Celebrating 25 Years of Positive Change

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Peter Drucker’s comment captures the need for system change that defines Astraea. When we stepped out of our old lives and into the unknown in 1999, we had a clear goal: To find balance between people, …
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Private property should be abolished…

Following below is Helena Sheehan’s speech to the Trinity College Dublin Philosophical Society debate on whether private property should be abolished. It carried the day. It is helpful in framing an awkward, ignored yet important cultural issue on the nature of property ownership and it’s impact on equity and justice in our legal systems. Dr …
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Goodbye Superpower

Although it was expected, it was a shock to wake up to the impending results of the Presidential election in the USA which prove again the primitive values of our world. America is considered by a majority of people to be the world leader since the Second World War, during it which it supported Germany …
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DLR Lexicon Welcomes Feast Upon The Earth

Feast Upon The Earth is on the move! DLR Lexicon will host the timescape from 26 July to 31 August 2024. The timescape prompts new perspectives. It situates us in geographical time and shows connections between nature, humans, food, finance, fossil fuels, consumption, pollution and climate change. We see how we have impacted our world, …
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Why should we change our minds?

We’ve been exploring human nature from the angles of anthropology, zoology and psychology and recently came upon Joseph Henrich’s WEIRD concept which is helping us to understand the relatively narrow perspective we all grow up with. WEIRD is an acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic, and delves into the religious convictions, beliefs, practices, technologies …
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The Second Holocaust

For 70 years the word “holocaust” has been in common use and we all knew it was about the bigoted murder of thousands of civilians during The Second World War. Schindler’s List and other movies have brought the tragedy alive in our minds. It was about the wholesale extermination of people to make space for …
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“I Want A Revolution”

A conversation with Brigidine elders about the future, with 15 minutes of mindful movements at the beginning. This special event took place on 1 February 2024 when we enjoyed an open conversation with 3,000 years of life experience. As you will hear, we approached the opportunity with some references, including elements of our recent timescape …
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Faith, Hope and Charity – harbingers of doom

Malta, a small archipelago in the centre of the Mediterranean, has played a pivotal role in the commerce and politics of Europe, Africa and Asia since people travelled across that sea. In the Second World War, as a British colony, Malta was of critical strategic importance to the Allied forces while the right wing military …
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What is a system change entrepreneur? : in conversation with KCLR

KCLR’s spoke with us for their Ours to Protect series.   In November, KCLR producer Ethna Quirke spoke to Tom Butler about his retreat from the corporate world, a return to nature and his work with the Carlow County Environmental Network and their upcoming “Feast upon the Earth” event. The programme was released in two broadcasts: …
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