The Tällberg Workshop at CERN (TW@C) aimed to explore the implications for mankind and society of the accelerating pace of evolution, in all its dimensions: the cosmos, the planet, homo sapiens, technology, and social organization. We live in a fracturing world where the pace of change has become a source of further change; the more we know, the more we do not understand.
The participants came from a wide variety of disciplines and cultures, including science, technology, art, business, government, academia, and a few that defy categorization. This commitment to cross-disciplinary exploration is fundamental to Tällberg’s effort to provoke new thinking.
The workshop’s agenda centered on a series of questions:
- What do we (think we) know about evolution?
- Why do humans think the way we think?
- How is technology changing us and how are we changing technology?
- What are the challenges in managing the collision of values, interests and realities?
- What is the role of scientists and artists – science and art – in a scenario of accelerating evolution?
- What kind of leadership do we need in a fracturing world?The spirit of TW@C was engagement, not presentations. some of you have been asked to prepare short interventions; all of you are asked to participate enthusiastically in building on those foundations. We seek insight through broad, inclusive, provocative, and engaging conversation.TW@C was not concluded with a manifesto or an action plan. Rather, our purpose was to provoke a continuing exploration how mankind lives and interacts with the Earth, today and into the future.
An important part of the workshop was the performance of the play Syria: The Trojan Women
Syria: The Trojan Women is a humanitarian project that casts amateur syrian refugee actors in Euripides’ 415 BC play about the fall of Troy. Drawing on the parallels between the experiences of the cast during the syrian war, and those of the women of Troy, the project has raised awareness for the ongoing conflict, while providing an avenue for the women to work through trauma and build a new community in Amman.
The project began in Amman in 2013 with a series of drama workshops, and culminated with a performance in December. After receiving a positive reception in the press, syria: The Trojan Women has expanded to include a documentary, a film based on the performance, and a radio show in Amman. Recently, george- town and Columbia Universities hosted events that included excerpts of the documentary footage, Q&A, and live-two way links with the original syriancast in Amman.
