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Jeremy Lent is an author whose writings investigate the patterns of thought that have led our civilization to its current crisis of sustainability. He is founder of the nonprofit Liology Institute, dedicated to fostering an integrated worldview, both scientifically rigorous and intrinsically meaningful, that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on the Earth.
Born in London, England, Lent received a BA in English Literature from Cambridge University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He initially pursued a career in business, founding an internet startup and taking it public.
Beginning around 2005, Lent began an inquiry into the various constructions of meaning formed by cultures around the world and throughout history. His award-winning book, The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning, published in 2017, traces the deep historical foundations of our modern worldview.
Lent’s upcoming book, The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, offers a coherent and intellectually solid foundation for a worldview based on connectedness that could lead humanity to a sustainable, flourishing future. It will be published in Spring 2021 by New Society Publishers (North America) and Profile Books (UK & Commonwealth).
Lent writes topical articles exploring the deeper patterns of political and cultural developments at Patterns of Meaning.
Dr. Margaret Heffernan produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years. She then moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard&Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, was named one of the “Top 25” by Streaming Media magazine and one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” by The Hollywood Reporter.
The author of six books, Margaret’s third book, Willful Blindness : Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, she was awarded the Transmission Prize for A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as “meticulously researched… engagingly written… universally relevant and hard to fault.” Her TED talks have been seen by over twelve million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. Her most recent book, Uncharted: How to map the future was published in 2020.
She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath and continues to write for the Financial Times and the Huffington Post.
Professor Payam Akhavan, LLM SJD (Harvard), Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, is a Senior Fellow at Massey College and Distinguishing Visitor at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. He was previously Full Professor at McGill University Faculty of Law, with prior appointments at Yale Law School, Oxford University, Université Paris Nanterre, European University Institute, and Leiden University. He has published extensively on International Criminal Law, including his best-selling memoir “In Search of a Better World; A Human Rights Odyssey”.
Professor Akhavan was the first Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor’s Office of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and also served with the UN in Bosnia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Rwanda, and Timor Leste.
He has served as counsel in notable cases before the European Court of Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice, including the Application of Genocide Convention Case (The Gambia v Myanmar) regarding the persecuted Rohingya minority. His human rights work has been featured in the New York Times, BBC HARDtalk, CBC Ideas, Maclean’s, and other media.
Makeda is an innovative, international leader and entrepreneur in the field of Information and Communications Technology with 20+ years’ experience in International Business, Strategic Partnerships, Business Development, Commercial Strategy and Product Management. She has managed annual revenues up to 500M+ USD; led major telecommunications and ICT projects; developed business opportunities (partnerships and products) and successfully negotiated with the top telecom providers across the globe culminating with a track record of partnerships in 60+ countries.
She has served as the 10th Ambassador for Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations (Geneva, Switzerland)and all UN Agencies across Europe; where she held several leadership positions (member of WIPO’s Coordination Committee, UNCTAD’s Advisory Body, UNOG’s Advisory Board for its Strategic Heritage Plan, a Gender Champion and keynote speaker for ITU’s Equals Technology Awards.)
She was also the Ambassador for Italy and Austria. She was a recipient of the Top 100, Under 40 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) Award- Class of 2019 (Diplomacy and Protocol) in commemoration of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024).
Moreover, she is a co-founder / founder of three NGOs in areas of youth leadership, education, gender and the elderly: One TNT (co-founder and current President); Heliconia Foundation (co-founder and founding President); Genesis- the Movement (Founder and Chair); GET- Africa ( Member of Board) along with her own consulting company, Genesis International Limited.
A national of Trinidad and Tobago, Makeda is married to Dr Jason Cambridge, where they are currently based in Geneva. Her qualifications include a BS in Computer Information Systems, AS in General Business, MBA from Andrews University, US and a MSc Management Research from Bradford University, UK.
At the FLVS2020 we have gathered and carefully curated over 100 legal professionals and domain experts from all over the world. You can choose between 42 Talks, 24 moderated Panel Discussions, 14 Playshops and 4 Legal Innovation Labs. As we cover various time zones, you can relax and access the replays from the comfort of your home whenever it suits you best or join us live to engage with our Lead Negotiators directly.
