Time and again the world community is shocked by events the negative consequences of which have worldwide effects, which increasingly make the world a less inviting and friendly place to live in. Today, people worry about how to survive hunger, drugs, wars, financial crises, pandemics and natural disasters. Apart from that, we have enough on our hands with day-to-day issues such as housing, making money, work, relationships, raising children, in short, with living our individual lives.
Because that is what people are, individuals. Individuals who are surrounded by other individuals, who together create a world that belongs to all of us. People make communities, societies, organisations, nations, religions. They make war or peace. All these issues exist thanks to the fact that people either share or do not share common beliefs and values. Only if we respectfully share such beliefs and values, can humanity arise.
Every living creature, whether it is an elephant, a lion, rat, dolphin, shark or human, is a unique individual. They all have their own behaviour and way of reacting to life. No single living creature sees and experiences the world in exactly the same way as another living creature does. Individuality, being unique, is the expression of creativity in people, animals, plants, in everything that lives. I think creativity is the essence of life. Every attempt to suppress creativity I see as an attempt to suppress life itself.
You may say I am a dreamer, but I believe it should be possible. I see it as a question of motivation and choice. However, history shows that apparently it is not that simple. So what is needed? Firstly, the willingness to establish the right of individuality of every human being and to actually give it a place in daily life. Secondly, empathy - being aware of and sensitive to another person's situation. Every individual should try to, and preferably be able to imagine how the other person's life is. So, our brain requires some imagination for this. Thirdly, ideally this empathic imagination goes along with a respectful social sense of altruism, meaning that we have to be there for one another.
In my view, the major challenge is to be our individual self and at the same time be connected to other living creatures. This requires empathy, altruism and mutual respect. Like the conclusion French philosophers drew from their history: liberty, equality and fraternity. However, thinking is not the same thing as doing something together. Stories may help in a process of creating a more common focus for individuals, groups and nations on what life is about. Because if not everyone is on board, this will definitively not succeed. For the La pavilion, I am now working on new children's books based on the beauty of nature and adapted for modern Western European society. These are inspiring stories to form part of the education of young people.