recognition that all expressions of life belong to the same web of life and that symbiosis has been, and continues to be, a manifestation of collaboration, associativity, as part of the forces of evolution.

These perspectives are supported by the eco-evo-devo approach (ecology-evolution-development) and epigenetics, which explain why the categories of nature and culture have blurred in recent times. Symbioethics, therefore, encompasses this perspective of an integrative ethics that recognizes the fact that all living beings are interrelated in one way or another, as expressed by our character as holobionts, which is nothing more than another way of saying that we are Gaia, we are Pachamama, we are the Biosphere, we are interspecies and we co-exist.

Rodrigo Arce Rojas. Doctor in Complex Thought (2018), Master of Science in Forest Resources Conservation (1992) and Forestry Engineer (1988). With 35 years of experience and contributions to the interactions between society, nature and culture applied to community forest management, forest certification, climate change and REDD+, conservation, agroforestry, agroecology, agrobiodiversity, anthropological ecology, watershed management, environmental auditing, rights of indigenous peoples, indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact, environmental and forest public policies, dialogue, participation and participatory methodologies, prior consultation, governance, conflicts and capacity building with national (IIAP, WWF, CARE) and international organizations (FAO, GIZ). University professor, reviewer of scientific articles, facilitator of events and social processes, tutor of doctoral theses in Complex Thought at the Edgar Morin Multiversity of the Real World in Mexico.

19) Adrián Cortés - Silo and human biological immortality. It's no longer a utopia.

Science and technology, through the historical accumulation of developments and discoveries, periodically reach critical moments that allow for qualitative leaps that impact the entire civilization. In this line, we trace the discovery of fire, the wheel, or agriculture. Fire allowed us to have shelter in cold and hostile environments such as caves, as well as to predigest our food, facilitating its assimilation and thus obtaining better nutrients for the development of our nervous system, consequently generating cognitive improvements. The wheel facilitated physical work, making heavy loads more manageable, leaving us energy available to take care of our families. With the discovery of agriculture, we no longer had to chase our food with spears and knives, and we expanded our temporal horizon by calculating in advance the harvest times... Each of these historical milestones generated drastic changes in human existence. The current configuration of the first planetary civilization known to us has allowed the global and immediate exchange of data and discoveries, but also of advanced technologies, so that today we find ourselves at a new point of "disruptive criticality" to take the next qualitative leap in the human species: the possibility of extending our biological life indefinitely and without physical deterioration.

The recent discoveries made by the research group I lead seem to complete the picture necessary to take this leap. For 15 years we have been conducting research in the fields of biochemistry, immunology, and human aging. The developments and discoveries we have made have allowed us to develop a solution to the problem of human aging. It is in our hands to support this cause and allow this qualitative leap or continue on the nihilistic path of the current dying world.

Adrián Cortés (Popayán, Colombia). Director of the IVSI research group "Institute for Research in Synthetic Vaccines and New Medicines". Chemist. Specialized in Molecular Immunology and Molecular Physics (University of Caucau).

21) Gianmarco Pisa - Museums for Peace in the ecomuseal perspective. Spaces of Participation, Humanity, Peace.

In their orientation towards peace, museums, especially peace museums, can be configured as ecomuseums if they convey the enjoyment of the heritage and identity contents of their territory and when their configuration goes through a co-creation process directly involving the active participation and dynamic engagement of the communities of inhabitants, of people, with their stories and relationships, their aspirations and memories, and, at the same time, of the social environment and the territorial space.

This function is enriched with surprising potential in the “space of the city” and is open, in line with the aims of Unesco, to new paths of relationship and coexistence, of peace education and peace building, in the sense, well known in literature, of «positive peace», peace not only as an affirmation of the repudiation of violence and the fight against war, but also as a manifestation of the fullness of human rights and social justice, of democracy and coexistence.

Starting from some specific museum institutions in the European scenario (the Bradford Peace Museum, in England, the Nuremberg Peace Museum, in Germany, and the Gernika Peace Museum, in the Basque Country) and in the Italian context (the International Peace Manifesto Documentation Centre, in Casalecchio di Reno, near Bologna) and on the basis of the action-research in the field, inspired by cultural heritage for peace and coexistence in the post-Yugoslav space, which dialogues with the open and inclusive features of museum institutions such as the Museum of Yugoslavia in Belgrade and the Museum of Mitrovica, MoM, in Kosovo, the text questions the link between heritage, relational constructs and positive peace and focuses on the ecomuseum vocation of museums for peace as social and cultural spaces of relationship and coexistence, participation and education, particularly in the sense of the «place-based education» and, ultimately, the affirmation of the «properly human dimension of human».

Gianmarco Pisa. Peace worker, involved in research-action initiatives and projects for conflict transformation within the Italian Institute for Peace Research - Civilian Peace Corps (IPRI-CCP), he has carried out various peace actions in the Balkans and on the European and international scene. He collaborates with magazines and documentation portals (including the international press agency Pressenza, the culture and debate blog Odissea, and the political and cultural magazines Futura Società, Gramsci Oggi and La Città Futura) and has published several works on the themes of positive peace and peacebuilding, conflict, the role of culture and memory in social transformation processes. Member of the working group dedicated to Peace Education within the Italian Peace and Disarmament Network, he is the author of the concise manual "Making Peace, Building Society. Basic guidelines for conflict transformation and peacebuilding" (Multimage, 2023). Among his other recent publications are "Ordeals. Memories and memorials for peace and coexistence" (Ad est dell'equatore 2017), "Kosovar Landscapes, 1998-2018. Cultural heritage as a resource for progress and opportunities for peace" (2018) and "Of earth and stone. Aesthetic forms in spaces of conflict, from Yugoslavia to the present" (2021). His latest publication is "The doors of art. Museums as places of culture between place-based education and peace building" (Art doors. Museums as places of culture between place-based education and peace building), 2024, recently published by Associazione Editoriale Multimage.

23) Andrea Natalia Novotny - "A utopia in teacher training: Humanizing Education."

A new approach to teaching focused on the human being.

Faced with the need to renew the educational approach, a proposal for a postgraduate course called "Academic Update in Humanizing Education: Intentional Learning, Emotional Atmospheres and Collective Construction of Knowledge" has emerged. This training aims to innovate the pedagogical perspective and the professional teaching practice, based on a paradigm that places the human being and their integral development at the center.

The objective is to stimulate teachers to reflect deeply on the meaning of education, asking questions such as:

• What is the meaning of education today?
• How can we give direction and true meaning to teaching and learning environments?
• How can we uncover our purpose in the world and help our students to uncover theirs as well?

How did this utopia begin in the province of Mendoza?

Since 2020, at the public teacher training institute 9-002 "Tomás Godoy Cruz" in Mendoza, an update and specialization course in Humanizing Education has been started. Thanks to the success of this project, in 2024 a new postgraduate course was established at the Institute 9-028 "Profesora Estela Quiroga".

Theoretical foundations: this training proposal is inspired by the philosophy and psychology of Silo's Universal Humanism and is framed within the Pedagogy of Intentionality. It considers education as a fundamental human right, a dynamic and complex process that goes beyond numbers and statistics.

Impact:

• Teacher training: It has trained over 60 teachers, providing them with an official qualification in Humanizing Education.
• Expansion: It has spread to other teacher training institutes, demonstrating its potential to transform education at a regional level.
• Social impact: It contributes to building a more just and equitable society, promoting the integral development of individuals.

Innovation:

• Holistic approach: It integrates various pedagogical and philosophical currents.
• Link with the community: It involves the educational community in the construction of educational projects.
• Use of non-formal spaces: It uses spaces such as the Carcarañá Study and Reflection Park to promote reflection and experiential learning.

In conclusion, this proposal represents a utopian but achievable vision, demonstrating that it is possible to transform education from a humanist perspective centered on the human being.

Andrea Natalia Novotny. Is an Argentine educator with a solid background in teacher training and a deep commitment to pedagogical innovation. Holding a master's and a doctorate in Education, Novotny has dedicated her career to developing and promoting educational models that prioritize the comprehensive development of students and the collective construction of knowledge.

Her professional experience ranges from university teaching to coordinating teacher training projects at the national level. She has been a key figure in the creation and development of teacher training programs focused on Humanizing Education, a pedagogical approach that seeks to connect education with human values and social transformation.

Novotny has demonstrated a strong commitment to educational research, participating in various projects and publishing articles in academic journals. Her research has focused on topics such as teaching practice, intentional learning, and the construction of learning communities. Additionally, she has been an active promoter of the Pedagogy of Intentionality, an approach that aims to develop students' ability to learn autonomously and meaningfully.

Throughout her career, Novotny has combined her academic work with intense activity as a teacher trainer and speaker at various national and international events. Her work has been recognized for its academic rigor and social commitment, contributing significantly to the renewal of education in Argentina and other Latin American countries.

24) Jorge Rocha - A Utopia: School Foresters.

The School Foresters project proposes that children in schools create seedbeds for seedlings to provide trees for their city. It is a fun and educational activity that allows them to learn about caring for life and observing its growth. The experience of carrying out this activity has shown us how a sensitivity awakens and develops in children that can easily extend to the rest of their social coexistence. Furthermore, it is a complement that enriches non-formal education, supporting teachers with practical tools for developing the school curriculum.

Jorge Rocha. Co-founder of the School Foresters project in 2014. Since then, he has worked as a volunteer in non-formal education in schools in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He is currently the coordinator of the Environmental Promoters Course at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of UNLZ. Co-founder of the civil society organization "La Comunidad para el Desarrollo Humano" in 1982, of which he is currently a member of the Board of Directors. Promoter in Argentina of the "3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence", organizing events to spread awareness and mobilize people in different provinces of the country.

25) Carlos Washington Guajardo - The Humanist Center for Studies of the Americas: Building an Intercontinental Utopia.

The proposal of the 10th International Symposium of the World Center for Humanistic Studies "UTOPIES IN MOTION" implicitly invites us to think of new courses of action that would allow the transition from a possible utopia to a realm of implementation and change. The opportunity to exchange in this context the experience developed by the Center for Humanistic Studies of the Americas (CEHA) seeks to account for a utopia in action. According to the dictionary of New Humanism, utopia reflects a set of aspirations that aim for a better world, mobilizing creative energy towards these high ideals, but it also warns us about "anti-utopias", those artificial attempts to realize the utopian ideal here and now, without adaptation to the context and circumstances, situations that have only increased human pain and suffering.

The creation of the Center for Humanistic Studies of the Americas (CEHA) in 2021 represented the construction of a new meeting space, where a group of people from different parts of the American continent, drawing on their own cultures, were able to discover the power of images guided by a common sensibility that set a meaning and a purpose. Thus, in the landscape of cultural anthropological research, courses of action and projects were formed, guided by a deep humanistic vision that strengthened the initial proposal with the incorporation of new friends from different latitudes and the inclusion in the field of research of new extra-continental cultures.

The development of new knowledge about ancestral cultures, their valorization through the discovery of an intentionality that transcends historical processes, and the finding in those societies and peoples of attitudes and humanistic moments that are at the basis of their mythologies, their spirituality, their rituals, their ceremonies and their daily practices, reinforces the idea of a convergence that transcends time and space, and will lead to the construction of that long-desired planetary civilization, overcoming the current critical and violent fragmentation.

Some essential questions about our being, our origin and our future deeply question us, and they were also the unknowns that crossed our ancestors. Recovering these experiences through the various research carried out, investigating the cultural richness that has built human history, and then proposing areas of dissemination and exchange that enrich the necessary images and mobilize towards these utopias, constitutes the core of the contribution of the Center for Humanistic Studies of the Americas in this process that involves us.

Carlos Washington Guajardo. Bachelor of Business Administration. Professor of Economics. Master in Institutional and Corporate Communication. Educator with over 35 years of experience. Practices mental discipline at the Punta de Vacas Study and Reflection Park. Current coordinator of CEHA. Researcher of American, African, and Asian cultures. Co-author of the "Manual for a Transformative Education" - humanist educators of Mendoza, Argentina.

26) Carlos Crespo Burgos - "Contributions and Challenges in the Gestation of Humanizing Education, from the Andean region" - round table.

In the last two decades, educational expressions animated by the spirit and approach of Universal New Humanism have multiplied worldwide, with multiple initiatives and pedagogical modalities, attesting to its growing presence globally in various areas of formal and non-formal education. In the transition to the new century, Chilean educators Mario Aguilar and Rebeca Bize disseminated the educational postulates of New Humanism through the proposal of the Pedagogy of Diversity (1999) and Intentionality (2010). Simultaneously, numerous national and international networks of humanist educators multiplied, multiple organizations such as Observatories or Permanent Councils for Nonviolence were formed, as well as movements or pedagogical currents with diverse denominations. These expressions have penetrated more and more deeply into educational institutions, social organizations, higher education institutions, and public spaces, according to increasingly structured and permanent modalities.

The objective of this round table is to systematically present the development of these multiple expressions and to reflect on their challenges, in order to contribute with images that, connecting memory and project, inspire the multiple social actors in the world, who are building another education in a liberating educational direction. The round table will be composed of guests from different continents, who will share their views on these medium-term processes.

Round table moderator:

Carlos Crespo Burgos. Ecuadorian. PhD in Education from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil (2017) and Master in Social Sciences applied to Education, UNICAMP-Brazil (1990). Postgraduate university professor. Researcher at the World Centre for Humanist Studies and animator of the International Network of Humanist Educators. Currently writes for the international press agency Pressenza, Peace and Nonviolence.

Participants:

Yanet Honor Casaperalta. Peruvian. Primary school teacher with a master's degree in educational management and science didactics. Specialist in rural education and transformative pedagogies. National Award ‘Palmas Magisteriales en el Grado de Educador’ and winner of the First National Competition of Good Teaching Practices of the Peruvian Ministry of Education. Promoter of the Network of Humanist Educators Ecuador Peru, since 2016.

Fredy Wilfrido Figueroa Samaniego. Ecuadorian. Bachelor's and Master's degree in Educational Sciences; Doctorate in Education from the Benito Juárez University of Mexico. Currently working as an educational consultant at the Ministry of Education of Ecuador (District 07DO2 Machala). Animator of the Red de Educadores Humanistas Ecuador Perú, since 2021.

Ismenia Iñiguez Romero. Ecuadorian. Graduate in Applied Anthropology with a Diploma in Gender, Violence and Human Rights Studies from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences - Ecuador. Specialised at the Edgar Morin Multidiversity University. With extensive experience in emergency pedagogy and human mobility.

27) Meyyappan Easwaramoorthy - Nature's Call.

Earlier the human species was closer to nature and even today various tribal populations are closer to nature than those in the so called developed world, like the indegenous tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that moved to high ground just before the Tsunami in 2004, it was a close call.

As humanists we are not against technology or the evolution of the human race as such but the fact that after the industrial revoution we have adapted to become ‘productive’ and ‘profitable’ in a Mechanical order is a cog in the wheels of that evolution itself.

We need not go back to eating raw meat and grow back a vestigial organ like the apendix but we need to strike the right balance for a sustainable development.

I used to envy the animals for having the freedom to pee whenever they want ever since my childhood days where I was thrashed for peeing in sleep, in my boarding school that trained me to hold my urine until the bell rang, preparing me for the industrial complex, also by changing the sleep patterms to suit the work shift.

We urgently need to pay heed to the Nature’s Call and reset the human race to it’s original factory settings as much as and as soon as possible by taking the cues from all cultures spaning various climatic and time zones, albeit with our bionic arms that extend beyond the man made boundaries, by respecting the rights of each unique individual that exists freely without posing any harm to anyone.

Let us collectively and immediately address the Nature’s Call as we progress towards our land of Utopia, a Universal Human Nation, away from the colonies of modified homosapiens that are detached from themselves and more so from reality, to suit the profits of a few. Come on, come all!

Meyyappan Easwaramoorthy. From India. I have been associated with the Humanist Movement since 2007 including and especially the World Without Wars and Violence. Currently I am a member of the Humanist Party of India and a member of the International Co-ordination Team of the International Federation of Humanist Parties. I was also part of the Base Team of the ongoing 3rd World March in India and Nepal travelling across the Imaginary Lines between the nations, carrying a book written by me, with the same title.

28) Sandra Basso - Neurodiversity.

Historically, the system has sought to standardize human life in all its aspects. Today, all our behaviors are standardized. Even the intimacy of our inner world does not escape this attempt to apply a single model considered valid, and everything that differs from it is labeled as "altered," "strange," or "deficient." Therefore, it is appropriate to reflect on human nature and ask ourselves some questions: what is it to be human? Who defines what it is to be human? Is there only one type of human being? If not, then: what is neurodiversity?

The objective of this presentation is to explore the concept of neurodiversity, its implications for people's lives, and how its recognition can transform our approaches to life in society.

Neurodiversity is a concept that has gained increasing importance because it leads us to rethink the definition of being human and to consider neurological variations not as deficiencies but as expressions of diversity. This approach challenges the traditional view that considers neurodivergent people as "abnormal" and promotes a perspective that values diversity.

Sandra Basso. Lawyer specialized in the Rights of People with Functional Diversity, committed to the recognition of neurodivergent identity, has dedicated herself to developing contributions to the development of the Neurodiversity paradigm. She has given talks, lectures, and conversations on the rights of people with disabilities.

29) Sofía Erbicella - Reconnecting with the Essential: A Path to the Universal Human Nation.

Through this presentation, I propose to explore a vision that, from a spiritual and humanistic perspective, responds to the multidimensional crisis facing humanity: the invitation to reconnect deeply with our inner selves as a path to a universal human nation. Based on my work, Mastery of Consciousness, this exposition addresses the notion that the global crisis is, in essence, the sum of unresolved personal crises that each individual projects onto the collective. In a world undergoing a crisis of humanity, it is urgent to reflect on how each of us contributes to this crisis from our inner being.

My proposal starts from a fundamental understanding: solving the external crisis is only possible if we first address our internal chaos. The presentation, therefore, revolves around the idea that transforming the world begins with self-knowledge and reconnecting with the human essence, a process that not only liberates the individual but, as a whole, can give rise to a true "universal human nation."

Sofía Erbicella. Writer and trainer with a deep dedication to spiritual development, focused on promoting individual consciousness and collective commitment. My career has focused on fostering critical thinking, introspection, and connection with the human essence through writing and youth education. As an author, I explore existential and spiritual themes, using my own inner journey as a tool for learning and expanding consciousness.

30) José María Tejederas Dorado - Joining Forces.

_Across the globe, thousands of individuals, groups, and organizations from social, environmental, religious, political, and other spheres share the same desire to humanize the Earth because a different world is both possible and necessary.

From the speakers' perspective, the task of humanizing the Earth is not limited to the psychological realm alone - hence the call for a psychic, cultural, and social revolution - but rather, its fruits should be directed toward transforming the world and its current outdated and unjust governance structures, to achieve a world without borders, a confederation of humanist nations, without war, violence, hunger, or discrimination, with social justice, real democracy, environmental balance, solidarity, and above all, an open future. (Sullings)

In the crisis we face today, all of humanity's cultures find themselves at the same historical moment, approaching the first planetary civilization. (Dario Ergas).

But the task is immense and it will be impossible for any individual group or movement to achieve significant progress alone. Therefore, it is essential to join forces as much as possible, thus avoiding the sterility of working in isolation. The proposal is to join forces, as many as possible. How to do this, how to join as many forces as possible, and how to organize ourselves to converge is the goal to be achieved in order to find the best ways that we can all identify together. It is therefore a matter of studying, sharing, and adding convergent points of view and ideas without any conditions, except for the unwillingness to impose one's own ideas on others. The old consciousness no longer serves. The choice is between resignation and change. "Tomorrow is already too late" because we are losing "a time that will never return"._

José María Tejederas Dorado. Born in Cordoba (Spain) in 1950. He has lived in the forest of Castañar de Hervás (Cáceres) since 2003. Professionally he worked for several decades in the General Directorate of the National Geographic Institute of the Ministry of Public Works in Madrid. He is now retired.

Since his youth he has been interested in the psychological aspects of the evolution and development of human beings, which led him in the 1970s to study Comparative History of Religions at the Sorbonne and Psychology of the Possible Evolution of Man in Santiago de Chile, Mendoza and Buenos Aires, and Trades and Disciplines in Salsipuedes, Córdoba, Argentina.

Throughout his career, he has participated in various groups of self-knowledge, personal growth and in the study of theories on life, evolution and human development, taking an interest in visions and proposals from both the East (Fourth Way, Vedanta and Buddhism) and the West (Humanist and Transpersonal Psychology). His main references include thinkers such as Gurdjieff, Mario Rodríguez-Silo, Krishnamurti, Ken Wilber, Ramana Maharsi, Nisargadatta, and Eckhart Tolle.

In 2008 he co-founded the group Sinapsis in Madrid. Subsequently he formed other study groups of evolutionary psychology and ET proposals (Eckhart Tolle) in different parts of Spain such as Hervás, Plasencia, Jaraíz de la Vera, Cáceres, Vigo, Béjar, Piornal, and also in Lima, Peru.

32) Iván Nazaret Aguilera Barrios - The Socio-environmental Conflict of Opencast Mining in the Choapa Valleys: ‘Mitimaes Mineros’ and “Environmental Refugees of Mega Mining” from a Complexity Approach.

International and Chilean citizenship must foster and promote respect for indigenous and peasant communities, due to ethical, moral, environmental, economic, social, cultural and cultural factors, environmental, economic, social, cultural and spiritual factors. We know a lot about the ways in which dominant groups exercise power, but we are unaware of the dynamics that make up the structure of the the structure of the world of the inhabitants of these valleys, therefore, we should not stigmatise this group. stigmatising this sector by attributing to them and ‘adopting economic policies without consulting them’, about what kind of consulting them’ about what kind of society they want to live in. As the state and these consortiums of hegemonic powers, the ones that propitiate situations of conflict by inducing: the The impact on the livelihoods of the inhabitants of the communities of the Choapa Valley, which responds to the richness of their lands, to the social and economic policies of the Chilean government, and to the Chilean government's lack of protection, and the voracity of transnational mining companies.

Iván Nazaret Aguilera Barrios Magíster in History and Social Sciences, licentiate in Education with professional title of teacher of General Basic Education. Arturo Prat University, Iquique, Chile.

33) Hector David Arcila Ayala - TAU Project.

The ‘TAU’ project, led by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Humanistic Studies at the University of San Buenaventura in Medellin, is an open, pedagogical process in constant construction, mediated by academic and humanistic training processes through which the Franciscan ideology is promoted as an axiological and identity support that underpins the comprehensive education of its students and graduates, allowing to strengthen the mission of the university from the basis of its substantive functions: teaching, research, social outreach and welfare. The insertion of the Service-Learning methodology, adopted in the last two years, has managed to generate processes of social transformation in vulnerable communities in the District of Medellin and the Municipality of Bello in the settlements of La Honda and Granizal, respectively. This experience allows students to make a critical reading of reality, propose small solutions that impact the welfare of the vulnerable population and adopt a firm ethical stance towards the human, social, political and cultural realities of today's society in order to act in a responsible and proactive manner in the transformation of society. The process has involved state and non-governmental organisations with which we have managed to dignify the quality of life of the populations, strengthen the training of our students and promote research proposals that specifically contribute to the human and educational realities required not only by the students but also by society.

Hector David Arcila Ayala. Trained in the humanities. I have more than 15 years of experience in the education sector as a teacher, academic and coexistence coordinator, programme and university teaching. I am currently advancing in doctoral training and technical training in speech.

34) Natalio Sergio Condori Arcani - Deconstructing geopolitics from the perspective of ‘Living Well’.

The discourse critically analyses geopolitics from the perspective of ‘living well’. It explains that modern geopolitics is based on domination, in contrast to non-modern civilisational systems that prioritise life and harmony with nature. It is pointed out that the European civilisational system emerged under a ‘foundation of death” based on conquest, war and the accumulation of capital. This allowed European powers to appropriate the riches of the Americas and expand their global geopolitical dominance. It emphasises the importance of continuing to strengthen the utopia of educating in a decolonising, transmodern perspective, which generates knowledge, technologies, aesthetics, among others, inspired by the ‘Living Well’ paradigm of non-modern civilising frameworks. This allows us to continue the march of the utopia of liberating ourselves from the domination imposed by the modern-western-eurocentric-hellenist civilization paradigm.

Natalio Sergio Condori Arcani. University lecturer with more than 10 years of experience in higher education, specialising in administration, international trade, business development, among others. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University. He is currently finalising his thesis in three master's degrees: Agribusiness, Scientific Research and International Trade. His career includes positions as Research Institute Coordinator in the International Trade Degree and Guest Director in the Indigenous Tourism Degree. He is the author of several books including: ‘Cost Management’ (2023) and ‘Ethics in the Business Context and Social Responsibility’ (2014). Recognised for his contribution to academic development, he has received distinctions for his work and his participation in various academic events.

...