dialogue

Quest for Wisdom foundation

  • Quest for Wisdom Foundation (QfWf) stimulates the Intercultural Art of Living in a Globalized World!

    The QfWf wants to contribute to a culture of openness and to cultural diversity (inter-esse) by tapping into one’s own and shared historical intercultural roots and wisdom traditions.

    Cultural ANBI status

    The QfWf is acknowledged as organization with an culturele ANBI status (NL).

    The QfWf programs have been honored twice by a cultural fund:

    Storytelling programma Animal Wisdom in 2020-2021

    With a subsidy from Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds i.s.m. Fonds zuidoost, awarded in 2020, the QfWf has developed a storytelling-Project- around animal wisdom in storytelling traditions from the four corners of the world. The purpose of this program is to bring ancient wisdom into new forms for contemporary ears, which has led to the development of the website Animal Wisdom and the development of an Intercultural lesson for elementary education.

  • The “Global Citizenship of the streets” project in 2023-2024

    Start of the project with world cafe dialogues – photo Marc Broens

    With a subsidy from the Cultural Participation Fund, the QfWf has realized the “World Citizenship of the Street”-project in 2023-2024 in the form of a triptych in 3 phases. Reflecting on the history of slavery (phase 1) and collecting intercultural ingredients of collective and individueal dreams of global citizenship in images, music, dance, stories and other expressions of (inter)cultural heritage (phase 2) culminating in a social experiment with collaborating partner organizations (phase 3) for global citizenship. The result is an intercultural program with the wisdom and beauty from the four corners of the world.

    The QfWf does this by using Art as a magic and collecting it as ingredients in book form, under the title Amor Fati and Amor Mundi, on a digital platform The Golden Ratio and in a co-creative programme; developed and implemented in collaboration with the Cultural Dream Weavers Foundation and the Curinesa Foundation, independent artists, and with the Wehpokamanong association, which preserves the cultural heritage of indigenous groups from Suriname in the Netherlands and passes it on to young generations. This culminated in a final event in the fall of 2024.

    First there was the presentatation of Amor Mundi, the exhibition and the presentation of the QfWf-documentation book in the Pubic Library of Amsterdam (OBA) in Weesp on the 28th of September 2024. Especially the series of aquarelles of Greg Suffanti, in which the harsh (anti) migration policy is denounced and migrants are presented as persons like you and me and their human stories. Also Robin Stemerding, Nour Kayali en Louis van Marissing have contributed to the exhibition. Then the final event was organised on the 19th of October 2024 together with the residents of the Regenbooggroep, the organisation that gives shelter to migrants, refugies, homeless and people in need: sharing an intercultural programme with music, dance and sharing food from each others cultural kitches. A ceramic statue, made by Camile Smeets was presented: this Rainbow Paradise Bird with Cosmic Egg incorporates the world dreams of the intercultural project group. On the 25th of Januari 2025 the exhibition Amor Mundi was reopened in another OBA location, Reigersbos, together with the presentation of the book Amor Fati by giving previews of the seven chapters, in which life themes as world citizens are discussed and portrayed. Read more in Angela Gilds review on intercultural meetings.

    The need for an intercultural art of living

    Being able to deal effectively with our differences is a delicate matter in our current times.
    The objective of the foundation calls for an intercultural art of living as developmental path of ‘the multicultural society’ and visualises its mission with the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living.

    The QfWf sees Global Citizenship as the right answer facing the collective fear for strangers, migrants and ‘the others’. Instead of hatred and agression we follow dialogical and spiritual traditions, that see ‘otherness’ as a call for openness and inclusion.

  • The intercultural art of living is the ability to move as nomads between cultures and to be able to see the beauty of cultural differences. To enhance the art of living as world citizens the QfWf-Soul Circle organises every year around a social relevant theme an intercultural programme and presents this on its digital platform de gulden snede as well as by living encounters such as the yearly QfWf-Meeting Day.

    Just like the beauty of the Golden Ratio in natural forms such as the rhythmical growth of leaves and snail shells, as well as in cultural expressions such as the principles how cathedrals are built and the musical harmony in chords.

    This QfWf-vision and mission to contribute to a cosmopolic world order and culture of inclusion is the core of our

  • Quest for Wisdom, meandering along

Dealing with differences

Dealing with differences has been raised as a social issue by Paul Scheffer, in his controversial article Het multicultural drama (2000). Before that, the international debate had been heated up by Samuel P. Huntington’s terrifying perspective on the Clash of Civilizations (1996). Since then, there has been a heated political debate in many lands with multicultural populations, and the social debate in the social media is getting louder and more troubled ….

The QfWf wants to play a role in tilting the debate

Diagram met de 17 duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen door de V.N. op 25 September 2015 aangenomen als deel van de 2030 Agenda
Diagram met de 17 duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen

The QfWf wants to help turn the polarized debate about migration, refugees and religious strife from a problem for ‘political experts’, to a relevant issue for all of us, making an ethical appeal to everyone, from the current administration to our neighbours on the street.

How do we deal with, and how do we want to deal with ‘the strange other’?
That strange other can be the foreigner, the outcast, the fringe figure, the refugee and sometimes ourselves …

In order to tilt the debate, the QFWF sees it as a call to recalibrate the awareness of who ‘we’ are as citizens of the cosmopolis: nomads with intercultural identities.
These geopolitical landslides affect all of us as co-inhabitants of our shared planet Earth.
That is why the QFWF addresses this issue as a question, an ethical issue of a practical, social and political nature:

Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Taranto, Italië — foto Joke Koppius

How do we not exclude the other and the others ― the ‘stranger’, of a seemingly different nature ― but to see them as part of us, as ‘the strange other(s)’ in ourselves?How do we create growth inducing inter- and transcultural connections, instead of a divide and rule philosophy, us versus them mentality and an increasingly aggressive environment, as can be heard in the cry: “Who does not belong to ‘us’ (culture, race, religion, ethnicity) is against us …?”

By stimulating the recognition of the beauty of our differences and shared commonality, instead of a fear of ‘otherness’.
The world of the arts and (inter-)cultural expressions create space both in and between people and establish meaningful connections between cultures!

Creating inter- and transcultural connections

QfWf-event in the Library of Amterdam – photo Michel Odjo

The QfWf aims to collect artistic, philosophical and practical forms of cultural wisdom from East and West, North and South and to further develop them into useful forms that inform and inspire the intercultural art of living … so that people interact as willing players in an in-between space (as defined by Hannah Arendt) and also keep in touch with their core selves, so that we can fully develop and happily share our world with each other in a spirit of cooperation, openness and hospitality.
Hospitality, respect and openness and other shared values of humanity are what truly connect people as sisters and brothers ― open to a common playing field for all!

Update 2025-02

Quest for Wisdom foundation Read More »

Workshops and Masterclasses

Meet — Meeting Day — Workshops en Masterclasses — QfWf-Soul-Circle — Video-channel and Newsletter

The Quintessence Game introducing Amor Fati — Art Dialogues around the Dialogue Table — Intercultural Communication, Adinkra Masterclass — Hybrid play forms with the game Quest for Wisdom — Golden Ratio Educational 

The Board Game on Global Citizenship: Amor Fati

Addressing life themes with symbolism across the boundaries of cultures

A workshop under QfWf guidance

Art Dialogues around the board game Amor Fati

Amor Fati is a board game to enhance the intercultural art of living: you undertake a journey across a colourful landscape full of symbolism and along the way you pick up intercultural visions and mythical wisdom.

Around the Amor Fati game board, you travel through seven game rounds that address life themes and exchange associations and experience with your travel companions for a wise way of dealing with the questions life poses.

On the journey you explore the tension between amor fati as fate of your destiny and the freedom to shape life yourself:

  • In a workshop to get acquainted with the intercultural art of living.
  • In a master class to learn how to guide this game form yourself.
  • From one full day to 9 half days, suitable for individuals, groups and teams

The Quintessence Game

As an introduction to the cosmopolitan art of living of Amor Fati’s there is a shorter play mode can encompassing a (half) daily Quest through the Quintessence Game

This is a wisdom card game that introduces the art of living as a group of global citizen with three different layouts and conversation formats:

  • Quintessence: how to connect the wisdom of earth, of water, of air and of fire to the unsaid of the fifth element?
  • Your Quest? Explore an issue with each other by allowing chance or fate to play a role in your exploring the question behind the question!
  • Oracles: How to unlock ancient wisdom from the four corners of the world by being the oracle for each other?

Interested? Please, contact us : info@questforwisdom.org or order directly in our Wisdom Shop

Art Dialogues around the Play Table

From Drive to Resilience

A workshop under QfWf-guidance

Sitting around the Play Table with creative materials

Around the Amor Fati game board, full of mythical-philosophical symbolism, you explore the intercultural art of living, with the aim of promoting meaningful encounters and enriching conversations as global citizens.

The board game is developed by Heidi Muijen as Human, know yourself from 2006 onwards in her philosophical counselling practice Thymia, resulting in six game forms of playing around life-themes. These are still available as a workshop as a means for personal and professional growth.

The six mythical-philosophical workshop themes:

Whereas Amor Fati is a play for which you need up to 9 half days time, there are introductory forms to get acquainted with Amor Fati from half a day to 4 half days, suitable for individuals, groups and teams:

  • Elemental Wisdom — Gnosis game: a quest for wisdom!
  • The Art of Encountering — Mask game: the strange other!
  • Follow your ‘Hero’s Paths’ — Hero game: play yourself!
  • Elementary way’s of research — Compassion game: the good life!
  • The Art of Dreaming — Dream game: Follow your wish!
  • Envisioning your view of life — Vision game: attune to your inner compass!

More information, Requests and to Purchase: info@questforwisdom.org

Art Dialogues around the Dialogue Table

From Imagination to Vision

Workshop with the Playful Dialogue tablecloth

 

A workshop under QfWf-guidance

Around a colourful Dialogue Tablecloth full of transcultural symbolism ― around myths and philosophical and spiritual perspectives from all coners of the world. These aim to uncover the important questions behind opinions: Explore your differences in framing an issue on a quest towards the core of sense making with intercultural perspectives!

What is your Quest? is played in four rounds by means of symbolic objects and two sets of cards with Western and Intercultural perspectives from East, West, North, South.

By reflecting on the images and symbolism on the Dialogue Tablecloth, a delay of reaction is created and the conversation tilts from simply ventilating opinions, to questioning and hearing the polyphony and layering in different meanings.

Dialogues in personal and professional settings

Workshop on location

Around the playful dialogue tablecloth you engage in a dialogue, with a team, your family, a group of friends on a discovering journey. There are four dialogue rounds, with intercultural symbolism and perspectives, such as: elementary wisdom, the search in the labyrinth of life, meaningful encounters on the journey of life, how do you interpret signs as a language of the soul, listening to your moral compass.

  • In a workshop one becomes acquainted with a playful form of dialogue.
  • In a master class you learn to use a playful form around the dialogue tablecloth yourself as a professional.
  • From half a day to 4 half days, either in Dutch or in English
  • Suitable for individuals and groups: friends and family and (sports and working) teams.
  • You either explore a common issue or each participant explores their own question.

Through the QfWf-dialogue game The Four Winds an Educational Team of the University of Applied Sciences has explored the issue of “Inclusive Communication with our students and with each other, how?”.

Een teamdag rond het dialoogtafelkleed Vier Winden over het thema interculturele communicatie
With the team around the Dialogue Tablecloth Four Winds

One of the responses:

“Talking with images, or from images is sometimes easier, if you don’t know the meaning of symbols at first …. Beautiful work forms, special experiences, cheerful …. Staying with your feelings, not everything has to have a meaning in your head …. It brings you surprisingly close to the core. Norms, values, beliefs …. Free, playful, associative. Instructive how images can evoke so many different emotions.”

Requests: info@questforwisdom.org
Or purchase directly in our shop: Vier Winden of Four Winds

The Art of Dialogue

Playing materials of the Dialogue Four Winds

The Dialogue Table was developed by Heidi Muijen from 2010 onwards in her philosophical counselling practice Thymia, resulting in different forms of playful dialogues for the purpose of investigating personal, professional and social issues. The workshops around the Dialogue Tablecloth are designed to stimulate the imagination and with creative exercises, so that the participants are focussing on questioning their own frame of reference behind the issues at stake. 

There are shorter (thematic) Dialogue forms, playfully tackling life themes, that are still available as a workshop as a means of personal and professional growth:

  • The Images in Dialogue  — in four dialogue rounds to the core of an issue.
  • The Quest —  dialogues around a triptych Past – Present – Future.
  • The Pythiagame — a creative oracle game to explore your own wisdom.
  • The Existential game — follow your own path to the good life according to ethical perspectives.

More information, Requests and to Purchase: info@questforwisdom.org

Intercultural Communication, Adinkra Masterclass

A contemplative game that is both challenging and fun

A workshop under QfWf-guidance

  • With Adinkra — an intercultural communication game in 2 rounds.
  • A workshop offers an exercise in an indirect form of communication and an introduction to traditional African wisdoms — in particular the symbols and proverbs of the Akan in Ghana.
  • In a masterclass one learns to use this form of play professionally
  • Lasts from 1 to 2 half-days, suitable for groups and teams.
  • Purchase and Request: info@questforwisdom.org

Together with your team, family or other network, you first follow an introduction given by Dr. Louise Müller — an expert in the field of African and intercultural philosophy — about the background of Adinkra, the Asante culture and various philosophies of Ghana.

Also, it is possible to play Adinkra online with each other.
You can see how this intercultural communication game can also work as a digitally powerful game, by connecting within your own network!
A few impressions from participants:

“Great to experience this and see what is possible digitally.”
“Nice and creative initiative. Beautiful things also arise to keep in touch with each other.”
“It’s great that we are not being fooled by the corona virus and still meet each other in this way.”
“Very inspiring and surprisingly fun!!!”

Klassiek Adinkra symbool — funtumfunafu-denkyemfunafu

Louise Müller on the game Adinkra:

“Adinkra, with image-rich proverbs and powerful symbols from Ghanaian culture, allows people to experience the wisdom of the Akan philosophy in a playful way”.

Workshops, guest lessons and master classes, also on location.

For teambuilding, company outings, masterclasses in cultural diversity, intercultural communication and high-context culture exercises using adinkra.

Dr. Louise F. Müller also gives workshops, guest lessons and masterclasses on location and tailored to the purpose of the meeting and the target group.

Including: an association, a club of friends, a family reunion, a cultural team outing, team training intercultural differences; guest lectures for students, teachers and other professionals, administrators and managers, who take inclusion to heart and want to further develop their skills in cultural diversity.

Workshops and masterclasses both live and online!
Requests and to Purchase: info@questforwisdom.org

Hybrid play with the Game for Wisdom

Find your course in life through the Art of Living

A workshop under QfWf-guidance

The Game for Wisdom can be combined with face to face meetings― as an activity introducting the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living!
Is suitable for individuals, groups and teams for the purpose of setting your course in life and career.

The game consists of seven rounds with questions based on intercultural symbols and stories from wisdom traditions from the East, West, North and South.

The Game for Wisdom can be combined:

  • Hybrid Game for Wisdom as a Pre-conference acticity
    On a Quest as team for a full day or as a pre-conference activity; also in a hybrid form of training in combination with a masterclass
  • In a workshop in order to become acquainted with dialogue and play as a means of developing the intercultural art of living. Using intercultural symbols and stories from wisdom traditions from the East, West, North and South.
  • In a masterclass one learns to use this form of play professionally.

Requiring at least ½ half a day;
Also it is possible to organise a meeting of up to 3 days if desired, suitable for individuals, groups and teams.

More information, Requests and to Purchase: info@questforwisdom.org

Golden Ratio Educational — Courses and Teaching Modules

Intercultural education, workshops on how to innovate the curriculum

With Ecological Wisdom, Global Citizenship and 21st Century Skills taken from Ancient Traditions:

  • For Basic education in primary and secondary education
  • For MBO and HBO
  • Further reading information.

Update 2025-02

Workshops and Masterclasses Read More »

The Organisation of the QfWf

The Board of the Quest for Wisdom foundation (QfWf)

bestuur@questforwisdom.org

The QfWf has laid down its mission in promoting an inclusive society in its practices and statutes of the Quest-for-Wisdom-Foundation.

The QfWf board is playing a leadership role in facilitating, organizing and realizing the QfWf-programmes on the intercultural art of living. From 2019 organized as the three Quests:

Since the QfWf-project on Global Citizenship in 2024 the yearly QfWf-programmes are published on the digital platform for Global Citizenship Golden Ratio, integrating these quests.

The QfWf websites:

  • The QfWf-website provides general information on the QfWf as a foundation with a Cultural ANBI status and how the QfWf circles are  co-creating around the three Quests, resulting in the (e)books, dialogue- and game-forms. These might be purchased in the webshop. The website is bilingual: in Dutch and English.
  • For the digital game Quest for Wisdom, launched in 2016, the Wheel for the Intercultural Art of Living was designed with 20 stories from the four corners of the world, including 80 transcultural symbols, to be consulted in order to develop the art of living personally and as a community, family or team.
  • In 2017 the QfWf started the Wisdom Web, intended for the collecting, developing and publishing of (inter)cultural and artistic materials. The website is primarily Dutch language based, but also contains a substantial number of contributions in English.
  • The Animal Wisdom project has its own website that contains an intercultural storytelling programme — including a series of e-books: the Animal Wisdom Collection as well as decades of retold animal stories with an ethos from different cultures. This website is both in Dutch and English.

flow together from 2024 onwards as The Golden Ratio Quest

Since the project “World Citizenship of the Street” in 2024, which was honored by the Cultural Participation Fund, the QfWf has been focussing on different aspects of this urgent theme every year. In the intercultural language of the arts, the QfWf Soul Circle develops each year an artistic programme to be presented on the rhythm of the four seasons as well as on the Annual Meeting Day. Hereby, the QfWf draws attention to the importance of Global Citizenship for an inclusive society along the social and intercultural axis.

The Editorial Board, the QfWf-Council and Soul Circle

For the development of her programmes and the quality of her activities, as well as for the renewal and management of her websites, the QfWf has inaugurated an Editorial Board, a QfWf-Council and the Soul Circle.

QfWf-Editoral Board

The members of the QfWf-Board are:

Heidi Muijen (Editor in Chief) together with Angela Gilds (Spoken Word), Ebrahim Sohrabi (Editor), Greg Suffanti (Art), Madalina Hristache (Editor), Mitra Muijen (Music), are taking care for acquiring and developing the monthly publications on the QfWf-Annual theme around World Citizenship on The Golden Ratio: in artistic, philosophical, poetical, musical and other creative forms — and publish them on the QfWf-website(s).

Heidi Muijen collaborated with Mitra Muijen and webdeveloper Jimmy Dean designing the digital platform The Golden Ratio in 2024: on which The QfWf-Quests flow together around a yearly changing theme of Global Citizenship — building upon the older QfWf-programmes like the Wisomweb and the intercultural storytelling programme Animal Wisdom and other projects on the intercultural art of living.

We welcome your contributions and ideas for the The Golden Ratio and for our Newsletter! Please, contact us: redactie@questforwisdom.org

The Editorial Charter

The QfWf-Editorial Charter aims to guarantee the independence of the journalistic and artistic content of the Quest for Wisdom websites.

To this end, it regulates the position and tasks of all those involved in these websites as publisher and digital platforms.

Editorial Team 

The editorial team is responsible for the development of the yearly Golden Ratio programme by means of publications in different media, the digital communication by means of social media, the QfWf-Videochannel and the QfWf-Newsletter; and the maintainance of the other QfWf-websites. Of the utmost importance the QfWf considers the task for ensuring the quality of their content to the benefit of everyone’s interests.

Editoral tasks 

Members of the Editorial team take care of all the editorial tasks in cocreation, among others to:

  • develop text as well as illustrations in coordination with the QfWf Soul Circle and authors
  • check the suitability of the offered material for the development of the QfWf annual theme
  • acknowledge copyrights of the QfWf authors and illustrators[1]
  • check copyrights if the content was published previously on a medium channel, website or publisher
  • take care of the content and the maintenance of the QfWf-websites

Digital communications:

The QfWf-Council

The QfWf-Council offers advice to enhance the quality of the QfWf-activities and her intercultural programmes. The members of QfWf-Council have a responsibility to keep an open eye on the QfWf-developments and will be consulted by the QfWf-Board and the Editors-in-Chiefs whenever necessary to assess the quality of the material offered by third parties for the QfWf-websites.
The members have a seat on the Council — because of their unique and diverse qualities.
They ensure quality by providing solicited and unsolicited advice and by contributing to the editorial pages of the Wisdomweb and the Animal-wisdomprogramme as well as the themes on Global Citizenship on the Golden Ratio platform.

The Members of the QfWf-Council

Angela Roothaan, Annelie van Steenbergen, Erik Hoogcarspel, Giovanni Rizzuto, Greg Suffanti, Harm Jaap Hartmans, Henry Muldrow, Johann Gomes, Louise Müller, Michael Susanto, Mitra Muijen, Nivedita Yohana, Rosalie de Wildt, Viola Talloway, Wim van de Laar  are — because of authentic qualities in their field — members of the QfWf-Council.

Soul Circle

with a keen eye and heart for the the Quest for Wisdom!

The QfWf strives to shape its activities in co-creation with the circles of the people involved. 
The Soul Circle is initiated to be as group the intercultural community that the QfWf is propagating as its mission. As the ambassadors of the QfWf they also propagate the QfWf to the outside world in their own networks. And internally they form the hands, hearts, heads and voices of the Quest for Wisdom, connecting people and Quest initiatives to let the Quest for Wisdom grow into the future.

The Soul Circle

The members of the Soul Circle are

Members of Honour

Honorary members are people who have earned this special recognition due to their inspiring ideas and/or their special contributions to the QfWf.
Since December 2016, the QfWf has selected two honorary members.

The Honarary Members are

Dirk de Wachter – foto: ©Kristof Ghyselinck

 

Circle of Friends

Since the year of her foundation in 2016 the QfWf has grown thanks to the help of friends, who contributed to the three Quests in their own authentic way. For their dedication the QfWf pays credit to

The first Circle of QfWf Friends shaping the three Quests:

Update 2025-12

[1] QfWf authors are writers, actors and other muses, such as artists, designers, drafters, photographers, illustrators, video and film makers and other producers of text, images, sound, and stakeholders, who make the texts and other materials available to a of the QfWf-websites have stated.

The Organisation of the QfWf Read More »

QfWf: Cultural ANBI status

doneer aan de QFWF

The Quest for wisdom foundation (QfWf) has a cultural ANBI status.
What that means according to the ficus is explained here:  Public Benefit Organizations / Culturele ANBI

Donate? Yes, please: thanks! 

In 2026 we have cancelled the expensive Mollie-service. As a consequence the Donation button does not work anymore. So please, donate via a bank transfer: 

bankrekening IBAN: NL14TRIO0777827654

The reason for cancellation is that the monthly costs of this service are too high for our limited budget.

Donate? Yes, please!

Cultural ANBI-Status Obligations

Below is the (annual) publication obligation on our website

State of affairs: end of 2025

Publication Obligation Regarding the Cultural ANBI status

1-3: Business data QfWf:

4: The QfWf Goals:

Intercultural Art of Living for Inclusion and Transcultural Connections

The objectives of the QfWf are based upon the statutes of the Quest for Wisdom foundation. As founded in 2016 statuten volgens de oprichtingsakte Stichting Quest for Wisdom foundation. 

5: The QfWf Policy plan:

The QfWf policy plan is detailed in a multi-year plan: Beleidsplan-QfWf-2024-2026

Objectives and Policy Plan stem from the QfWf Mission and Vision: 

The Quest for wisdom foundation was founded on the 10th of October 2016 by Dr. Heidi S.C.A. Muijen with the mission of fostering a culture of openness to inclusion and cultural diversity. The QfWf does this by collecting and further developing cultural expressions of wisdom traditions from North and South, East and West.

The QfWf activities continue to take place together with a growing circle of stakeholders, who share the mission of the foundation – as visualized and expressed in the ‘Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living’. 

The QfWf chooses as its course in tipping times the good life by developing world citizenship. To this end, artistic programs are cocreated by paying attention to the cultural-historical contexts of stories, rituals and symbolism from wisdom traditions on the one hand; on the other hand, by bringing into the globalizing society transcultural values, like hospitality, emapthy and humanity through music, visual arts and other intercultural expressions.

The need for an intercultural art of living

Being able to deal effectively and ethically with our differences is a delicate matter in our current times.

The objective of the foundation calls for an intercultural art of living as an answer to the fear of ‘the strange other’ and appeal of ‘the multicultural society’ by means of:

  • historical awareness of the (inter)cultural roots of wisdom traditions;
  • interest in other cultures and wisdom traditions and
  • living encouters and cross-pollination between cultures

Dealing with differences

Dealing with differences has been raised as a social issue in the international debate by Samuel P. Huntington’s terrifying perspective on the Clash of Civilizations (1996). Since then, there has been a heated political debate in many lands with multicultural populations, and the debate on social media is getting ever louder and more troubled ….The geopolitical landslides affect all of us as co-inhabitants of our shared planet Earth.
That is why the QfWf addresses this issue as a layered and multidimensional question, an ethical issue of a practical, social and political nature:

How do we deal with, and how do we want to deal with ‘the strange other’?
That strange other can be the foreigner, the outcast, the fringe figure, the refugee and the privileged citizen …How do we not exclude ‘others’ ― the ‘stranger’ and people of a seemingly different nature ― but to see them as part of us, as ‘the strange other(s)’ in ourselves?

The QfWf wants to play a role in tilting the debate

Diagram met de 17 duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen door de V.N. op 25 September 2015 aangenomen als deel van de 2030 Agenda
Diagram met de 17 duurzame ontwikkelingsdoelen

The QfWf wants to help turn the polarized debate about migration, refugees and religious strife from a problem for ‘political experts’, to a relevant issue for all of us as world citizens, making an ethical appeal to everyone, from the current administration to our neighbours on the street.

In order to tilt the debate, the QfWf sees it as a call to recalibrate the awareness of who ‘we’ are as citizens of the cosmopolis: nomads with intercultural identities, transcending differences in culture, race, religion, ethnicity, gender,….

By stimulating the recognition of the beauty of our differences and shared commonality, instead of a fear of ‘otherness’, through artistic and (inter-)cultural expressions, the QfWf seeks to create space both in and between people and establish meaningful connections between cultures!

Hospitality, respect and inclusion and other shared values of humanity are what truly connect people as sisters and brothers ― opening a common playing field for all!

6, 7: The Board of the QfWf

bestuur@questforwisdom.org

8: Remuneration policy for the QfWf Board

The members of the board do not receive any remuneration for their work. They are, however, entitled to reimbursement of costs incurred in the performance of their duties, such as, for example, a travel allowance.

Board members cannot dispose of the assets of the institution separately. There is a separate bank account in the name of the QfWf. In addition, an annual financial overview is drawn up by the treasurer of the QfWf. This overview is discussed and adopted during an annual board meeting (at which at least 3 members of the board are present).

9: Report of the Activities Performed

In 2021 as well as in 2024 the QfWf received funding, due to the cultural and social relevance of her activities. The first subsidy was given for developing an intercultural storytelling programme during the Corona lockdown which was presented on a specially designed website Animal Wisdom including an educative offer with a series of ebooks.

The second subsidy in 2024 addressed the theme of Global Citizenship and resulted in the fusion of the three Quests as the Golden Ratio Quest around a yearly theme of the intercultural art of living.  Hereby, the QfWf has restructured its working method around the three Quest for Wisdom goals: through the Wisdom Web; Quest 2 ― Golden Ratio of Educative Materials; and Quest 3 ― Meet, by means of Annual Meeting Days, Workshops, Masterclasses, Newsletter ‘Spinning web’ and the Video channel. 

From 2024 onwards the three Quests are integrated focussing on the enhancement of world citizenship by developing every year an intercultural artistic and educative programme which is presented on the Yearly Meeting Day as well as on the digital platform The Golden Ratio.

Awarding Cultural ANBI-status
Toekenning Culturele ANBI-status

Since its foundation in 2016 the QfWf celebrated on 6 July 2018 that it has been recognized by the Tax Authorities as a Algemeen Nut Beogende Cultural Instelling (cultural ANBI-status) with its objective and activities with retroactive effect since 1 January 2018.

See below the reports of QfWf-policy for activities in chronological order:

Annual Reports of the QfWf

Update 2025-02

QfWf: Cultural ANBI status Read More »