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A free online global dialogue on the meaning and application of holism in an age of fragmentation and transformation.
100 years ago Jan Christian Smuts published his seminal work Holism and Evolution. During the festival we will explore the scientific relevance, and spiritual dimension of holism in the 21st century. We will honour the legacy of Jan Christian Smuts and contribute to the continuing evolution of holistic understanding.
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Note: Each session builds on the previous, creating an evolving journey of insight so we'd love you to join the full experience. But if time is tight, simply choose the sessions that suit your schedule. With just one or two talks per day, it's designed to fit in with you.
See you at the
Opening Eventin
Starts 20 May at 19h00 CET
The Programme
Jump to: More about the FestivalPlease make sure you have before adding sessions to your calendar. The Zoom link will be included in the calendar.
Professor Kobus du Pisani
19h00 CESTThe Upward Path of The Universe
The Significance and Origins of Holism: Jan C. Smuts
Explore the vision of Jan Christian Smuts, the South African thinker behind Holism & Evolution (1926). Discover how his life and work shaped holistic thinking and offered hope during uncertain times and how his insights can inspire connected, compassionate solutions for today's complex world.
Jeff Blumberg
19h00 CESTTowards A Spiritual Worldview
Revisiting Smuts' Unfinished Sequel to Holism and Evolution
Jan Christian Smuts saw Holism as a path to spiritual renewal, not just a philosophy. Though he never completed his promised sequel, his writings reveal a vision of wholeness as a living, creative process, inviting us to live in harmony with the universe and rediscover a deeper, integrated understanding of life and meaning.
Marcus Link
19h00 CESTKeystones in the Patterns of Place
Cultivating a Regenerative Presence on Earth
Discover what it means to be a life-generative presence on Earth. This work explores the deep patterns shaping human consciousness and civilization and shows how we can act in ways that leave a regenerative wake, reconnecting meaning, myth, and ecosystem into a living, creative whole.
Dr Jude Currivan
10h00 CESTA Unitive Vision For Humanity
Convergence of Science and Wisdom Reveals a Universe of Wholeness, Meaning and Evolutionary Purpose
Scientific discoveries and evidence are overturning the secular paradigm of a mechanistic/materialistic Universe and converging with universal wisdom traditions. The unitive revelations at every scale of existence, and vitally that of our everyday lives, offers a (r)evolution in human awareness empowering healing and emergent potential.
David Lorimer
11h30 CESTInwardness & Agency in the Evolution of Consciousness
The Subtle Process of Universalisation and Individuation
Explore how inner life shapes the outer world. By aligning mind, heart, and will, we can integrate apparent opposites and awaken a deeper, universal Self. This journey of wholeness reveals how spirit and matter, the sacred and the everyday, are interconnected in a living, holistic reality.
A Dialogue with All Presenters
13h00 CESTBringing the insights together into lived understanding
Join us for a summatory dialogue where the speakers come together to reflect on the deeper themes of the festival.
Together we will explore how 'Holism and Evolution' continues to unfold through ideas such as the participatory universe, humanity as a keystone species, and the role of individual agency in shaping a more regenerative relationship with life.
This is an opportunity not only to listen, but to engage, reflect, and connect the insights to your own perspective and experience.
Dr Rhett Gayle
10h30 CESTHolism & Christian Mysticism
Embodying Faith: A Path Toward Human Wholeness
Discover how Christian mysticism and holistic thinking illuminate a path to human wholeness. By stepping into the meeting place of the divine and the human, we can participate in the wholeness of all life honouring individuality, nurturing dignity, and awakening a deeper, evolutionary sense of purpose.
Dr Claudius van Wyk
11h30 CESTHolism & Ethics: Choosing the Way of Alignment
Why Doing the Right Thing Dynamically Supports the Whole and the Parts
In a world of moral confusion and competing ideologies, Jan Smuts' holistic ethic reminds us that doing the right thing is generally the right thing to do. This talk explores how ethical action rooted in wholeness can align individual choices with the well-being of society, the planet, and ourselves.
More About the Festival
Jump to: The Programme
Jan Christian Smuts
1870–1950
— Jan Christian Smuts (1870–1950)
The 2026 Festival of Holism and Evolution explores how holism can guide a hopeful, regenerative future.
We celebrate the visionary legacy of Jan Christian Smuts, whose 1926 book Holism & Evolution laid the foundational groundwork for holistic thought and human understanding. His life and work continue to inspire holistic practice as a vital guide toward a new era of coherence during times of unprecedented transformation.
This first phase of the festival is followed by phase two, a series of informative, interactive, specialist presentations. It culminates in October 2026 with phase three, an in-person gathering in South Africa. Gathering in Cape Town we will follow in the footsteps of Smuts' rich and diverse life, that lead to him writing Holism and Evolution.
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Saving the Soul of Civilisation
In Holism and Evolution, Smuts warned of the fragmenting world we are experiencing today. He believed that the understanding of Holism would be essential for "saving the soul of civilisation". He warned that a purely mechanistic and material view of reality risks separating humanity from the deeper living processes of life.
In a time when our world once again feels fragmented and uncertain, this insight speaks with renewed relevance.
The festival highlights lessons from holistic practice and Smuts' thinking to inspire humanity for the next century.
What is Holos.Earth?
We are building an international network of individuals and organisations to explore how to shift thinking and practice to the holistic perspective. This transformed world-view will better address the complex challenges of the 21st century.
Living a Holistic Life
Whilst the prevailing mechanistic and materialistic worldview has brought numerous advantages, it is now recognised as having separated us from natural organic life processes. Evaluating the cost of that separation in terms of human life and planetary sustainability is an essential aspect of creating a new compass to navigate by.
Restoring Our Connection
We are committed to discovering together how to personally live a holistic life to assist with the process of building self-organising communities of practice engaged in applying the holistic perspective. These network nodes will be multidisciplinary, regionally based or distributed around specific communities of interest.
Contact Holos Earth Academy
Holos Earth Academy is convened by Dr Claudius van Wyk — Holistic Systems Practice pioneer, author and speaker. Exploring coherence, complexity and the evolution of consciousness.
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