Who we are
christopher chuang
Christopher Chuang is co-founder and chairman of the Aurora Borealis Foundation. Christopher started his career as a media entrepreneur in Taiwan. Since 1980 he has been setting up independent charity organizations, and opening up trade and cultural exchanges between Taiwan and South East Asian countries. Later, he helped China to open up to such exchanges. For example, in 1993, he arranged for a delegation of over 400 leaders from South East Asia, led by the Malaysian Prime Minister and including ministers as well as leading industrialists, to travel to China to sign hundreds of investment contracts. Through a not-for-profit network he built in Asia and Europe, Christopher Chuang has launched multilateral initiatives with social impact by engaging with philanthropic entrepreneurs.
He also founded Beijing International Sustainable Development Committee in 2005, which later co-established the Hanwang Forum together with the municipality of Deyang (which had been severely impacted by the 2008 earthquake). The Hanwang Forum advocates dialogue between governments and civil societies and encourages the growth of disaster-resilient communities. It is also involved in heritage conservation, food safety, healthcare, education, art & culture via pilot demonstration projects in Chengdu, China.
Christopher Chuang is active today in dialoguing with top thinkers, politicians, scientists and social entrepreneurs, in his aspiration to build an international alliance of sages and a ”think-and-do-tank" that transcends national and commercial interests.christopher.chuang@ab-foundation.org
Bo ekman
Bo Ekman is co-founder and co-chairman of the Aurora Borealis Foundation. He is also the founder and chairman emeritus of the Tällberg Foundation and was previously chairman and chief executive of the Sifo Management Group. For many years Bo Ekman was a member of the management board of AB Volvo. In 1981, he founded the Tällberg Foundation to be an independent meeting place for leaders and thinkers from many walks of life and from many countries. The Tällberg Foundation worked from its beginning as a truly independent venue, representing no specific national, business or other interest. The Tällberg Foundation pioneered systems thinking as a tool to understand the rapidly emerging global interdependences. As of 2005, the Tällberg Foundation organized the Tällberg Forum, a yearly gathering of some 500 participants from all over the world, which broke new ground in both content and form among global gatherings (not least by integrating music, poetry and the arts as well as nature).
Bo Ekman was instrumental in conceptualizing many international initiatives, such as the European Roundtable of Industrialists and the Global Compact. For many years, Bo Ekman also chaired the largest Swedish music festival and has throughout his career integrated music and arts into his various activities.
Bo Ekman is active today as advisor to boards of directors and top managers in the fields of business environment analysis, strategic development, innovation and change management, in Sweden and internationally. He lectures and writes frequently on management and change, and participates in the public debate on business, social and cultural developments. He is based in Tällberg, Sweden.
bo.ekman@ab-foundation.org
Board of directors
Christopher Chuang, co-chair
Bo Ekman, co-chair
Simon Jones
Anders Wijkman
Göran Carstedt
Hans-Olov Olsson
Alexander Crawford
Marcello Palazzi
基金会创始人
克里斯托弗·庄
北极光基金会联合创始人、联合主席。克里斯多夫早年在媒体界白手起家。自上世纪80年代起，他创办了多个独立慈善机构，打开了中国台湾和东南亚各国的文化商贸交流渠道。之后，他又帮助中国大陆推动相关领域的交往。例如，1993年，他组织了一个400人的东南亚访华代表团，由马来西亚总理带领，团员皆为部长和知名企业家，成功签署了数百个投资合同。克里斯托弗·庄在之后的十多年间致力于建立亚欧之间的非盈利事业网络，并号召慈善企业家落地了数个具有社会影响力的多边倡议。
他在2005年创立了北京国际交流协会可持续发展专业委员会，并在2012年与德阳市政府共同创办了汉旺论坛。汉旺论坛提倡政府和民间团体积极对话，以推动建设有灾害抵御能力的创新社区；同时透过在中国成都开展的示范型项目展示文化遗产保护，食品安全，医疗保健，教育及文化艺术。
克里斯托弗·庄至今仍积极投身于与高端思想家、政治家、科学家和企业家不断进行深层对话，以期建立一个超越国家与商业利益的“智者联盟”和“知行合一智库”的理想。
博·艾克曼
北极光基金会联合创始人、联合主席。瑞典塔尔伯格基金会创始人、荣誉董事长；SIFO管理集团董事长及首席执行官。曾担任沃尔沃集团公司的管理委员会委员多年。他于1981年创立的塔尔伯格基金会成为来自不同国家、拥有不同生活背景的领导人和思想家举行独立会议的场所。基金会自创始以来一直保持独立立场，从不特别代表任何国家、商业团体和其他利益。基金会提倡将系统思维作为一种工具，用以了解加速中的全球互赖性。2005年开始，基金会举办年度大型塔尔伯格论坛，聚集了来自世界各地的500余人，打破了国际会议惯用的内容和模式。（尤其是将音乐、诗歌、艺术以及大自然融合在一起）
博·艾克曼先生曾经承办和构架了许多国际活动，例如欧洲工业国家圆桌会议和全球契约。多年来他作为瑞典最大的音乐节的主持者，将音乐和艺术融合到各种不同的活动中。
在瑞典及全球许多地区，博·艾克曼先生至今仍作为顾问董事及高层管理人员活跃在商业环境分析、战略发展、创新与变革管理领域。他经常以管理和变革为主题发表讲座与文章，并且参与有关商业、社会和文化发展的公开讨论。
董事会成员
克里斯托弗·庄，联合主席
博·艾克曼，联合主席西蒙·琼斯
安德斯·维克曼
约兰·卡斯特德
汉斯-奥洛夫·奥尔森
亚历山大·克劳福德
马塞洛·帕拉齐Activities
since 2016, a number of gatherings have been convened in different parts of the world. and the journey continues.
Beijing, China, 18-20 October 2024
The International Symposium on Sustainable Development gathered 200 leaders, scientists and entrepreneurs in Beijing, October 18-20, 2024, in a cooperation between Aurora Borealis Foundation and the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences. Participants explored pathways toward harmony between humans and nature through new energy solutions, ecological communities, ocean conservation and artificial intelligence. Emphasizing cross-sector collaboration, participants unanimously committed to launching a World Sustainable Development Forum, creating an ongoing global dialogue platform for collaborative action toward inclusive, peaceful and sustainable prosperity.
Chengdu & Beijing, China, 2-6 October 2023
The Hanwang Forum, held October 2023 in Chengdu and Beijing, brought together approximately 100 entrepreneurs, academics, artists, officials and NGO leaders to discuss sustainability, community and togetherness. This gathering marked the first in-person meeting after the Covid lockdowns for the Sage program community that had emerged online during the pandemic. Originally founded in 2012 to address reconstruction after the Sichuan earthquake, the forum has expanded its scope. Discussions covered rural development, sustainable innovation, classical philosophy, planetary boundaries and holistic systems thinking. The event demonstrated China's active engagement with sustainability challenges through diverse perspectives and collaborative dialogue.
Kisumu, Kenya 4-7 December 2019
The first gathering outside Europe and China took place in East Africa, in the Kenyan city of Kisumu, in the heart of the Lake Region of Western Kenya. Its theme was simply "New Beginnings". About 50 participants from a number of African countries, as well as from China and Europe, spent four days together in conversations, reflections, visits, music and rhythms. The gathering was co-organized by Aurora Borealis Foundation, Green Teams Initiative (Kenya), PILC (China) and Tongtao Institute (China).
Tällberg, Sweden, 17-20 July 2019
Thirty companions from Sweden, China, the UK, Spain, Kenya, France, the US and Indonesia gathered on the shores of Lake Siljan on 17-20 July 2019, to share and reflect on our troubled world and our troubled ‘selves’. As always, music and nature were important voices. The overarching theme of the gathering was “No Turning Back”. This could have led to a conversation of darkness and despair about the many shocks and shifts that are taking place with deep and sometimes tragic consequences, but conversations steered towards shared stories about the ideas, actions and initiatives that the participants are driving.
Tällberg, Sweden 4-7 December 2018
A core team from Aurora Borealis Foundation and friends gathered in Tällberg, Sweden, to take stock of past activities and talk about what the Aurora Borealis Foundation should have as its focus for 2019 and beyond. Conversations took place in the warmth and beauty of the Martinagården farmhouse, and a small concert took place in the Church of Leksand, with Sofia Sandén and Anna Railhe.
Xiamen, China, 13-15 October 2018
Xiamen University was host to the "4th China Graduates Innovation and Entrepreneurship ”Internet+” Award” and the finalists in the competition, to which 655.000 projects and 2.6 million budding entrepreneurs and innovators had applied. The Aurora Borealis Foundation had co-organized the International Track of the competition (with graduates projects from 45 countries), and hosted the first "Common Action Summit" and the third "Tian Gang Forum".
Extremadura, Spain, 28-30 September 2018
In the extraordinary setting of El Anillo, a futuristic ring-shaped building in the heart of the Extremadura region of Westernmost Spain, a dozen people from 6 countries spent three days together. They let their perspectives, skills and knowledge flow, they shared feelings, they talked about love, life and light. They found that problems can be solved if we care enough to do so. Caring means healing and healing happens when we see ourselves in the other. (The gathering was co-organized with the Van Der Linde Foundation).
Chengdu, China, 5-8 May 2018
Several hundreds of people gathered in Chengdu in early May 2018 for several concurrent events. The second ”Tian Gang Forum” gathered about 50 investors and entrepreneurs for a conversation on hope. Then, over 200 participants met for a conference themed ”On the Threshold of the Next Evolution”, with presentations and workshops on youth innovation, rural community development and the promises of blockchain. This gathering also saw the launch of the PILC (Promotion Association of Global Youth Innovation Leaders Community). And an unforgettable musical evening at the unique archaeological site of Sanxingdui gathered a dozen musicians from all over the world.
Beijing, China, 13 January 2018
At the iCenter of Tsinghua University, about 40 technologists, entrepreneurs and investors gathered for the first ”Tian Gang Forum”, a dialogue-centred meeting format developed by the Aurora Borealis Foundation, to discuss our hopes and fears for the future, the wider purpose of technology and the solutions it may provide.
Uppsala, Sweden, 12-14 November 2017
The third gathering of the Aurora Borealis Foundation took place in Uppsala, Sweden in November 2017. The theme for the conversations was ”Evolution: Past, Present, Future”, and about 35 participants from 12 countries shared perspectives and thoughts. The gathering began with an evening of music and conversation in the Uppsala Cathedral, under the theme ”What would Albert Schweitzer have said today?”
Tällberg, Sweden 30 May-3 June 2017
The second gathering of the Aurora Borealis Foundation took place in Tällberg, Sweden, in May-June 2017. About 40 participants from a dozen countries gathered for conversations and reflections on the theme of "What do we mean by Humanity? What it is?". Inputs of many kinds, inspired by music, literature, cinema, art, history and nature helped the group think about today's and tomorrow's world. The gathering also included an evening of music in the nearby Church of Leksand, with 100 performers showcasing the universality of music.
Longyearbyen, Svalbard 11-14 May 2016
Participants from around the world gathered in May 2016 on Svalbard for the first meeting of the Aurora Borealis Foundation to discuss and reflect on some of the most difficult questions our planet faces today - how can we address a world beset by systemic crises; why should we not trust existing systems and institutions; what steps might we take as an interdependent human community? The program for the gathering on Svalbard was filled with both intellectual and cultural inputs of the highest standards. Svalbard was chosen as the venue as there is no indigenous culture in this northernmost settlement of the planet, and that it formed a perfect backdrop for this high-impact gathering built on a spectacular meeting of minds and nature.
