World Adaptation Forum
There is no Wikipedia page, so…
I’m not qualified to write a Wikipedia page. I can write a Wiki-like page I would read if there were one. Since there isn’t, I’ll have to start from the ‘what is it’ bit and go from there. May as well put what I find out in the form of a Wikipedia page. So…
World Adaptation Forum
Not from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World Adaptation Forum (WAF), founded 2024, [1] is an international form for leaders addressing interconnected crises, systemic challenges, the imperative for a new approach, collaborative solutions, and adapting to inevitable consequences. [2]
The objective of the WAF is to convene leading experts on the subject to enhance public understanding of systemic disintegration, its potential implications for human civilization and the ecosystem, as well as the development of effective responses. In a rapidly changing global environment, it is crucial to recognize that our ability to act is limited, and we must utilize our available time effectively to determine our course of action. [2]
Humanity, currently on the brink of a prolonged period of unavoidable decline and societal disintegration, the likes of which no previous generation has ever witnessed, needs to understand the urgency of adaptation. However, the majority of individuals and organizations continue to operate as usual, while the nature of the challenges they face is undergoing a significant transformation. It is crucial for people to comprehend the processes and context surrounding these challenges, enabling them to make informed decisions and understand the actions required to mitigate the potential consequences. [2]
Themes
Discover reality beyond illusions.
Grasp the real pace and extent of changes.
Understand the intricacies of complex systems.
Acknowledge the limits to economic growth.
Examine how natural processes interact with political, economic, and social structures.
Comprehend the reasons behind the ongoing transformation and its consequences.
Initiate timely actions for preparation and adaptation.
Depletion of non-renewable resources.
Overexploitation of renewable resources.
Health and physiological impacts of polycrisis.
Projected changes in climate systems.
Impact of the global food and water crisis.
Amortization and degradation of the built environment.
Illusion of sustainability and unlimited energy.
Energy-economy-finance interdependency.
Systemic challenges of the age of uncertainty.
Unsustainability of economic growth.
Imperatives of organizational adaptation.
Possibilities for individual and collective preparedness.
Membership/Speakers
[4][5]
Jem Bendell — Sacred Pessimism: Living to the Max at a Time of Collapse.
Professor Emeritus at the University of Cumbria
Before the summer of 2023, he held the position of a full Professor of Sustainability Leadership and served as the Founder of the Initiative for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) at the University of Cumbria. Additionally, he was the Founder of the Deep Adaptation Forum and the co-Founder of the International Scholars’ Warning on Societal Disruption and Collapse. A significant transformation in his career commenced in 2017 as he took a year out to study the latest climate science and released the Deep Adaptation paper, which gained widespread attention. His latest book, „Breaking Together,” was published in 2023 and provides a comprehensive approach to the systemic challenges humanity faces in the upcoming years.
David Korowicz — Navigating Risk and Uncertainty in a Dis-ordering World.
Director of Risk and Response at the Geneva Global Initiative
For nearly 20 years David has worked as an analyst and consultant on human systems ecology, emerging large-scale systemic risk, and societal response strategies. Areas of research included societal vulnerability, de-stabilisation and collapse dynamics, integrated global risk, and preparedness and planning. As a consultant he’s worked on a range of projects including the socio-economic impacts of severe pandemics, and exercise/ simulation/ process design to investigate catastrophes and preparedness. As director of Risk and Response at the Geneva Global Initiative he explored with senior political, contingency, military and other officials from a range of countries their capacity to address mounting global challenges including catastrophic irreversible disruption. David is a physicist by training.
Simon Michaux — Black Swans, White Swans and the Purple Transition,
Associate Professor at the Geological Survey of Finland
As an Associate Professor of geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) in KTR, the Circular Economy Solutions Unit, he holds a Basic degree in Bach App. Sc in Physics and Geology and a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering from JKMRC University of Queensland. With 18 years of work experience in the Australian mining industry focusing on research and development, 12 months in the private sector at Ausenco, and 3 years in Belgium at the University of Liege researching Circular Economy and industrial recycling, he brings a wealth of knowledge. His long-term objectives involve the transformation of the Circular Economy into a more practical system for the industrial ecosystem, addressing the twin challenges of technology mineral scarcity and the transition away from fossil fuels.
Szilvia Gyurkó — They Know It: Children’s Rights in Time of Crises,
Founder and Director of On A Rocking Horse Child Rights Foundation
Szilvia Gyurkó is a freelance child rights consultant and researcher based in Hungary. She develops and implements training and research projects in several European countries and publishes articles on child rights in online and print media. Between 2012–2014 she worked as the Director of the Hungarian Committee for the Rights of the Child at UNICEF. She then worked as a consultant for the Eastern Europe regional office of the Swiss-based international children’s relief organisation Terre des Hommes. She currently heads the On A Rocking Horse Child Rights Foundation-ECPAT Hungary, which develops programmes on children’s rights, child participation and child protection. She is also a doctoral student in social innovation design at the MOME Doctoral School.
Csaba Kőrösi — President of the United Nations General Assembly
Csaba Kőrösi joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1983 and served in various countries, including Greece, Israel and Libya. He was also the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the United Nations and served as vice-president of the General Assembly from 2011 to 2012. He was Deputy State Secretary responsible for security policy, multilateral diplomacy and human rights before being appointed Director of Environmental Sustainability in the Office of the President of Hungary. From 2022 to 2023 he served as President of the United Nations General Assembly for its 77th session. He is a recipient of the Hungarian Order of Merit. He was also awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Greek Order of the Phoenix.
János Zlinszky — Christian Perspective on the Ecological Crises
Associate Professor at the Péter Pázmány Catholic University
János Zlinszky is Senior Advisor at the Institute for the Integrity of Creation, Péter Pázmány Catholic University, and emeritus associate professor in sustainability science, environmental policy and water diplomacy with PPKE and NKE. He serves on the advisory Boards of the Equilibrium Institute, and the Ludovica College (both in Budapest). During the development of the Sustainable Development Goals, he served as senior scientific adviser for the Co-Chair of the UN Open Working Group. His earlier positions include European Parliament Delegate Member of the Board and the Bureau of the European Environment Agency (EEA); Head of Department for Strategy and Research in the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, Hungary.
András Gelencsér — Greenwashing, Capitalism, Fake News, Critical Thinking
Rector of the University of Pannonia
András Gelencsér is an air chemist, professor, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, rector of the University of Pannonia, and internationally renowned researcher on the links between air pollution and climate change. His main research interests are atmospheric chemistry related to air pollution and climate change, in particular atmospheric aerosol chemistry. He was the first to identify the process of humus formation in the atmosphere. His article with the director of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry has become one of the most cited publications in the field. He published a monograph on carbonic aerosol in the Dutch Springer. To date, more than 4200 independent references have been made to his scientific papers.
Ugo Bardi — Civilization, Future, Human Value, Choosing the Good Path
Professor Emeritus at the University of Florence
Ugo Bardi is a former lecturer in physical chemistry at the University of Firenze, Italy. He is now active as a full member of the executive committee of the Club of Rome, a fellow of the World Academy for Art and Sciences and the Italian Society of System Dynamics Executive Committee. His research is dedicated to ecosystemic trends, climate change, resource depletion, energy circulation, and system dynamics modelling. His most recent book is „Exterminations — Preparing for the Unthinkable” (2024) and he is working at a new book titled „The End of Overpopulation”. He writes on his blogs „The Seneca Effect” and „The Living Earth”, where he examines the collapse of complex systems and the current modifications of the ecosystem created by human activity.
Ginie Servant-Miklos — Climate Grief, Psychology, Collapse
Assistant Professor at the Erasmus University Rotterdam
Ginie Servant-Miklos is an engaged environmental educator with fifteen years of experiencein education practice, research, and advocacy. She currently holds an Assistant Professorship in behavioural sciences at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural. Her research and education work focuses on developing innovative pedagogies for societal impact. She developed the Experimental Pedagogics educational design framework, co-founded the Bildung Climate School with Prof. Rutger Engels, and is the author of Pedagogies of Collapse: A Hopeful Education for the End of the World as We Know It. She is a Senior Fellow of the Comenius Network for educational innovators, and the chair and founder of the FairFight Foundation, a women’s empowerment charity.
Kornélia Radics — Climate Change, Early Warning Systems, Catastrophes
Director of the Regional Office for Europe at the World Meteorological Organization
Kornélia Radics joined the WMO as Director of the Regional Office for Europe in 2023. Between 2013–2022 she was the President of the Hungarian Meteorological Service, and she served as the Permanent Representative of Hungary with WMO, EUMETSAT and ECMWF. She was also the President of WMO Regional Association VI and the Chair of the Aviation Advisory Committee of EUMETNET. Under her leadership the Hungarian Meteorological Service undertook an extensive modernization process and implemented free and open meteorological data policy. With 30 years of experience in operational and applied meteorology, climate change and multilateral diplomacy she brings a wealth of knowledge. She holds MSc in Meteorology, MSc in Astronomy, and PhD in Earth Sciences.
Raphaël Stevens — Emancipatory Powers, Collapse, Rebirth, Society, Autonomy
Eco-Adviser and a Fellow Researcher at the Momentum Institute
Raphaël Stevens is a Belgian researcher exploring societal collapse, and pathways to renewal at the Momentum Institute in Paris. He is the author of several books including the international bestsellers „How Everything Can Collapse” (Seuil, 2015 with P. Servigne) where the term ‘collapsology’ was first introduced, and „Another End of the World is Possible” (Seuil, 2018, with P. Servigne and G. Chapelle). With a degree in Eco-Counselling and an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, he bridges theory and practice through public lectures, workshops, and socio-ecological activism through curated exhibitions in cultural venues. His research combines complexity thinking and post-normal science to explore regenerative futures beyond collapse.
Iñigo Capellán-Pérez — Polycrisis, Globalism, Diagnosis, Scientific Models
Principal Investigator at the University of Valladolid
Iñigo Capellán-Pérez is an Industrial Engineer with a double degree from the University of Valladolid and ENSAM-Arts-et-Métiers (France). Master in Electric Energy and Sustainable Development and PhD in Economics „Development and Application of Environmental Integrated Assessment Modelling towards Sustainability” at the University of the Basque Country (2016). His research focuses on analyzing and modelling energy-economy-environment systems using System Dynamics. His main areas of study include the transition to renewable energy amid fossil fuel depletion and climate change, techno-sustainable limits of renewables, the net energy and material requirements of this transition, and the technical and social transformations needed for sustainability.
András Gelencsér — Rector Emeritus of the University of Pannonia
András Gelencsér is an air chemist, professor, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, former rector of the University of Pannonia, and internationally renowned researcher on the links between air pollution and climate change. His main research interests are atmospheric chemistry related to air pollution and climate change, in particular atmospheric aerosol chemistry. He was the first to identify the process of humus formation in the atmosphere. His article with the director of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry has become one of the most cited publications in the field. He published a monograph on carbonic aerosol in the Dutch Springer. To date, more than 4200 independent references have been made to his scientific papers.
Derrick Jensen — Biosphere, Non-human Life, Luxury, Technosphere
Eco-philosopher, writer, and co-founder of the Deep Green Resistance Movement
Derrick Jensen is an American writer and environmentalist in the anarcho-primitivist tradition, though he rejects the label „anarchist”. Utne Reader named Jensen among “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World”, and he has been called “the poet-philosopher of the ecology movement”. Jensen is the author of more than twenty books including Endgame Vols. 1 & 2, The Culture of Make Believe, The Myth of Human Supremacy, and more. He is the co-author of Bright Green Lies and Deep Green Resistance. He holds a degree in creative writing from Eastern Washington University, a degree in mineral engineering physics from the Colorado School of Mines and has taught at Eastern Washington University. He is coming to Budapest as part of his 2025 European tour.
Participant Word Offerings
“Most of us in this room are painfully aware of the possibility not to say likelihood of a widespread non-compliance with the global sustainable development agenda. It’s not something we wish for let alone advocate for, but a precautionary approach to a long-term future requires the contemplation of a worst case scenario as well the evaluation of our future options remaining and our subsequent behavior will greatly depend on our innermost convictions or our value system.” — János Zlinszky
“ I know that children has rights very important ones and those rights are not just theoretical ones, those rights are deeply rooted into the needs and the interests of the children.” — Szilvia Gyurkó
“The World Adaptation Forum is an urgently needed space where reality isn’t denied but embraced with honesty and courage. The conversations here don’t avoid complexity — they meet it head-on. I left feeling both grounded and deeply connected to a community that truly understands what’s at stake.” — David Korowicz
“WAF brings together the rare mix of rigorous systems thinking, moral clarity, and human warmth. It’s one of the very few places where long-term resource constraints and structural realities are openly discussed. I was both intellectually stimulated and personally energised by the experience.” — Simon Michaux
“It is rare to attend a conference where collapse is not a taboo but a central theme for honest inquiry. The World Adaptation Forum has created a powerful platform where science, philosophy, and civic responsibility meet. I highly recommend it to anyone ready to confront the future.” — Ugo Bardi
“This is not just another academic gathering — it is a space for truth-telling, deep listening, and brave education. I appreciate the Forum’s willingness to showcase a diversity of perspectives, from engineering to social sciences, providing a richness and depth that collapsology needs today. It’s a transformative event, and I encourage educators and activists alike to take part.” — Ginie Servant-Miklos
“The World Adaptation Forum offers something rare: authentic dialogue about the systemic crises we face, and how we might live with dignity and purpose through them. The energy, honesty, and solidarity I felt here were unforgettable. It’s a necessary and hopeful gathering.” — Raphaël Stevens
“Most conferences carefully avoid hard truths. WAF fearlessly runs toward them with clarity, compassion, and fire. It was a rare and genuine privilege to speak here and to connect deeply with people willing to ask what it really means to be alive in a collapsing world. I will certainly not forget it.” — Derrick Jensen
“The Forum fosters serious, transdisciplinary conversations that are hard to find elsewhere. It’s not about easy answers, but about meaningful questions — and the people willing to ask them. I was truly impressed by the depth and integrity of this event, and would highly recommend it to all.” — Iñigo Capellán-Pérez
“WAF stands out by directly addressing what many still choose to ignore or avoid. The programme was deeply relevant, the discussions thoughtful and challenging, and the community truly genuine. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone working on climate change, systemic risk, or societal resilience.” — Kornélia Radics
“Participating in WAF was a truly enriching and memorable experience. The scientific discussions were both challenging and respectful, and the overall atmosphere genuinely inspired collaboration across disciplines and perspectives. I found it both intellectually stimulating and personally meaningful.” — András Gelencsér
“The Forum balances realism with empathy in a way that very few events truly manage. It’s a unique meeting point for scientists, deep thinkers, and engaged citizens who are brave enough to ask provocative but necessary questions. I left feeling both intellectually challenged and emotionally recharged.” — Ferenc Jordán
“At the World Adaptation Forum, one can explore collapse not as a distant or abstract threat, but as a lived, unfolding reality. It’s a place for critical insight, emotional honesty, collective wisdom, and shared humanity. I am deeply grateful that this timely, vital, and profoundly meaningful event exists.” — Péter Buda
For Jem Bendell’s words, his keynote presentation at the first WAF conference, a full transcript may be considered central to the WAF consensus narrative.
Institutional support
Organizers
University of Public Service, Ludovika
Pázmány Péter Catholic University
Pannon Egyetem, University of Pannonia
Okopresszo
Cassandra Program
Deep Adaptation Hungary
CassandraCluster Alliance for Adaptation
Partners
EghaJlatvaltozas, Nemzeti Laboratorium
Fenntarthato Technologiak Alprogram
MTA: Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Magnet (Hungarian Community) Bank
rwnd. (Rewind Creative Agency)
National Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Climate Change
Pannon Egyetem, University of Pannonia
Sponsors
Parliament Penthouse
Santai home&living
Magnet (Hungarian Community) Bank
rwnd. (Rewind Creative Agency)
Webstar
PowerHous Partners, People/Leadership/Resilience
CertUnion, Alliance in Accreditation
Wanapack, Paper Processing LTD.
Lost Animals Foundation
L’Harmattan
Discussion
The original name was World Transition Forum, but was judged too close to World Economic Forum and the the acronym was in use. As Ginie Servant-Miklos notes: “This is not just another academic gathering” as evidenced by the inclusion of Derrick Jensen who happened to be on a European tour at the time. Otherwise, it is another academic forum/conference as usual — meanwhile “the pace of planetary destruction has not slowed.”
The emitting of fine words and the firm making of calls to action have not slowed the pace of planetary destruction since Pogo noted in 1970 that the enemy of the biosphere had been met, but the dynamics of the world socioeconomic-political system over the last 55 years is evidence that modern humans, including those who attend conferences, are part of a global socioeconomic-political system that is NOT REMOTELY CLOSE TO SUSTAINABLE, i.e. we are captured and being dragged along by a complex, powerful and remorseless dynamic that automatically thwarts all attempts to stop it such that if we don’t put time and energy into understanding it, we are doomed to go with it, right to the final curtain. [6]
The firm belief that the well intended and hyperintelligent modern humans of planet Earth c. 2025, if they put more time and energy into understanding the remorseless dynamic, can find a pathway to viability and sidestep extinction of the last homininan standing. This belief ensures there will be another conference in 2026. Meanwhile, the pace of the future’s past… (and failure to understand, but not underestimate…).
The most important conference of the 21st century (so far) was held in 2013, but too few were able to attend. “After reading over this session program, and having downloaded and studied some of the items from the links therein, I am convinced this may well be the most important session at any academic meeting this decade — so I regret all over again that I’ll not be there. Please encourage anyone your e-mails can reach to do such downloading.” — William Catton (author of “Overshoot”). [7]
The context is that we, the set of all modern humans endeavoring to pay attention, have known everything we needed to know in 85 languages since 1972, but given the complex, powerful and remorseless dynamic that we still fail to understand (but not underestimate), we continue to be dragged along into futurity. Not good news for 10 year olds and sorry about that. [8]
References
^”WAF 2024 Archive”. Retrieved 2025–06–24.
^”Read More” World Adaptation Forum: Bend or Break Together2025. Retrieved 2025–06–24.
^”WAF Beyond Mitigation” 25 April 2025. Retrieved 2025–06–24.
^”World Adaptation Forum 2024 — Conference Talks & Panels” 2024
^”World Adaptation Forum 2025 — Conference Talks & Panels” 2025
^”The Economic Implications of The Maximum Power Principle For a Sustainable Society” 2016, Garvin Boyle, BioPhysical Economics conference. Retrieved 2025–06–24.
^“From Overshoot to Sustainability” 2013, There is something very crazy going on at this meeting. Retrieved 2025–06–24.
^”1972 summary”. Retrieved 2025–06–24.
