Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Panel discussion on critical frameworks and new humanism, Session 3 at the conference. The panellists debate the ethical and conceptual frameworks necessary to address the polycrisis, introducing the idea of a new humanism that reconfigures the relationship between society, economy, and living systems.
About the panel:
Mamphela Ramphele has had a celebrated career as an activist, medical doctor, academic, businesswoman and thought leader. Ramphele was co-founder of The Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko that reignited the struggle for freedom in South Africa. She is honorary president of The Club of Rome and co-founder of ReimagineSA, Chair at the Desmond Tutu IP Trust Commissioner The Global Commission of the Economics of Water and a member of the Planetary Guardians. She has received numerous national and international awards acknowledging her scholarship and leading role in promoting the empowerment of women, youth and other oppressed people in South Africa and globally. She is the author of several books and publications on socio-economic issues in South Africa.
Enrique Leff is a distinguished Mexican sociologist and economist, Emeritus Researcher at the Institute of Social Research and Professor at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a member of the National System of Researchers. With doctorates in Development Economics and Philosophy of Science, he is a leading figure in Political Ecology, Ecological Economics, and Latin American Environmental Thought. He coordinated the UNEP Environmental Training Network for Latin America and the Caribbean for over 20 years. He has published more than 35 books, including 'Environmental Knowledge' and 'Environmental Rationality', and has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates for his academic and international career.
Mirian Vilela
Executive Director, Earth Charter International and of the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE. Coordinator UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter. Prior to her work with the Earth Charter, Vilela worked for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) for two years in preparation of the 1992 UN Earth Summit and a year at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Mirian holds a PhD. in Education from LaSalle University and a Master´s Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is originally from Brazil.
Magda Alejandra Choque Vilca
Andean researcher and producer, she integrates science, biodiversity, and ancestral knowledge. Her work focuses on food systems, agrobiodiversity, and local knowledge. A leading figure in the dialogue between science and Indigenous cultures.
Moderator:
Gonzalo del Castillo
Gonzalo David Lot del Castillo holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He is the Executive Director of the Argentine Chapter of the Club of Rome and the Center for Sustainability for Local Governments (CeSus). He is a member of La Ciudad Posible (a certified B Corporation), and co-founder of Micelio Bio (a biotechnological company dedicated to the design and implementation of circular models of fungal food production). He serves as the Co-director of the Circular Economy Laboratory at the National University of Rafaela (UNRaf) and the Diploma in Ecosystemic Development and Circular Economy (UCAECE and UNRaf). Gonzalo David Lot del Castilloworks as a consultant for national and international public and private organisations and is a regular contributor to the Argentine newspaper La Nación.
Panel discussion on critical frameworks and new humanism, Session 3 at the conference. The panellists debate the ethical and conceptual frameworks necessary to address the polycrisis, introducing the idea of a new humanism that reconfigures the relationship between society, economy, and living systems.
About the panel:
Mamphela Ramphele has had a celebrated career as an activist, medical doctor, academic, businesswoman and thought leader. Ramphele was co-founder of The Black Consciousness Movement with Steve Biko that reignited the struggle for freedom in South Africa. She is honorary president of The Club of Rome and co-founder of ReimagineSA, Chair at the Desmond Tutu IP Trust Commissioner The Global Commission of the Economics of Water and a member of the Planetary Guardians. She has received numerous national and international awards acknowledging her scholarship and leading role in promoting the empowerment of women, youth and other oppressed people in South Africa and globally. She is the author of several books and publications on socio-economic issues in South Africa.
Enrique Leff is a distinguished Mexican sociologist and economist, Emeritus Researcher at the Institute of Social Research and Professor at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and a member of the National System of Researchers. With doctorates in Development Economics and Philosophy of Science, he is a leading figure in Political Ecology, Ecological Economics, and Latin American Environmental Thought. He coordinated the UNEP Environmental Training Network for Latin America and the Caribbean for over 20 years. He has published more than 35 books, including 'Environmental Knowledge' and 'Environmental Rationality', and has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates for his academic and international career.
Mirian Vilela
Executive Director, Earth Charter International and of the Center for Education for Sustainable Development at UPEACE. Coordinator UNESCO Chair on Education for Sustainable Development with the Earth Charter. Prior to her work with the Earth Charter, Vilela worked for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) for two years in preparation of the 1992 UN Earth Summit and a year at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Mirian holds a PhD. in Education from LaSalle University and a Master´s Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is originally from Brazil.
Magda Alejandra Choque Vilca
Andean researcher and producer, she integrates science, biodiversity, and ancestral knowledge. Her work focuses on food systems, agrobiodiversity, and local knowledge. A leading figure in the dialogue between science and Indigenous cultures.
Moderator:
Gonzalo del Castillo
Gonzalo David Lot del Castillo holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He is the Executive Director of the Argentine Chapter of the Club of Rome and the Center for Sustainability for Local Governments (CeSus). He is a member of La Ciudad Posible (a certified B Corporation), and co-founder of Micelio Bio (a biotechnological company dedicated to the design and implementation of circular models of fungal food production). He serves as the Co-director of the Circular Economy Laboratory at the National University of Rafaela (UNRaf) and the Diploma in Ecosystemic Development and Circular Economy (UCAECE and UNRaf). Gonzalo David Lot del Castilloworks as a consultant for national and international public and private organisations and is a regular contributor to the Argentine newspaper La Nación.
