Persistent air pollution and climate disasters in Chiang Mai and around the world, new waves of war and genocide in Gaza, a rise in chronic disease and depression—there’s a growing sense that our dominant models of governance, economy, and technology are out of sync with the Earth’s living systems. How can we imagine and create the conditions for transformative change?

This is a core question driving Cosmo-local Chiang Mai, a new initiative exploring how local wisdom and Asian philosophy can integrate with global knowledge and technological connectivity. Through gatherings, research, and embodied practise, we explore the creation of translocal networks and community towards cultivate new ways of living—rooted in localism, regeneration, and care.

On 27 June we hosted a dinner discussion on this theme featuring Dr. Naresh Singh, Director, Centre for Complexity Economics, Applied Spirituality and Public Policy, and Dr Ora-orn, founding director of the School of Public Policy at Chiang Mai University. Naresh and Ora are deep thinkers and practitioners with decades of experience working with educators, policy makers, and influential decision makers from government and business worlds in India, Thailand, and around the world. They help bridge many worlds, from old systems and emerging ones, as well as between the head and the heart. Together we explored the questions: How do we understand the root of our many crises? How can we bring wisdom into our economic and political systems?

The evening was co-hosted by Digi-cnx: network for digital commons & School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University.

Place

The discussion and dinner was held at Withilarb Chareonmuang, serving classic Northern Thai cuisine in a Lanna style Teak house house in San Pakoi, a historic neighbourhood with roots in the city’s multicultural commercial history from the 19th and 20th century.

Community

We brought together 40 people from diverse sectors: faculty from three departments at Chiang Mai University (School of Public Policy, STeP, and Media Arts), civil society groups (New Energy Nexus, IDRC, Antikythera), digital nomads, eco-villagers, regenerative designers, artists, Web3 focussed communities (4seas), healers, and independent creators. Capturing a slice of the unique mix of people that make up Chiang Mai. Most attendees identified as Chiang Mai residents—Thai and international—joined by nomads and a few curious travellers.

To help weave across identities, guests were invited to chose from a set of cosmo-local avatars— pioneer, bridge builder, local initiator, open-source developer, or digital nomad ‘everywheres’. The most popular? Both our speakers identified as Bridge Builders as did majority of attendees—perhaps a signal of the need of our times. This list is based on Michel Bauwen’s cosmo-local lists the Two Loops Systems Change framework list of system change actors: This list is a working list which we expand to evolve and expand with more input and feedback over many gatherings

For us, bringing together a diverse and multidisciplinary group of people, to gather over a formal discussion and dinner, is essential to seeding a cosmo-local movement. Gatherings like this allow us to form new bonds, push our own assumptions and understanding, and hopefully leave us feeling more connected than when we came in.

For this gathering the fee to attend was 400 THB covering dinner.

‘Wicked’ Problems

Naresh helped us understand our current challenges in the terms of ‘wicked’ problems—complex challenges with no single cause or solution. Wicked policy problems are non-linear, emergent, and unpredictable. Climate collapse, inequality, and extinction are now interacting and compounding into what scholars call the polycrisis. Like a multi-headed Hydra, solving one aspect of a problem can cause two other aspects to worsen.

In addition we are facing internal, spiritual, and psychological crisis. It reflects a fragmentation in human consciousness arising from our disconnection from self, others, and nature. The is known as the meta-crisis, the ‘yin’ to the polycrisis ‘yang’.

The distinction between ‘internal’ crises of our bodies and minds and ‘external’ crises in the world outside is itself rooted in a false dualistic understanding of our reality and understanding of self. Responding to our current crises must come from a fresh ontology.

Complexity science and Applied Spirituality

Naresh introduces Complexity theory as the best framework for addressing these wicked problems as they embrace complexity to understand our social and economic phenomena that we have today. It also integrates quantum physics as the best explanation of the reality of our physical world. Applied spirituality becomes a practise for addressing the metacrisis and our ‘inner worlds’, derived from the Mystical core of Christianity, Sufism core of Islam, Advaita core of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Applied spirituality is not religious—it is about a direct experience of life and reality.

These approaches don’t reject science—they expand it. They make space for the “inner world” and ways of knowing beyond data and modern science, and allow for emergence. Bringing wisdom into our systems starts with each one of us exploring the question of “Who am I”. A journey of connecting with one’s true nature through inner work of healing and becoming more aware of our many ego personas. From there an integration of such insights into policy can become possible.

Authentic Public Policy

Ora Introduces Authentic Public Policy as ‘Public policy that comes from the heart, that is based on the values of love, compassion, and interconnectedness’.

Ora is developing Authentic Public Policy through a set of embodied practises to help decision makers get more attuned to their emotions, to nature around them, and act from their more authentic self as they think about the problem they are trying to solve and make policy. For example, some of these practises include Forest Bathing which help decision makers in the Thai government and military feel into their connection with nature. Ora emphasizes embodied experiences—not just deliberation or data—as critical entry points into policy formation. That good policy cannot come from fragmented minds or perfomative personas. These practices help decision-makers connect to nature, self, and community, enabling more inclusive, long-term thinking.

This is where our discussion began.

Over the hour we touched on number of topics including AI and non-western ethics, existing initiatives in action at Jindal University and CMU, the lived account of bridge building between mainstream institutions, understanding the limitations of data, the value and power of stories, and more.

We invite you to watch the full conversation. You can view more videos including shorter videos on our YouTube channel.

Recommended Books

1. “Economics: The Tragic Science” by George de Martino
2. The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience by Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser and Evan Thompson
3. “The virtues of ignorance : complexity, sustainability, and the limits of knowledge”
4. Books by Naresh Singh and Ora-orn:

• “Applied Spirituality and Sustainable Development Policy“
• Upcoming book on AI ethics using global philosophies
• Upcoming book on post-SDGs transformation

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We express our gratitude to

• staff at Withilarb Chareonmuang for the great food and service and Khun Micky for inviting us into the space and flawlessly coordinating all our needs
• Folk and Chris for backend support on the day for high quality AV
• Lorilei for handing the tricky job managing payments at registration
• Michel Bauwens who could not make it on the night but has been a source of inspiration and guidance for cosmo-local Chiang Mai

Finally we thank our speakers for trusting us and everyone that showed up.

–Dev Lewis and Vivian Chen (co-stewards, cosmo-local Chiang Mai)

Speakers Profiles

Learn more about cosmo-local