Saskia Bruysten’s Post

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Dream Job Alert ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Are you #morallyAmbitious? The School for Moral Ambition is coming to my home country Germany!!! We are looking for a Community Manager in Berlin! 👉 Please share outstanding candidates in comments or reach out directly to Julia van Boven This November, Rutger Bregman's new book #MoralAmbition will be published in German as "Moralische Ambition - Wie man aufhört, sein Talent zu vergeuden und etwas schafft, das wirklich zählt" (Finally I'll be able to re-read it in plain German rather than trying to understand in my broken Dutch 😳) Moral Ambition is all about the intention to make the world a wildly better place. The School for Moral Ambition connects ambitious talents with the biggest problems of our time! As community manager you'll help prepare for the launch, build our movement, and initiate Moral Ambition Circles. Excited? 👉 Apply here: https://lnkd.in/epKh3TTZ

🌟 🌟 🌟 Boy were we young! 🌟 🌟 🌟 This is a picture from Tunisia from over 10 years ago when Muhammad Yunus, Sylvain Franc de Ferrière and I were invited by the then president of the African Development Bank Group to bring the idea of #SocialBusiness to Tunisia! Today, I had the pleasure to join the celebrations of the 10 year anniversary of what we started there. Impact Partner (formerly known as Yunus Social Business Tunisia and then later spun off by local entrepreneurs Fares Mabrouk and Leila Charfi) became the very first #impactInvesting fund in Tunisia. They have financed and supported over 150 impact entrepreneurs creating thousands of jobs and have really built the sector locally. Really proud to see what the whole team now lead by the dynamic Zeineb F. has achieved! To the next 10 years!!!

💚 Woww! Leonore Gewessler, Austria's environment minister is the #Hero of the moment! In her own words: "When the healthy and happy life of future generations is at stake, courageous decisions are needed." And a courageous decision she took: Leonore Gewessler single handedly tipped the balance in favour of passing the EU Nature Restoration law. She did this against the will of her own government, at risk of blowing up the governing coalition in Austria and will likely be sued by the Austrian government. I'd call that courageous! What will the EU Nature Restoration law do? 🌍 --> 20% of the land and sea of Europe will be restored by 2030! But as so often, she was not the only #hero in this story. Our HERO mobilizers— Adélaïde Charlier, Lucie Morauw, Chloé Mikolajczak, Laurie Pazienza—from the EU Viable World for All Circle played a crucial role in this victory. Through their relentless citizen mobilization, they harnessed support from over 1 million EU citizens, which was crucial to keep the law alive in parliament. This demonstrates the essential role mobilizers play in advancing climate policies that benefit the many. Thanks to the HERO Community for contributing to this win by financially backing the important work of mobilizers! This victory is not just a win for nature, but an example of the impact we can achieve as citizens! This is a great time to subscribe to the EU Viable World Circle and support their work! Let's keep the momentum going! Subscribe here https://lnkd.in/e5fd9Z8G 🌍

The countdown is on for the Impact Europe's Business of Impact event in The Hague on June 12- 13 next week! (For those who still don't know: this used to be EVPA🙂) It's time for meeting peers and updating each other on the newest trends in #impactInvesting! Are you joining? DM me for a coffee! Some highlights that I'm looking forward to:  👉 the panel on governance models for meaningful impact incl. Willemijn Verloop from Rubio Impact Ventures- sounds nerdy but wait until she sweetens it with an awesome story of Tony's Chocolonely 👉 the panel on #JustTransition with Carolien de Bruin from WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development on how we need to combine environmental and social impact 👉 the panel led by Jo Bautista from Yunus Social Business on investing in a consortium combining different types of expertises Also check out 2 recent pieces of work by Impact Europe that as a non-exec board member (i.e. I didn't do the work 😊 ) I'm particularly proud of:  👌 New Impact Manifesto Launched. Ahead of the European election coming up this weekend, It calls on MEPs, political parties and EU decision makers to put impact at the centre of their decisions and lays out a set of concrete policy recommendations to implement. (link in comments) 👌 Impact Europe partnered with the Financial Times to create a special on Impact investing which includes lots of inspiring examples from around the world. Check it out! Leslie Johnston, M.Sc. Roberta Bosurgi Dragan Stojanovski

Have I ever mentioned how much I love #dancing? 💃❤️ My friends know, without any shame, I'm the first on the dance floor! I guess I inherited that passion (while certainly not the talent 😊) from my Mum who was a professional ballett dancer. During Covid, I stumbled across a funny crowd of people who were doing exercises with glowing head phones on, in a park close to where I live in Amsterdam. It looked like so much fun. Those were the beginnings of Sanctum, a global mindful movement community founded by two awesome entrepreneurs Luuk Melisse and Gabriel Olszewski. Fast forward to last year, I joined Sanctum as investor and advisor alongside Anna Bjurstam (a serial wellness entrepreneur), to make my passion for dancing also a bit of my profession. Sanctum is much more than dancing: think #dance meet #HIT meets #martial arts meets #kundalini yoga meets #breathwork meets #movement meditation meets group experience. And all of this usually takes place in beautiful locations like churches or in nature. It helps exhaust our bodies to calm our mind which for all of us these days is constantly full of work and todo lists. It's truly transformative! I'm sure many of you now want to get involved yourselves: 👉All the lucky ones living in Amsterdam or London: there are 5 Sanctum experiences per week that you can join. (link in comments) 👉I also booked it previously with my company as team building exercise. works wonders! 👉And those who want even more: We have the very special Sanctum Frequency Festival coming up for the first time in London on Sunday June 9th in the Koko club in London as well as on Sept 21 in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam. Lets dance together!

Are you morally ambitious?! Well, what does that even mean? It's a new term coined by The New York Times best selling author Rutger Bregman (Utopia for Realists and Humankind) in his new book #MoralAmbition. (btw: Kudos to you Rutger for writing such a fascinating book that despite it being my first ever Dutch book, I devoured it in a week!) Moral Ambition is the will to make the world a WILDLY BETTER PLACE. Many of us insecure overachievers are ambitious (and the (former) management consultants and bankers among us know exactly what I mean 😊) - striving for the old measures of success, like money, status, etc. How can we channel that energy, but to solve the most pressing challenges of our time? That is what The School for Moral Ambition does: It guides ambitious individuals to become morally ambitious: ambitious to contribute positively to the world. 🙌 How to get started? 🙌 ➡️ Check out: https://moralambition.eu ➡️ Read the book (out in Dutch now; coming end 2024 in German and spring 2025 in English 👉 stay tuned! ➡️ Join a Moral Ambition Circle: https://lnkd.in/eDZSd4jj (in Dutch) ➡️ Apply for the Moral Ambition Fellowship (application closed for this year but stay tuned for 2025) Last month, I joined the board of The School for Moral Ambition recently founded by Rutger Bregman and his awesome co-founders Jan-Willem van Putten, Harald Dunnink and Julia van Boven. Excited to be working alongside the team and my fellow non-exec board members Edmond H. (chair), Heleen Dura - van Oord and Salmaan Sana to help grow the School in Europe, the US and beyond! Over the last decade+ I've been blessed to be surrounded by people that in my eyes clearly meet the definition. Many of my colleagues at Yunus Social Business and many of the entrepreneurs that we financed quit their fancy jobs in banking, consultancy & law firms to dedicate their lives to solving big societal issues. The School for Moral Ambition will hopefully be the inspiration for many more to make that jump. Are you already morally ambitious?! How? What steps are you taking to embrace moral ambition in your life?

🌍 It’s Official: Government Inaction on Climate Change Violates Human Rights. Just a few weeks ago, a historic verdict by the European Court of Human Rights declared that the Swiss government's lack of action in response to heatwaves posed a risk to life. This is landmark decision that over 2000 Swiss woman between 60-90 years old fought for for years! In our fight against climate change, the power of #mobilizers cannot be underestimated. Their pivotal role drives systemic transformation in climate policy. Since joining HERO as a Founding Partner nearly two years ago, I've been deeply inspired by these mainly women (though there are also outstanding male activists!) who tirelessly invest their time and energy to advocate for OUR planet without any financial compensation for themselves. Some star climate mobilisers that are on the HERO platform have already achieved massive success in making climate policy more ambitious: 👉 Adélaïde Charlier has helped raise the carbon reduction target under the European Green Deal from 40% to 55% by 2030. 👉 Melati Wijsen achieved a monumental victory by getting plastic bags banned in Bali, Indonesia. Meanwhile, 👉 Elizabeth Wathuti , O.G.W efforts have led over 100,000 people to support the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund which finances the most affected in the global south. I was able to personally witness that official launch at #COP28 in Dubai last year At HERO, you can support these inspiring figures as well as the next generation of less-known but promising mobilizers who are poised to be tomorrow's leaders in climate advocacy. Join us in celebrating and driving the next big climate victories! Who are your favourite mobilisers?

How do I fully use my time, skills and resources in a way that is truly impactful for the world and fulfilling for oneself? I believe, an important question for anyone to ask. What is your answer? My current hypothesis is to move towards what I call a #PortfolioCareer. And I’m loving it. ❤️ What is that? It is all about focussing my attention on many things, rather than on one thing only. So to have a portfolio of different activities. Over time I might hone in on something, but for now I’m excited about this differentiated approach. It allows me to learn a lot about many new topics and at the same time contribute to many different things. Let me share some highlights: 1️⃣ Starting with the most recent one: I joined the board of The School for Moral Ambition started by best selling author Rutger Bregman, Harald Dunnink, Jan-Willem van Putten and Julia van Boven 👉 sounds exciting?! Check them out to discover your own moral ambition! 2️⃣ I’m about to enter my 5th year on the board of Impact Europe to help grow the impact investing ecosystem - and boy has it grown! led by the dynamic CEO Roberta Bosurgi and Chair Leslie Johnston, M.Sc. 👉The Business of Impact Conference is coming up June 12-13 in The Hague!!! Sign up! 3️⃣ I joined family owned private equity fund Cobepa based in Brussels, Munich & NYC 3 years ago as non-executive board director. With €4,5 billion AuM this is clearly my most commercial role. I decided for this to learn from great investors and am proud to say that our #ESG strategy is now in full swing. 4️⃣ I’m obviously also still on the shareholder board of Yunus Social Business and proud to see the ambitious plans for 2024 & beyond and how our new leadership teams are thriving. 5️⃣ Last year I became a founding partner in HERO a climate tech startup which helps #climate #mobilizers have an income for the most important job of our time: advocating for the climate. With only 6€ per month (less than your Netflix subscription) you can ensure the leading change makers continue the good work for all of us https://herocircle.app 6️⃣ I’m an investor and advisory board member of Sanctum, a global mindful movement community founded by Luuk Melisse & Gabriel Olszewski think #dance #kundaliniyoga #martialarts #HIT #movementmediation with headphones in churches - it’s absolutely transformative!!! 👉Now every week in Amsterdam & London 7️⃣ Impact Bridge Asset Management SGIIC is a rapidly growing impact fund led by Arturo Benito Olalla. I’m on the impact advisory board for both their global and Spanish fund. More might come soon… I’ll also try to give more ongoing updates on these various things again… So stay tuned. Not that this list is not long enough haha, but let me know if you have any exciting other ideas for me at the intersection of business - impact - climate - tech? Always open to explore :)

⭐️⭐️⭐️Yunus Update⭐️⭐️⭐️ Freedom - For Now Freedom is a value that you take for granted until it is taken away. Yesterday, I had the pleasure to hug my friend and mentor Muhammad Yunus again. A hug that felt so much more special, since for the last few weeks, I was afraid, I would never see him again. He was able to leave Bangladesh on a long planned trip to Milan, Paris and London to continue his important work of promoting #Socialbusiness. We met in Paris where he is working with mayor Anne Hidalgo as an ambassador for the upcoming Paris Olympics where a significant share of products and services will be bought through #socialProcurement (ie when governments or corporations buy from social businesses - check out our work at Yunus Social Business by Lucie Durand as well as Yoan Noguier from the Yunus Sports Hub) 🙏 Thank you to so many of you who have been incredibly supportive in these last few months sharing my updates with others, informing press and political representatives. I am convinced this public attention has led to Yunus and his colleagues -who have all been falsely accused - still being free. But I also want to share that this fight is NOT over. 👉There are still over 100 literally made-up cases ongoing against Yunus, his colleagues and various Grameen organisations in Bangladesh (don’t believe me, believe Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International who’s CEOs both signed the open letter condemning these cases) 👉2 of those cases where they are falsely accused have been turned into criminal cases that can lead to a jail sentence between 3-5 years. (Clooney Foundation for Justice has conducted an independent legal review and has strongly criticized the weaponization of labour law for political purposes) 👉The next hearing in one of those criminal cases is on April 2nd, and another one mid April. 👉The government had tried to take over 8 of the Grameen social businesses in an armed ambush. So far those companies have been able to fend this off with support of the press. But this issue can flare up at any point in time again. ➡️ So please stay tuned, comment on the post, share it widely with press and politicians. This may end up being a marathon, drawn out over many months or even years, tiring us out and hoping global attention will wane. One person had rightly commented that the process is the actual punishment: To distract from the important work. Let’s savor every moment of freedom where Yunus can focus on the real work of building social businesses. The current freedom can be short lived. I hope this wasn’t the last hug. Paul Polman Jean Oelwang Halla Tomasdottir Daniel Nowack Anna Alex Emmanuel Faber Zarah Bruhn Niko Pohlmann Dr. Kerstin Humberg