Join our Scandinavian safari, where we'll explore the future of cities in a time of dramatic economic, social and environmental change.
This Impact Safari is designed to uncover how Nordic cities are confronting the defining challenges of our time: climate change, social equity, and sustainable urban growth. Rooted in the Scandinavian tradition of bildung - the lifelong journey of personal and civic development - this program goes beyond observation to cultivate deeper understanding of how we might collectively shape more resilient urban futures.
Across Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, we'll engage with neighborhoods, infrastructure projects, and policy initiatives through the lens of systems thinking. Rather than viewing cities as collections of isolated problems, we'll explore the complex interdependencies between ecological systems, social structures, built environments and governance models. This approach helps us understand how interventions ripple through urban systems and how resilience emerges from the relationships between elements rather than the elements themselves.
Our journey includes engagement with the Stockholm Resilience Centre, a world-leading research institution advancing our understanding of social-ecological systems and planetary boundaries. Their frameworks for resilience thinking - emphasising adaptive capacity, transformation, and the interconnection between human and natural systems - will inform how we interpret what we see throughout the tour.
From Copenhagen's climate adaptation strategies to Stockholm's integration of green infrastructure and social housing, to Oslo's experiments in car-free urbanism, we'll critically examine both successes and limitations. Through site visits, conversations with practitioners, and guided discussions, participants will develop not just knowledge but the analytical tools and collaborative mindset needed to advance urban resilience in their own contexts.
This is an invitation to bildung in action: transforming how we see, understand, and ultimately shape the cities we call home.
We are living through what has become known as the "metacrisis". The Consilience Project writes “our civilization has never been more vast, complicated, and fragile. This systemic fragility is exacerbated by new technologies, geopolitical instability, an ecological crisis and a reliance on global economic supply chains. These interlocking, interrelated problems are known collectively as the metacrisis.” The meta-crisis creates a backdrop for all of our work and will frame our time together in Scandinavia.
Impact Safari Scandinavia is for anyone interested in creating shifts in personal, organisational or cultural identities. Our Safaris cover ideas and frameworks across systems-thinking, regenerative economies, empathic leadership, connection to self and wild places.
Impact Safaris are designed for individuals who are actively mobilising their communities or organisations toward a thriving planet. This includes but is not limited to:
The programs are by application only, ensuring a diverse yet aligned cohort. Each journey is designed to challenge participants to rethink their roles in the world and deepen their capacity for leadership in service of a just and regenerative future.
Dive into pragmatic and systemic approaches on the path to the Next Economy, learning from pioneering thinkers and practitioners in cities leading the way. Embrace once-in-a-lifetime connections and conversations with local leaders in politics, advocacy, education, built environment, finance, systems thinking, storytelling, innovation and the arts. This Impact Safari is built for those who are seeking to activate and deepen their influence in service to our shared hopeful future.
Our Impact Safari programs are designed as a cross between a study tour and a leadership experience; you can expect to be engaged through your head, heart and hands. We believe our inner world deeply affects our ability to lead well towards the next economy. As a result, our Impact Safaris create expansive containers for us to not only learn from the places we visit, but also to dive deep into what this means for our inner work and the way we would like to lead.
Welcome to Copenhagen. This afternoon we walk to Liza Chong's, community centred living quarters, for our opening workshop. Continue to Kanalhuset, on the historic island of Christianshavn, with its many listed buildings and cobbled streets, Kanalhuset is located along Christianshavn's Canal. With a view of the canal and the tall masts, we will share Community Dinner, a local connection initiative to break bread together. Sit fireside for an evening talk with Rune Rasmussen, professor of Nordic Animism, sharing the folklore of the Scandinavian region, setting cultural context for our journey.
After breakfast at the hotel, we begin with an orienteering Design walk through Copenhagen. Spend time in the Industrial area sharing luch, visiting Copenhill before meeting for an exclusive tour of the Noma Gardens surrounding the iconic resturant, designed by Piet Oudolf. Before making our way to BloxHub, the Nordic Hub for sustainable urbanization for workshops experts in the field. Put on your Sunday best as we make our way to The Australian Ambassador to Denmark, Dave Vosen's residence. Freshen up before a phone-free dinner at our local friend, impact activist & artist, Silja Andersen's home - enter this gallery-like abode, exploring connection, relationship & responsibilities. Enjoy a night cap at a local bar or get an early night.
Today we head an hour north of Copenhagen to Humlebaek, where we will meet a host of leading regenerative thinkers and practitioners. Following a short forest walk we arrive at Krogerup, a regenerative community farm bordering Krogerup Folk Highschool. Hear from Thomas Hogenhaven (Planetary Impact) and from the pioneer of the Danish ‘Green Student Movement’ Sarah Hellebek. Before a tour of the Folk Highschool, from Principal and Danish Wellbeing Officer, Rasmus Meyer. Hang out with Lea Korsgaard, Founder of human-centric media giant Zetland, talking all things journalism as a force for good. Walk through fields to Louisiana Museum of Modern Art where we will spend the afternoon reflecting on our journey so far. As we make our way back into the city, prepare for dinner with Home.Earth founder, Rasmus Norgaard.
Today we travel to Stockholm before landing in a Warm Data Lab workshop with the Bateson Institute. Welcome to Stockholm, the entrepreneurial heartbeat of Scandinavia. Walk the old town of Gamla stan, share princess cake and coffee before heading to former-jail Haktet for dinner with a special local guest.
We begin our second day in Stockholm with a workshop at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, diving into the nature of Planetary Boundaries and how they affect the future of cities. Over lunch you’ll meet a very special guest for a conversation about Nordic leadership. We’ll then spend time reflecting at the iconic contemporary art and photography museum, Fotografiska, before crossing town to visit the most visited museum in Scandinavia, the Vasa museum. We’ll end the day with another intimate dinner with very special guests.
Today we explore the balance between inner work and systemic action. In the morning we’ll dive into the Inner Development Goals, exploring the ideas and concepts through the lens of Scandinavian culture and leadership. In the afternoon we’ll shift the focus to systemic action, with a series of site visits and practical experiences.
Our cities are complex ecosystems. Complexity recognises an ever-changing set of conditions, dynamic flows and intangible relationships that shape connections between parts of our systems. Emergence describes the messy reality of how our systems change in often unplanned, novel and non-linear ways. Today we dive deep into this topic with pioneering filmmaker and systems thinker Nora Bateson. Nora asks, “How we can improve our perception of the complexity we live within, so we may improve our interaction with the world?” After our morning workshop we head out from the city, boarding speed boats for a dash across the Archipelago to a farm-to-table meal, private sauna and overnight experience in nature.Today we explore the balance between inner work and systemic action. In the morning we’ll dive into the Inner Development Goals with founder Tomas Bjorkman, exploring the ideas and concepts through the lens of Scandinavian culture and leadership. In the afternoon we’ll shift the focus to systemic action, with a series of site visits and practical experiences.
Today we travel across the magnificent countryside by bus and train, arriving in Oslo in the early afternoon. The train ride provides the ideal context for reflection and integration. Arriving in Oslo we’ll go for a guided walk around the harbour and a visit to the famous Munch museum. Enjoy dinner with our friends from the leading impact foundation, Katapult.
Today we’ll explore the Nobel Peace Centre in the heart of Oslo and spend time with their team. In an era defined by major conflict and the rising spectre of the climate emergency, what can the great peacemakers through time teach us? As we shift our gaze towards the future, we explore the power and limitations of capital and enterprise with special guests. We meet local entrepreneurs at The Conduit in the heart of town.
We begin our last day togetherin closing circle in the halls of the public library. Followed by a community built and owned sauna village visit and lunch. Explore the Munch Museum and infamous Opera house. Before saying our goodbyes.
Kaj (pronounced Kai) is the CEO of Regen Melbourne, an engine for ambitious collaboration, in service of Melbourne. Powered by an alliance of more than 200 organisations, Regen Melbourne is the host of bold projects that are moving Melbourne towards a regenerative future.
Kaj is also the Director of Action Labs at Small Giants Academy where he leads the creation of new initiatives and collaborates on the Academy’s education and storytelling programs.
Connecting people and planet is my deep passion. I am a sustainability and resilience transformations leader with over 25 years experience in Australia, Sweden and globally. I enable system change as a CEO, advisor, academic, senior public servant and now NFP leader. In the Victorian public sector, I led long term integrated land use-transport and water planning to guide multi-billion dollars of infrastructure investment and was CEO of the Environment Protection Authority through the design and implementation of world leading preventative duty-based environmental legislation. Between 2006-2013 I was based in Luleå, Sweden, on the Arctic Circle and experienced first hand many wondrous outdoor adventures across Scandinavia. Based at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, I consulted to governments across Europe, and co-led projects with the UN Habitat program (first global assessment of effects of urbanisation on biodiversity and ecosystem services), Arctic Council (first Resilience Assessment), African Centre for Cities, Rockefeller Foundation (global fellows program on resilience and social innovation) and completed a PhD on urban resilience. I am an internationally recognised expert on sustainability, resilience, strategic planning and community engagement. My approach to leading people to sustain high performance has been significantly influenced by my experience playing ice hockey for the Australian Women’s Ice Hockey team, including two world championships.
Anna is Head of Impact Safari at Small Giants Academy. She thrives on creating transformational impact experiences for our community by collaborating deeply with local knowledge. She is passionate about creating nurturing spaces for humans to be human and explore storied places across the globe through a local lens. As a trained death doula, Anna approaches her work and life with deep reverence to rites of passage and the cyclical way of being.
Away from her work with Small Giants Academy, Anna spends time plotting her own off-grid small home, dancing and road tripping the Australian coastlines with friends, collecting inspiration to imbue her work with.
Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen is an historian of religion, Ph.d., educated from the Universities of Uppsala and Copenhagen.
Rune has lived in many countries and done fieldwork in a number of contemporary (primarily Afro-descendant) religions, but since childhood he has had Nordic religion as a strong field of interest.
Today Rune is working on applying contemporary developments in anthropology to rethink the way we address Nordic religion both in terms of scholarship, but also as a reservoir of cultural knowledge for environmental activism and sustainability sensitization.
Silja Nyboe Andersen is an avid connector with an inner activist seeking to enhance our sensitivity to vitality. Silja has more than ten years experience in the impact investing space and has worked tirelessly as an investment activist in several capacities within the financial sector and family offices. She works as a coach and curator of events designed to empower individuals to use their resources as a lever for positive change and empowerment.
Ms Ayyalaraju is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Australia’s first Pop Up Ambassador to Estonia. She has served overseas as Deputy Head of Mission in the United Arab Emirates and previously in Vietnam and Lebanon. Ms Ayyalaraju holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University.
Founder of Home.Earth, developing affordable, inclusive and sustainable homes and spaces in the largest cities in Europe. Co-founder and board member of NREP, the largest real estate fund manager in the Nordic countries, where he served as CIO for 13 years. Background from McKinsey and Nordea. "I firmly believe that for all us to thrive in the urban landscape we need diverse and inclusive neighborhoods. I wish for Home.Earth to demonstrate a sustainable path towards this goal."
Sarah is board member of Andelsgaarde, working to engage young people in the sustainable transformation of the agricultural sector – both practically and politically. Sarah is teaching the course Earth is Calling at Krogerup Højskole focusing on climate activism, sustainable farming, and nature relations. Recently becoming Vice Princople of the alternative education folk school.
Lea Korsgaard is Editor In Chief at Zetland. Zetland is a Danish journalistic startup that was established in 2012 by some experienced journalists from the traditional Danish news media companies to give their version of what the future news media could look like. Zetland is a membership based brand. It was relaunched in 2016 as Denmark’s slowest news media that cuts through the news noise with few, in depth stories about the most important events. As they say: All you need to know. No more than you can make. She has previously worked for major Danish newspapers like Politiken and Berlingske.
This is an all-inclusive cost for the duration of the program, including accomodation, in-country travel, food & drink with meals, intimate workshops with global leaders, and an immersive leadership program delivered by the faculty at Small Giants Academy. This cost is exclusive of return flights from your origin to Scandinavia.
Smart move. To secure your place or ask any questions, please email Impact Safari Producer, Anna here:
Small Giants is located on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
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