Summer news: The Future of integral Studies: news & next events


Dear all,

we hope you are enjoying the summer despite extreme conditions in several areas of Europe. As to our home-base Freiburg, the temperature was over 40° Celsius for several days, with severe impacts for many people.

We therefore chose to put the topic of the heatwave in the center of our monthly dialog process with citizens. As it were, all of them were grateful for the opportunity to share their experiences - and a majority of them felt severely hit in their daily lives, including thoughts around emigrating to cooler regions... Read more about this dialog event here (in German).

In this Summer Newsletter, we share information about the following topics - overview:

 

Remaining seats for our Leadership Development Program for women in the not-for-profit sectors
 

ACE auf Terrasse


The ACE Leadership Excellerator: Your Path to Empowered Leadership!

For the on-site of the program we will meet again close to Freiburg in the beautiful setting Haus Maria Lindenberg offers: above the amazing ladies from the first round and the view from the terrace. The 5 days on site are complemented by online workshops and individual coaching sessions to tackle the specific leadership challenge each of the experienced women leaders bring.

Now is the time to apply if you - or a woman you know - wish join us from October 10 (afternoon) to October 14 (lunchtime), 2026 for the inspiring in-person event just outside Freiburg in the beautiful Black Forest region. ACE is an advanced leadership program specifically for women working in academia, public services, associations and NGOs.

This is your chance to dive into empowered leadership with the ACE Leadership Excellerator. Whether you’re looking to boost your skills or connect with like-minded leaders, this event is designed to help you take your leadership journey to the next level.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to grow and get inspired in a relaxed, welcoming setting! 

Apply here 

For further questions reach out to Angelika Pohnitzer at angelika.pohnitzer@ifis-freiburg.de

Invitation to our next Body-Mindedness Practice Seminar (15 sept, 22 sept & 6 oct 2026 ) and Q&A session (8-9-2026)

Join us on Tuesday 8 sept 2026 for a Q&A convening space. 

Register for the Q&A session 

Register for the 3- part Body-Mindedness Practice Seminar
 

Why Body-Mindedness matters now

We live in times of fragmentation, distraction, and accelerating complexity. Most of us carry more information than we can act on — yet in the moments that matter most, we struggle to access our own clarity, creativity, and agency. We know what we could do. We just can't always do it.
 

Bodymindedness


Body-Mindedness is a practice-based approach to personal coherence. It starts from a deceptively simple insight: your body is not just a vehicle for your mind — it is a sophisticated and interdependent guidance system. When we learn to work with it consciously, it becomes one of our most reliable tools for navigating complexity, making grounded decisions, and sustaining our energy and attention over time. 

Developed by Michael Keller and Dr. Bettina Geiken as part of the IFIS Academy, and first tested within the EU-funded Cohere+ project, Body-Mindedness has already demonstrated its value as a foundational practice for individuals navigating professional and personal change. Body-Mindedness helps you upgrade an outdated operating system — from the inside out.

Find out more on our dedicated website that describes what Body-Mindedness is and what it is not, the structure of the seminar, practical information, FAQ etc.

If you are looking for some inspiring "summer readings", you might also enjoy reading some blog posts based on previous Body-Mindedness practice seminars and about different "schools" of embodied learning

and/or listen to the conversational video between Michael Keller and Bettina Geiken, the co-authors of this course (click on "Preview" on the upper right of the Canva Screen for full screen view)

For further questions reach out to Bettina Geiken at bettina.geiken@ifis-freiburg.de

Invitation to our Special Anniversary Colloquium "The Future of Integral Studies", November 10, 2026 

In November, it has been 10 years that we are hosting our monthly Online Colloquium, inviting a broad range of perspectives from and on various aspects and dimensions of integral studies. 

To celebrate this anniversary, we are preparing a special summit experience with invited speakers from the universe of integral metastudies and practice. On this occasion, we will discuss questions like the following:

  • How has the need for Integral Studies changed? 
  • What specific needs do we see with regard to Integral Studies? Why?
  • What does Integral Studies look like today? And what might Integral Studies look like tomorrow?

Confirmed speakers include: 

Dr. Jonathan Reams, Dr. Hilary Bradbury, Dr. Mark Ewards and Anne Caspari.

Anniversary Speakers

 

More information

Register here

Inner and outer journeys at the first Integral Politics International Summer Retreat  
 

  • IPI Gruppenfoto


    From July 16-19, 2026, Integral Politics International held its first informal Summer Retreat for members & friends in Tomas Björkman's beautiful mountain chalet near Gryon (Switzerland). A total of 12 participants from Switzerland, Germany, France, the UK, Spain, India and South Africa made up for a lively and inspiring mix of backgrounds, ideas and cooking habits.

    The group Integral Politics International had formed in May 2025 during the last Integral Europe Conference in Siófok (Hungary), with the aim to support the vision of deepening our democracies based on integral consciousness across Europe. The group had convened online on a monthly basis ever since. The retreat was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, to expand our network and to exchange ideas and practices for taking European politics into a new paradigm operating system and culture. 

    Read more here

     

IFIS meets Integral Scholars - deepening connections and cooperation  

Jeremy Wakeford


The chairperson of the International Consortium of Integral Scholars, Dr. Jeremy Wakeford, recently joined IFIS. Here's what he says:

"I am delighted to have joined IFIS as a full member and am excited to embark on a collaborative journey of co-creating policy-relevant research and action-oriented thought leadership. Through this collaboration we are also strengthening the connections between IFIS and the International Consortium of Integral Scholars, including coordinating our online and in-person events and widening the pool of researchers implementing integral perspectives and methodologies."

We are happy to have Jeremy on board and are equally thrilled about the new perspectives and opportunities following from this!

 

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For all other events see our event calendar (click "de" for German)

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With best wishes for the summer months,
The IFIS Board 

 

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