Connected, natually

Ecovillage practice, sustainability research and holistic balance through Eastern philosophy

Ecopreneur Hans Galliker and educator Song Shu share ecovillage experience, related cutting- edge scientific references and how Eastern philosophy helps to achieve a holistic balance between nature and humans. Their eclectic backgrounds allow them to illustrate their findings ranging from zero-waste efforts, to The Internet of Mind over to DIY holocracy system for organisational self-management.
 

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Speakers

Hans Martin Galliker 

Hans Martin Galliker is an independent ecopreneur who is supporting projects for more sustainability in the sectors of agriculture, textile and information society.

Hans grew up on a farmin Beromünster / Lucerne, moved to Zurich soon after finishing his agricultural apprenticeship and swapped his pitchfork with a keyboard. During most of his decade in the IT industry he was selling B2B datacenter solutions. While doing so he studied business communication and during an exchange semester in Beijing in 2008 he witnessed food scandals making headlines and the dire need to reverse the environmental deterioration. This was coinciding with his new-found interest in organic agriculture and environmental technology. Hence Hans rebooted his life, moved to Shenzhen and became a self-designated "ecopreneur" with the mission to support the sustainability movement by entrepreneurial means. The most visible project so far has been the conscious fashion brand NEEMIC which in 2011 he started together with Swiss designer Amihan Zemp in order to promote eco-friendly fabrics and cultural exchange. The venture failed financially yet left Hans with plenty of experience and deeply embedded i

n Beijing's creative- and sustainability circles, from where he kept pursuing his mission.

Hans for example helped FREITAG to popularise their up-cycled bags in China in the role of F- riend of the Brand, the Spittoon Art Collective to manage their organisation, and last but not least the Beijing Linux User Group to grow their community. More recently Hans co-founded the social enterprise Urban-Rural Bridge which promotes permaculture and is preparing the launch of a farm-to-table app for cooperatives including simple farm management. Since 2019 is Hans Galliker ecopreneur-in-resident at Huadao Ecovillage near Chengdu in order to foster their sustainability-related efforts.

Song Shu （Yingbin Zhou）

Song Shu (aka 周应宾) was connecting networks as IoT engineer and now he is connecting souls and minds as co-founder of the life education company NatureDao and author of the book "Internet of Mind".

Song Shu grew up in Xichang / Sichuan, in an idyllic home next to a river and a mountain. He moved to Chengdu for his studies at Southwest Jiaotong University and graduated with a Master degree in Communication Engineering. He then embarked to work in the technology sector for more than a decade, dedicated to microelectronics and networking, with a focus on IoT (Internet of Things). Meanwhile he published his first book called "Technology and Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks" (2006).

While Song Shu already during his high-school days felt a a passion for education, in 2015 he followed his dream, revamped his career to become a nature education professional in order to raise nature awareness among our society and education systems. At the same time he also started his entrepreneurial journey. Song Shu's first venture, as co-founder of a sustainable agriculture platform, stalled in 2017. But his second venture keeps flourishing; QingyiZiran (情意自然) provides solutions on the foundation of the NatureDao principle, which teaches Taoism- inspired methods for the sensory exploration of nature. These developments are going to culminate into his upcoming second book which will be published under the name "The Internet of Mind" (心联网).

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Venue partner:

Café des Sciences

Every third Thursday each month 2019

Café des Sciences is a new format at swissnex China offering a monthly platform for Swiss Spotlight Scientists and Start-ups to present their projects and connect with the local community. The lectures will offer a casual setting in which speakers can present their work and engage with the attendees during a Q&A period. Audiences are welcomed to enjoy the networking reception with Swiss flavour after the talk. The lecture is scheduled to take place every third Thursday each month at swissnex China or our partner spaces. To view past events, please click here.