In the past corona year, we heard a collective cry for radical change echoing around the globe. We witnessed many voices of protest against systemic racism, the destruction of the earth, the resurgence of fascism and government corruption. A year later, the revolutionary fire is still fiercely glowing. Revolutions can bring about epoch-making transformations. But the spirit of revolution does not always lead to a revolution of the spirit. Where do we find, amid all our contemporary crises, the revolutionary hope, courage and creativity to shape new worlds? Which revolutionary forces are now underway? How do our revolutionary ideals relate to the unruly realities that we are confronted with? And what needs to be done to elevate the call for freedom into a deeply felt democratic reality?

I took part in the Nexus conference on “The revolution of hope.”

For me hope it’s really concrete. What gives me hope is seeing people stand by one another, defending one another and working together to build a new utopia. People joining forces despite their differences. 

I call this utopia an equitist world. One where we strive to achieve the highest level of well-being possible for individuals, communities, and the planet. 

However, for this equitist world to exist, something is missing: a global governance. 

Bare with me: global governance is awesome! The truth is that we are interconnected, impacted by global trends, but we have no way of truly collaborating to make the world more equitable. For this, we need to move beyond national borders on global topics like climate, fiscal justice, the global economy and much more. 

So I presented our idea at the Nexus Conference, the one of creating the first Digital State in the history of humankind. Borderless in nature, people from all over the world will be able to “apply for citizenship” and partake in the democratic governance of this state. The goal is showcasing to the world that a transnational governance is needed to solve global issues & make the world equitable, as well as starting to implement it,  through the creation of a digital state. 

That’s what gives me hope. And the response was great! We recruited many new volunteers to create this Digital state, finalize the concept and build the platform. Soon, we will publish the details online! In the meanwhile, send me your thoughts and ideas, and if you want to contribute, join us: https://www.atlasmovement.org/join

 credit: Jan Reinier van der Vliet