The Learning Planet Festival

IN THE MOOD FOR POETIC FUTURES

In the mood for poetic futures – A collective poetic experience to celebrate the poetry of life and cowrite the future 💛✨✊
The Learning Planet Institute hosted this year another wonderful edition of the Learning Planet Festival with over 500 events worldwide. « In the mood for poetic futures » was the closing poetic event organized on the 26th of january.

This hybrid (present/live stream) event was designed as a full and exciting poetic journey composed of an introductory poetic multiple performance from poets around the world, an inspiring roundtable with various poets to discuss the role of poetry and poetics to imagine and co-write possible desirable futures for tomorrow, followed by an open poetic mic with the audience to share poems in any possible language. Watch the replay here :

Poetry has an enchanting role to play in the 21st century and we can all be actors 📜
The event featured wonderful poets and impactful changemakers from all around the world :

• Gustavo Merino (Director for Social Policies at UNESCO)
• François Taddei (LPI Founder and President)
• Mahdi Mansour (Lebanese poet, educator and PHD in physics)
• Vincent Avanzi (Chief Poetic Officer, founder of The Ink of the Future)
• Steven Hartman Founding Executive Director at BRIDGES Sustainability Science Coalition)
• Ariana Diarra (LPI student and poet) 
• Juan Carlos Galeano (Poet and Academic at Florida State University)
• Taiye Ojo (Artist and writer, Gallery 1995)
• Kateri Lemmens (Professor at Université du Québec à Rimouski)
• Abdel Monim El Allaly & Karima Kadaoui (Tamkeen Community Foundation for Human Development)
• Iveta Silova (Professor and Associate Dean of Global Engagement, ASU)
• and more guests as Violaine Magnat (spoken word poet) and Natacha Irina Ruiz (Poesia founder)…

The roundtable was moderated by Laure Mourgue D’algue from LPI and Louise Massacrier was the event MC. Thanks to both of them. A very special thank you to the entire LPI staff for making this event a success (Olivier Brechard, Katherine Brown, Bertille, Edouard), François Taddei for igniting this LPI-Poetry project (See the Planetizen Manifesto) and thank you also to the two painting artists who created wonderful works of art during the session : Dia Zeinab (𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 ,𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳) and Yasser al gharbi (calligraphy artist).

Such a wonderful moment of inspiration and contemplation. You can discover pictures of the event below as well the paintings and the poem « A message to poetic leaders » in video. More poetic events coming this year ! Stay tuned 🙂

A Message to Poetic Leaders

Dear citizens of the world, poetic leaders
And beautiful souls in a quest for love,

What will be left for us in the future
If we can’t do what’s right in the present?
We don’t want to go down into History,
We want to go up in the future.

Do we want to create a better society for the few
Or a better society for the fu-ture,
In harmony with nature
As Mankind may have now matured?

I don’t know if big or small is beautiful,
But together and tomorrow are wonderful.
Love and light mixed with a little bit of wisdom
For a global happiness kingdom,
Because the poetic leaders of the future,
They care about the outcome of Humanity, not only its income.

So please come
And let’s all rise, us, not the temperature,
But us, as sincere creatures our best behavior
To create a better place for you and for me that we can all nurture?

Yes, A Poetic Leader, for Humanity and sustainability:
Imaginary, visionary and even revolutionary,
As we’re all responsible for the same thing
And that is the living.

By all means and all dreams, reach for the stars,
Your star, to become who you truly are,
From your deepest scars to your shining star.

We all have a voice and we all have a choice.
We can be part of the solution or part of the pollution.
In the end, the future will be magic or tragic
Depending on how we act in it to save it.

Be you and be useful,
Be great and be grateful,
That’s the new beautiful,
As we’ll only be successful
If our planet remains wonderful.

And remember, in this “Great Turning”
And world transitioning,
We’re not History in the making,
We’re the future and amazing.

So “O Captains, my captains”,
Welcome aboard the “Universal Poetic Leader Ship”
Bon voyage in this “mankind can also be kind” journey
For the sake of our common fate all across this exceptional planet,
Because poetry will save the world and we’re all extraordinary poets.

Vincent Avanzi
Chief Poetic Officer – The Ink Of The Future

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Author : VINCENT AVANZI is a Chief Poetic Officer, world artist, sustainability activist, leadership coach and speech writer. Residential artist at the Institute for Desirable Futures, he founded The Ink of the Future and is the author of ten books including « Poetic Leaders : Poetry will save the world and we’re all poets » (Human Odyssey) and “Trouver son Point Génial” («Finding your Genius Spot » Editions Hachette). Former Microsoft manager and passionate for poetry, he developed the concept of “Corporate Poetry” after having gone on two world tours to bridge the gap between business and wisdom, poetry and prospective, innovative and narrative, leadership and harmony. He now accompanies leaders, brands and organizations on the enchantment of their storytelling, the elevation of their leadership and their transition towards regeneration. He furthermore delivers inspiring poetic speeches in international conventions and keynotes on the art of speech to enchant the future as poetic leaders. For more poetic events and bookings, send a mail to contact @ odysseehumaine.com.