This page has been hibernating for some time owing to pressure from the UN+EU+WEF System. There shall therefore be a global update & turn over. 

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The New Capacity Building Programme - A Potential European Commission Flagship Project

Unleashing the Human Being's Full Potential to Achieve and Sustain World Society Well Being and Quality of Life

(World Society Well Being and Quality of Life Project)

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“If an idea is not à priori absurd, it has no future” (Albert Einstein)

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IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION

The NCBP, an application of Interfaces/the Interface Paradigm, is all about acquiring a state of mind enabling holistic multicultural integrated interdisciplinary data processing and understanding. This is no less than a revolution in the Educational System.

IFT itself can only be rigorously and fundamentally understood by following the Master in Interface (M.I.) that leads to the futuristic and very advanced Doctorate in Interfaces (D.I.) included in the Interface Assimilation Programme, the International Interface Research Center's (IIRC's) Flagship Project.

The NCBP text has been edited integrating comments from mails that have followed my interventions in many workshops explaining how the NCBP works. This should facilitate understanding. The Publications (LinkedIn, Debriefing Notes, Resumes) are strongly recommended.  

Time is running out...!  

Our Planet Earth is faced with problems that have reached such a level of complexity as to become unmanageable. 

My conclusion following a three day colloquium at the Royal Belgian Academy of Sciences and Arts on “La Pensée Rationnelle et la Pensée Emotionnelle” (Rational and Emotional Thought) was that the Human Being’s inability to deal appropriately with the complexities of the challenges he/she was facing had profound consequences at multiple levels: personal, existential, medical, psychological/psychiatric, religious, educational, political, scientific, moral, ethical, philosophical, cultural, family, etc... The challenge of today is therefore how to manage holistic multicultural integrated interdisciplinary complexity at all levels in order to achieve and sustain the citizens' well being and quality of life in world society.

Despite the astounding number of research projects, Master and PhD theses, action plans, roadmaps, grids, organisations and institutions worldwide, we have nonetheless made a thorough mess of this world and no one knows what to do! Something has definitely gone wrong somewhere, but where? Well, I would say the educational system (formal and informal) and the way human beings have been - and still are - formatted and conditioned. 

Indeed the problems we are faced with today have reached such a level of complexity that experts, academics, politicians and the citizens are getting completely out of their depth - Why? - because they are faced with multicultural integrated interdisciplinary challenges something that their education has not prepared them for. The existing educational system is not sufficiently powerful to enable us to deal with the complexities of the challenges that are confronting us. 

Granted that there is an urgent need to completely rethink the way we tackle problems, whatever the problem, that a radical change in thinking strategy, a new thinking paradigm is essential, that a fundamental change or revolution in the mindset or state of mind is needed, the question is: how? The New Capacity Building Programme (NCBP).

Now the NCBP - achieving and sustaining world society well being and quality of life - is NOT yet another project, but the holistic multicultural interdisciplinary integration of what we already “have” (and of the data to come) that shall in turn be conducive to further innovative solutions depending on the quality of the integration process. The latter depends on an interface that creates, processes and integrates the data from a human perspective, the State of Mind (or Mindset). The State of Mind (SoM) determines the way you process – collect, assimilate, understand, articulate – data together, whatever the data. So there is a need to optimise the SoM for complex avant-garde multicultural integrated interdisciplinary challenge processing. This is the training that is needed today. This is the Education of Tomorrow that paves the way to the Governance of Tomorrow. 

The Education of Tomorrow is holistic multicultural integrated interdisciplinary education, a new methodology - and indeed new capacity building - developing the mind's integrated interdisciplinary potential and creating an interface that enables holistic integrated interdisciplinary understanding. We are turning from unidisciplinary to holistic multicultural integrated interdisciplinary training. This necessarily integrates the Neuroimmunoendocrine System's (that includes cognitive neuroscience) extraordinary dynamic plasticity which is both its weakness and its strength. Such training is now available (see below). But to proceed, a spark is needed: a holistic multicultural interdisciplinary integration catalyser (see below).  

Considering the increasing world instability and violence not to mention the seriousness of environmental issues, perhaps the finality of innovation, education and research should be finding both a means to defuse the world ticking time bomb that is threatening our civilisation and planet, and achieve and sustain world society well being and quality of life, the Third Millennium's Top Priority. This means thinking holistically, going global, blending the fragments together. A worldwide collective bottom-up top-down effort is necessary. I am therefore inviting citizens to collaborate, instead of competing, in our respective endeavours.

To succeed, two conditions or pillars are needed:

1) Trust  

2) A Holistic Multicultural Interdisciplinary Integration Catalyser (that can integrate Horizon 2020 and all other EU and UN Programmes): HMIIC.  

With no trust, any policy shall fail whatever the political programme. With no powerful tool to understand and deal with the complexities of today’s challenges, we are also doomed in the long term.

The New Capacity Building Programme - a coordinated holistic interactive bottom-up top-down multicultural integrated interdisciplinary strategy for Big Data Management and Integration, conducive to sustainable worldwide holistic multicultural interdisciplinary dialogue and communication, so presented as to be intelligible and - I hope - appealing to citizens of all ages and backgrounds throughout the world - provides both by launching National Brainstorming Events (national holistic multicultural integrated interdisciplinary initiatives to achieve and sustain national society well being and quality of life) now in nearly 140 countries.

At the end of a brilliant lecture given by Nobel Prize winner in Economics Professor Sen (Harvard University) at the Royal Belgian Academy of Sciences, I asked Professor Sen: "If world society well being and quality of life could become an international referential, changing the international mindset, would this not serve as a strong incentive to catalyse the blending of all the worldwide disconnected roadmaps, action plans and grids together?" Professor Sen said definitely: "Yes." Furthermore, John Dunn (Professor at Cambridge University, UK) fully supported the need of turning to the Education of Tomorrow to deal with the increasing complexity of the challenges we are faced with today. It is noteworthy that both academia and politicians seem to reach a consensus regarding the New Capacity Building Programme.

Well, you can apply exactly the same principle at national level. If National society well being and quality of life could become a National referential, changing the national mindset, this could serve as a strong incentive to blend all the national disconnected roadmaps, action plans and grids together: the citizens re-connect with constructive collaboration. Solidarity and trust returns.  

I am the Founding Director and CEO of the IMNRC-NewPOL Network. We are basically interested in interfaces: abstracted tangibles bathing in a sea of intangibles. I am directing three international projects: 

I am regularly invited to attend many workshops in just about every area. What stands out quite clearly in all events whatever the thematic or topic is:  

2. ANY issue is necessarily a holistic multicultural integrated interdisciplinary challenge

3. ANY issue is not exclusively national or continental, but global

4. New Global Governance is needed: each human being, nation and continent must prepare this necessary transition

The issues we are faced with today [conflict, inequalities, hunger/thirst, energy, poverty, climate change, environment, migration/asylum, jobs, food/water, research and novel treatments for diseases (Ebola outbreak...) and cancer, vaccines, ethics, standards, the elderly, economy, natural resources, cultural diversity, management of big data, education, human well being and quality of life rights, extremism, ...] are not exclusively local, regional, national or continental (Europe, ...) but typical multicultural integrated interdisciplinary challenges that can only be appropriately managed through New Global Governance (coordinated holistic interactive bottom-up top-down integrated multicultural interdisciplinary governance) that in turn requires holistic integrated multicultural interdisciplinary education. Problem: there is no facility for holistic integrated multicultural interdisciplinary education.

Now there shall be: the International Interface Research Center (IIRC), a futuristic education and research institution interested in Interfaces. The IIRC's main programme shall be the very ambitious and futuristic Interface Assimilation Programme (IAP) Project that shall in turn introduce the no less futuristic and advanced Doctorate in Interfaces. The Interface is so complex and omnipresent that at least a whole two-week congress shall be required to explore. This is the International Multidisciplinary Interface Research Congress (IMIRC). The IMIRC has been held back for more than ten years by the traditional educational system and the Barroso Team probably because considered too avant-garde and abstract to awaken any interest. Now the very expression "interface" is beginning to be used quite freely in lectures. The first Pilot IIRC Project shall be presented during PART III of the IMIRC.  

Each Human Being, each Nation, each Continent, the World has an enormous potential that is however a double-edged sword, being either constructive or destructive. The Human Being's (Nation's, Continent's and the World's) inability to manage the complexity of holistic multicultural interdisciplinary integration has seriously hampered the capacity in each case to harness this energy for creative constructive purposes. And by creative, I do NOT mean just creating beautiful sculptures, symphonies, paintings and high performance technologies that have to my knowledge never prevented distress, violence and wars. By creative, I mean achieving and sustaining world society well being and quality of life. An enormous amount of energy, time and energy has been - and still is - wasted because of fragmentation, lack of long-term vision, chronic internal/external dysfunctions not to mention the lack of courage. 

The conclusions following a Colloquium on "The Future of Scientific Research in Belgium" at the Belgian Senate a few weeks ago were quite alarming. Fragmentation, an obsolete educational system and the Belgian system’s complexity were together seriously undermining the country’s innovative potential. To be perfectly honest, the same conclusions can be applied not only to every country in the world, but also to the Human Being him/herself, a continent or the whole world. In Belgium, I have suggested to extend the scope of the initial colloquium to "The Future of the Belgian residents' well being and quality of life in Belgium" where the NCBP and the Belgian NBE shall be presented. Europe is also declining, and if nothing is done, the continent shall sooner or later lose its prestige, have to bow out and depend on the power and technical excellence of other continents. As for the World, if planet earth cannot be saved, some (if not all) shall have to emigrate to another viable planet that has yet to be found.  

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On Identity...

One factor that contributes to complexity is identity. 

Why do you need an identity in the first place? I happen to be born in Belgium and am half-Flemish. So? I don’t feel Belgian, I don't feel half-Flemish, I don’t even feel European. I feel as a Human Being living on Planet Earth. Period. I don’t need all these identities...

Identity, just like values, culture and education, is a double-edged sword because deceptive, giving an artificial - yet often very convincing - peace of mind that is therefore a source of tension.  

During a Re-Inventing Europe Debate in Brussels back in October 2013, I was shocked by the audience’s violent (verbal) reaction to a UK Euroskeptic panellist who had the courage to express his own opinion. It was Europe versus UK. European identity versus UK identity: the clash of identities. It struck me that Europeanism was just another form of Nationalism, just like "Americanism" or "Asianism"...the seeds for a future world conflict are still there. Nothing is changing or perhaps changing towards the same. A Human Being, a Nation, a Continent cannot survive on its own. We have now reached the stage where the World cannot survive on its own. A World electroshock is needed to spark a collective awareness of the seriousness of the world situation and of the urgency for World Solidarity. Nationalism (or National Identity), Continentalism (or Continental Identity) divides. Identity divides. 

A name/label, be it of a person, a Nation or a Continent is an artificial static concept for an ever changing dynamic reality in constant interaction with the rest of the world. Environmental changes, hunger, thirst, political and social unrest, national promiscuity because of the demographic explosion, lack of appropriate education shall lead to (and is already leading to) climate change, environmental, food, water, political and social, demographic and educational refugees... The very notion of frontiers shall have to be reconsidered worldwide. This challenge can only be adequately managed through New Global Governance.

The identity of a person is often made up of a multitude of identities that can take on different forms: personal, family, professional, religious, political, philosophical, cultural, national, continental, ... The identity is therefore the outcome of some kind of compromise between all these different and sometimes conflicting images that one has not only of oneself but of other people and things. This is making self-governance difficult. And if the human being is having trouble governing himself, how the deuce can a village, town, city, region nation, continent or world be governed? As long as the human being lives in a Conceptual Maze, freedom of expression, democracy shall necessarily lead to division and conflict; certainly not peace. Nationalism, and history has given abundant illustrations of what nationalism can lead to, is a conceptual, therefore artificial and therefore non-sustainable order does not lead to sustainable peace either. So if neither Democracy nor Nationalism can lead to peace, what can? You have to get out of the conceptual maze. Soon there shall be 9 billion identities...each living in a conceptual maze. How is the world going to manage 9 billion conceptual mazes?

Perhaps by asking oneself why there is a need for identity, this might solve the problem. Why do YOU need an identity? The problem is that many have their own understanding of identity. So there is a general mix up. We are in fact reaching a stage where words are losing their explanatory power, creating more confusion than anything else. 

The universe for the human being consists of artificial abstracted tangibles bathing in a sea of intangibles. To simplify let us say that there is an aconceptual and a conceptual identity.

1. Aconceptual identity. The Human Being is an ever changing dynamic interactive interface, under constant turnover and renewal, made up of and fundamentally naturally interconnected with all the other "things" - or interfaces - in the Universe. The Human Being IS the Universe and the Universe IS him/her. So the “reality” is non-local; not local. As such the Human Being’s potential is immense and already has all the “strength” of the Universe as it were behind (or in) him/her. “Insecurity” or “security” are words that have no meaning in this dimension.

2. Conceptual identity. This is a mental construct superposed on an already existing aconceptual identity, an artificial concept that we have created because it gives us the impression of existing, that we "exist", perhaps that we have a reason to exist. Considering that there already is a fundamental natural interconnectedness between all "things", there is no need to “re-connect” by creating an identity. All this does in fact is superposing an “identity” that separates, breaks away – artificially yet convincingly – from an already pre-existing natural interconnectedness. By abstracting an interconnectedness, you thus have two "interconnectednesses". The problem is that the artificial abstracted interconnectedness disconnects from the fundamental state and experienced as real which is deceptive. The very creation of identity (conceptual identity) thus shatters the holistic interconnectedness to pieces making the Human Being far less receptive to universal interconnectedness and interactions beyond formatted rational perception. The multiple images on which identity is based drastically reduce exchange of information: it filters, selects, deforms, interprets, processes data in countless different ways depending on how the identity has been conditioned or formatted. Holistic integrated interdisciplinary processing is gone. The present is constantly seen through the past. The past fragments the present. This fragmentation is creating a permanent division in our own life and in all our relationships with other people. The fundamental interconnectedness between all things is broken and replaced by a conceptual interconnectedness that depends on your conditioning, creating division and conflict. 

A minimum but by no means sufficient requirement to achieve and sustain the citizens' well being and quality of life in world society is food and shelter. Indeed, a human being is not just a digestive tube. Throughout evolution, the Human Being has been continually challenged with the unknown: data that had to be processed one way or the other to survive and adapt. If the Human Being can adequately deal with the complexity of the issues he/she is faced with, fine. Problem, he/she can't. This creates an underlying feeling of uncertainty, insecurity and stress - creating an over-stressed world - often with devastating effects. The consequence is that many seek a kind of inner/outward "permanency", "security" or peace of mind, something tangible that is recognised and to cling to in this ruthless ever changing chaotic and insecure world through whatever means like a self (or religious, or political, philosophical, national, continental, ...) identity. But recognition means living in the past; not the present. So, fragmentation again. Not sustainable. To many, when that to which you cling for security is challenged, this is felt as a kind of threat to you, the image you have of yourself and the image others have of you in the world. When this identity meets the unknown or a difference that could seriously challenge the foundations of your feeling of security, this creates tension sometimes leading to murder by fanatics. 

So the Dangers of Identity depend on the type of “identity” as stated above. The identity determines whether it is destructive or constructive and creative. 

There is a need for a catalyse or integrator who can both simplify the complexities of the European Institutions (European Commission and European Parliament) and the United Nations, and introduce New Global Governance, necessarily including New European Governance.

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On Integration...  

Integration (just like multiculturalism) can – and is – understood in many different ways which adds to the general confusion. Integration can be either fragmented or holistic. It can be a big crunch with loss of added value or a wellspring of creativity. Integration - for me - is not a rigid static coercive "compressed" and therefore counter-natural state where everybody mechanically conforms to artificially fixed or predetermined principles and constraints, but a highly interactive and very informative dynamic turnover process where everything moves and changes all the time in all dimensions. Integration is a double-edged sword that can be either constructive or destructive. So how you integrate and the finality of the integration process are of fundamental importance: this must be understood from the beginning. The Third Millennium’s Top Priority is achieving and sustaining the citizens’ well being and quality of life in world society. The finality of integration must therefore sustainably benefit life on earth and the citizens’ welfare. As so understood, Integration means efficiency, economy and added value. 

Countless attempts to integrate have always failed because integration depends not on knowledge, but on the state of mind, the way it has been formatted and conditioned. A fragmented State of Mind cannot integrate. Period. Gathering different specialties together in one room is not integration. Organising multistakeholder meetings each with a formatted uni-disciplinary frame of mind is not integration. Our attempts to “integrate” have led to the present mainstream “Oxymoronic Era”: a multitude of so-called interdisciplinary thematic approaches (to renewable energy, food, migration, water, jobs, health, economy, ...) that are silo thinking or fragmentation in disguise or fragmented governances, that have each become so complex in their own consolidated bubble that interdisciplinary integration (between interdisciplinary bubbles) is becoming ever more difficult to process. And if coordinated holistic interactive bottom-up top-down interdisciplinary integration of the fragments is not possible, not only shall there be no impact on World Society Well Being and Quality of Life but each individual fragmented “interdisciplinary” initiative (whatever the initiative, project or governance) shall necessarily fail. Integration must be undertaken at the beginning: not at the end when it shall be too late.

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On Global Fragmentation...

We are now witnessing an exponential rise in “World/Global Initiatives” trying to “unite”... provided that the unification is under their banner and not another’s. So in fact, these “World Initiatives” are fragmenting the whole again albeit in a different way, each trying to outsmart or outnumber the other, wishing to be THE initiative that “unites the World” or that shall achieve the “ultimate breakthrough” in their area, competing for supreme recognition. Not only does this seem rather childish but the seeds of yet another conflict are still there: division.  Because of the complete lack of world coordination and synchronization of these efforts, their resultant impact on the World Citizens’ welfare and on Planet Earth as of 2015 has not been very conclusive

There is presently an urgent need to join forces, to blend the different initiatives and integrate all the bubbles – local/regional/national/world/limited cross-border Projects - together. Holistic constructive integration is conducive to enormous added value. This must be done at the beginning; not at the end. Indeed, the Beginning is the End. Competition must be replaced by collaboration.  

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On Funding...

The New Capacity Building Programme (NCBP) is a gigantic world initiative that shall take at least 10 years to complete. It therefore needs long-term resources (staff and funding). 

There is a solution but this means insight and courage. This solution means integrating the above. Defusing the world ticking time-bomb that is threatening our civilisation and planet, and achieving and sustaining world society well being and quality of life means the holistic multicultural interdisciplinary integration - with this finality in mind - of all the research programs, roadmaps, action plans, policies, constitutions, laws, administrations together. Funds could be provided by following the same rationale creating a common pool.   

Funds are available through mandates and local, regional, national, international and world collaboration.

i. Mandates

Mandates are needed to create a Central Task Force (CTF) that shall help monitor, coordinate and boost the NCBP with its network of ongoing National Brainstorming Events worldwide:

1. World Mandate  

The United Nations have given us the green light for a hearing of the NCBP in New York provided that we can give evidence of strong visible support. There are around 140 countries interested so far, which leaves another 120 countries or so to go.  

2. European Mandate.  

In the meantime, appointments with MEPs are being made to organise a hearing at the European Parliament. We hope that a hearing shall also be possible at the European Commission and EESC.  

3. National Mandate.  

National Brainstorming Events can only be successfully undertaken with full support and collaboration from National Governance and Media. A National Mandate is therefore necessary. A special unit could be created for this purpose. In fact this suggestion is precisely what the Belgian Prime Minister’s Cabinet is working on. A summit with the Belgian Senate Presidency, a Belgian MEP and myself shall be organised to give a concrete follow-up to the high level colloquium on the Future of Scientific Research in Belgium that was held at the Belgian Senate some time ago. I have suggested to extend the scope of the first colloquium to: "The Future of the Belgian Citizens' Well Being and Quality of Life in Belgian Society". This would be the ideal moment to present the NCBP (including the Belgian National Brainstorming Event) during a major political meeting in Belgium. Other countries are following the same procedure.    

ii. Local, regional, national, international and world collaboration. 

1. National Representations, International Community, private sector, crowd funding.

Each National Representation (National Society Well Being and Quality of Life Team) shall be improving and sustaining its National Society Well Being and Quality of Life. It should therefore be its National Government’s and Institutions’ duty to support its National Representation. Similarly, since each National Representation shall be contributing to improve the international community’s society well being and quality of life, it should be the international community’s duty to support each National Representation wherever necessary. Support can also come from the private sector and crowd-funding.   

2. The IMNRC-NewPOL Network 

The IMNRC-NewPOL Network HQ is based in a region of Flanders (Belgium) that has witnessed (as for the rest of Europe) a rapid rise in Extreme Right “National Socialism” with a consequent exacerbation of linguistic apartheid and ostracism. These political movements reject multicultural diversity, turning differences from creative exchanges to destructive confrontations. Despite its multiple breakthroughs and requests for funding, the IMNRC-NewPOL Network has not only never received any support from the Flemish Government and Institutions but everything has been done to crush it out of existence and prevent the New Capacity Building Programme (NCBP) (and previous initiatives) from succeeding. The IMNRC-NewPOL Network needs international support to free itself from the Flemish Extreme Right’s ugly claws in order to pursue its activities.

The assistance, coaching and follow-up of 260 National Representations throughout the world is essential but the task is phenomenal. Public Relations services are needed. An enormous amount of data and correspondence must be processed by competent administrative and academic secretarial assistance. Meetings, workshops, conferences not to mention the Interface Events must be organized at the IMNRC-NewPOL Network Headquarters. Flyers must be published. Travelling is necessary. A whole battery of staff is needed to monitor progress worldwide and boost the initiative forward. Basic structural funds are needed. A Central Task Force is essential.

Financial transfers are possible by following the link: http://www.imnrc.org/NCN/NCNF/ncnf.htm All IMNRC-NewPOL Network Members (LinkedIn 1rst Degree Connections, other networks and professional contacts) are requested to settle their Basic Annual Membership Subscription Fee (BAMSF). This is mandatory. The BAMSF is based on your revenues. For a student, this is only 25€/annum. However, even 10 € can be a fortune for some and 20000 € nothing for others. Participants with more financial means are invited to consider Sponsoring and Donations. Benefactors are Sponsors who may thus form part of a National Representation. Sponsors differ from Donators in that the former make annual contributions. A Donation need not be repeated annually. Support can also come from crowd funding.

3. Institutions

There are no appropriate EU Calls for the NCBP nor for National Brainstorming Events that are long-term initiatives with however concrete immediate, medium and long-term impacts.  

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Apart from the hearing before the United Nations in New York, I have already been invited to give a lecture on the NCBP at the Baden-Württemberg EU Representation by the Staatsrätin für Zivilgesellschaft und Bürgerbeteiligung des Landes Baden-Württemberg. A researcher from a the Fraunhofer Institute whom I met some time ago was very interested in the NCBP and said that it could possibly link up with a project Angela Merkel is working on. A copy of the NCBP has been sent to Berlin. Following two International Japan-EU Symposia on ICT and the Future of Industry recognising the need to integrate and go global, the NCBP is going to be given active consideration. The Head of the Arab League Mission to the EU has accepted to meet me to discuss how the NCBP’s holistic approach to conflict could help find a sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. Finally, following a whole day session on the world situation at the Russian Cultural Center in Brussels where the NCBP was briefly exposed, there was a strong interest and motion in favour of adopting the NCBP on a world basis including Russia... 

The New Capacity Building Programme is gaining international recognition and acceptance, becoming popular worldwide. This is very encouraging but has taken 30 years of hard work under shocking working and living conditions because of Flemish Nationalism just outside the Capital of Europe, the Capital of Democracy.

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