We are delighted and would like to wholeheartedly thank Hans Joachim “John” Schellnhuber for accepting to be the First Honorary President of the World Human Forum for the year 2024.

One of the leading climate scientists worldwide, John Schellnhuber is a German atmospheric physicist, climatologist and founding director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and former chair of the German Advisory Council on Global Change. Since 1 December 2023 he is the Director General of IIASA.

Schellnhuber inititiated “A Nobel Cause – Nobel Laureate Symposium Series on Global Sustainability” in Potsdam, bringing together Nobel Laureates from all disciplines with leading sustainability scientists.

“It is an honor and a pleasure to become the inaugural Honorary President of the World Human Forum (WHF). This initiative conceived by Alexandra Mitsotaki is unique, since it aims to create a discourse space that is spanned by all quintessential dimensions of our civilisation. Most importantly, reason and aesthetics are brought together in iconic places like Delphi, where you realise that the conditio humana transcends the sheer quest for profit and power. If there are ways to save our world, they will be explored at the WHF.”

The World Human Forum each year, aims to have a different Honorary President covering diverse disciplines from the 6 sides of the Delphic Cube.

This dynamic concept of the WHF governance reflects its polymorphic and ever-evolving DNA, fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration and fresh perspectives.

It will set the tone for a process that will bring together leaders from various fields to address the interconnectedness of the challenges we face: The climate & biodiversity crises, the deep crisis of democracy connected to rising inequalities, but also the recent challenges brought up by the rapid developments of AI.

(photo from the presentation of the greek edition of the book “Earth for All” -Athens, December 2023)