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The combined effort of all prior generations
The combined effort of all prior generations
Many of the problems facing humanity today could have been avoided if past generations had thought more about the possible long-term consequences of their actions. Unfortunately we seem destined to repeat their mistake.
Our mission is to foster more long-term thinking in society so that future generations don’t have to clean up our mess.
But to be able to think and see ourselves on a different time scale our brain might need some help. So come along as we invite you to imagine humanity as a tree.
If you look at a cross section of a tree trunk you will see this. With each ring telling a story of a year in the tree's life. If we imagine that humanity was a tree, with each generation representing a year, that tree would only be 500 years old.
It’s been a crazy ride getting here and a lot of people you have no relation to our memory of made all that possible. Leaving behind buildings, art and ideas that still echoes to this day.
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Starting at 11.000 BC (when all of us were hunter-gatherers) and counting 25 years per generation.
The oldest living tree on earth is over 5000 years old.
A human lifetime is a long time but on a bigger time scale it is just a short glimpse that we get to spend as the outside ring of the tree before our time in the sun is up.
This present moment is a gift from past generations. We owe it to them to both enjoy it but also to care for it.
If you look at a cross section of a tree trunk you will see this. With each ring telling a story of a year in the tree's life. If we imagine that humanity was a tree, with each generation representing a year, that tree would only be 500 years old.
It’s been a crazy ride getting here and a lot of people you have no relation to our memory of made all that possible. Leaving behind buildings, art and ideas that still echoes to this day.
*
Starting at 11.000 BC (when all of us were hunter-gatherers) and counting 25 years per generation.
The oldest living tree on earth is over 5000 years old.
A human lifetime is a long time but on a bigger time scale it is just a short glimpse that we get to spend as the outside ring of the tree before our time in the sun is up.
This present moment is a gift from past generations. We owe it to them to both enjoy it but also to care for it.
If we and coming generations are able to think more long-term about our actions the tree of humanity can continue to grow and flourish for countless years to come.
Otherwise we will slowly be killing ourselves from the inside. Making it more and more impossible for future generations to thrive. And in a worst case scenario that tree might not be around for long.
It is a core human instinct to be selfless. To sacrifice our own interest for that of the group we belong to. The challenge with long perspectives is that we lack a sense of belonging to both past and future generations.
Our work is focused on widening that sense of belonging both in size and time span. To get us all more excited for the selfless journey of building, fixing and caring for a place we will one day leave behind as a gift for the next generation.
We are a small, efficient and independent organisation dedicated to creating and supporting initiatives that foster long-term thinking in society. This is how you can help us out:
We cover our administrative costs and project expenses through a combination of donations, partnerships and revenue from our projects. The more resources we have, the more we can do.
Make a donation →You are a business, organisation or individual and want to be a partner to one of our projects. Or you have an amazing idea for something we can do together (a project, grant or other).
Pitch a collaboration →We sometimes have the ability to financially support other long-term projects. Check out our grants page to see if there is any opportunity open right now.
See available grants →
