Jean-Paul Close

Ideological father and founder of Sustainocracy, a new, real time democracy of our shared (people and institutional) responsibility for our sustainable human progress through the recovery, development and safeguarding of our core natural values as a species.

In 1996 Jean-Paul Close (The Netherlands, 1958) drew an important line for himself. The line represented a life changing personal choice. At one side of the line was the life he was about to let go. A life as a highly educated, career driven, global executive, unconsciously developing his reality around a culturally imposed dogmatic worldview that was based on global and personal financial and political interests. On the other side of the line appeared his “new” life. This was centered around his recently acquired and socially unaccepted single fatherhood. This reality brought him awareness breakthroughs about the flows of the reigning reality, about our core human values that were in jeopardy, the undermined sustainable human resilience and our complex evolution as a species. He realized that his old life had been contributing to gradual destruction of our human development and planetary resources. To do something about it he first redefined the essence of entrepreneurship in the 21st century, to be servant to human and planetary wellness instead of abusive to it out of fragmented self interest.

Gradually a new societal format emerged in his mind and daily activities. It was centered around five core natural and human values. Values that need to be accepted as a collective (human and institutional) co-creative responsibility of us all, alone and together. This society was coined Sustainocracy (Sustainable human progress and our real time participatory Democracy), the level 4 awareness driven participatory co-creation society. Jean-Paul started to invite the fragmented interest driven old reality of his surroundings to cross the line as well and become co-creation partners together with him in his society format. Many accepted, especially after the 2008 financial crisis.

Local core values driven priorities were defined and structured into multidisciplinary, cooperative ventures. Here he connected local government, entrepreneurs, science, schools and citizens into sharing a common core values driven responsibility. Examples are AiREAS, for regional air quality, human and environmental health. AiREAS engages now over 20 municipalities. And FRE2SH, the local food resilience initiative at walking or biking distance. COS3i, for social inclusion and eradication of poverty through citizen’s participation and engagement in Sustainocratic processes. School of Talents and Wellness, a participatory global learning initiative. His views and methods are now inspiring people and institutions elsewhere in the world as part of an emerging reality that heals our planetary presence and brings peace, wellness and shared responsibility to all.

He publishes his progress through open access publications and offers his help to the world to develop our core natural human values through Sustainocratic ventures for the wellness of us all.

https://sustainocracy.blog/publications
www.aireas.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtHXQvuRopzERqSuU4MfEg