1. Flourishing as a Practice (Nate Harding)

In a world struggling to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we face the sobering reality that systemic transformation is essential for meaningful progress. This presentation explores how such transformation requires not only policy changes but a deeper examination of the values that drive both individual and collective action. Using the systems thinking “iceberg model,” I illustrate how visible outcomes are merely symptoms of underlying structures, which themselves emerge from our societal mindsets and individual values.

Drawing from personal experience and training with life coaching, I demonstrate how clarifying one’s core values serves as a foundation for purpose-driven systems change, and how doing so requires skills often under-emphasized in traditional education settings. The presentation will then introduce Spark, an EdTech venture Nate is co-founding to address this critical gap in education: teaching the skills needed to identify, articulate, and live in accordance with one’s values. By framing flourishing as an ongoing practice rather than a destination, Spark posits that developing these capabilities is central to both personal well-being and our collective ability to create sustainable social change. Through this lens, the seemingly disparate goals of individual fulfillment and global sustainable development reveal themselves as deeply interconnected pursuits requiring similar foundational skills.

2. EndEndoSilence: Fighting for a National Endometriosis Strategy in Germany (Veronika Denner)

Endometriosis affects approximately 10% of the female reproductive-aged population, yet remains severely underdiagnosed, under-researched, and underfunded—leading to diagnostic delays, inadequate care, and preventable suffering. In Germany, as in many other countries, patients often face a diagnostic delay exceeding eight years, despite the condition’s profound physical, mental, and socioeconomic impact. In response to these systemic gaps, EndEndoSilence, an initiaitve founded by German political activist Theresia Crone and co-led by Veronika Denner, has been at the forefront of national advocacy efforts to institutionalise a strategic response to endometriosis. Through social media and political roundtables, EndEndoSilence advocates for increased funding for research, improved clinical pathways, and better education for healthcare professionals. This presentation will highlight the organisation’s policy work, including stakeholder engagement across political parties, strategic partnerships with organisations beyond Germany, and the development of a proposed national endometriosis strategy.