dialogue

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:

  • Quest 1 — Wisdom Web on which we collect wisdoms from all corners of the world;
  • Quest 2 — Developing a transcultural Golden Ratio of Play, Dialogue and Animal Wisdom storytelling;
  • Quest 3 — Living encounters to present our programmes and to develop the QfWf-goals.

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

The QfWf-Vision

is expressed in intercultural forms and artistic programmes enriching social themes for connecting people and their cultural heritage in an open cosmopolitan culture. The programmes are presented in living encounters and meetings of the QfWf, as well as in collaboration with social organizations, by means of publications, and through:

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.
  • Within QfWf-website is the digital game Quest for Wisdom, launched in 2016, for which the Wheel for the Intercultural Art of Living was designed, ordering the 20 stories from the four corners of the world, including 80 transcultural symbols. This game gives consultation how 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 (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 an Intercultural Lesson to enhance an ethos for natural and narrative wisdom. This website is both in Dutch and English.

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 developed on the rhythm of the four seasons to be presented on the Annual Meeting Day. Hereby, the QfWf draws attention to the importance of World Citizenship for an inclusive and open cosmopolitan culture.

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 and Ali Nejat Kanıyaş are the Editors-in-Chief. They organize the seasonal publication of the Newsletter Spinnend Web, as well as posts on the socials and the co-creation of content for the QfWf-websites, together with Yassine El Azabi (Drawings and Cartoons), Angela Gilds (Spoken Word), Greg Suffanti (Artistic contributions), Mitra Muijen (Musical column) and Ebrahim Sohrabi (Editorial support and translation). In collaboration with the Soul Circle they develop contributions for the World Citizenship programme on The Golden Ratio Platform — as well as for the Animal Wisdom programme and the development of the Intercultural Art of Living on the Wisdomweb.

Heidi Muijen together with Mitra Muijen and webdesigner Jimmy Dean developed the digital platform The Golden Ratio in 2024: on which the QfWf-Quests flow together around a yearly changing theme on World Citizenship — like “Practices of World Citizens” (in 2025) and “Inter-Cultural Rituals for World Citizenship” (in 2026) — building upon the older QfWf-programmes like the Wisomweb and the intercultural storytelling programme Animal Wisdom as expressions of the intercultural art of living.

We welcome your contributions and ideas for the Quest for Wisdom! 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 as digital platforms.

Cyclical development

The Quest for Wisdom takes shape as a cyclical development through the collaboration of the Soul Circle, the QfWf-board, the Editorial Team, and the QfWf-Council. This results in philosophical, narrative and artistic programmes, connecting the intercultural art of living to social themes, in order to strengthen an open cosmopolitan culture. The inter-cultural axis of World Citizenschip is enrolled through living encounters of the Soul Circle, in collaboration with social organizations, through publications and in Seasonal Meetings and the Annual Meeting Day.

Editoral tasks

Members of the Editorial team take care of editorial tasks:

  1. develop text as well as illustrations in coordination with the QfWf Soul Circle and authors
  2. check the suitability of the offered material for the development of the QfWf
  3. acknowledge and check copyrights of the texts and illustrations[1]
  4. take care of the content and the maintenance of the QfWf-websites
  5. take care of digital communication via

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-wisdom programme as well as on themes of Global Citizenship on the Golden Ratio.

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 QfWf-Circles and in collaboration with affiliated organizations.
The Soul Circle is initiated to enhance as group the core values as world citizens that the QfWf is propagating as its mission for developing the intercultural art of living in communities. As the ambassadors of the QfWf they both develop the intercultural programmes as well as present the QfWf to the outside world in their own networks. They are the hands, hearts, heads and voices of the Quest for Wisdom, connecting people and their cultures in initiatives to let the Quest for Wisdom grow towards 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 2026-06

[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 intercultural art of living

The QfWf policy is planned in detailed multi-year plans, as documented in point 9: Beleidsplan-QfWf-2024-2026

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

The Quest for wisdom was founded on the 20th of September 2016 by Dr. Heidi S.C.A. Muijen with the mission of fostering a culture of openness towards inclusion and cultural diversity. This objective of the foundation according to the statuten calls for an intercultural art of living as response(ablility), given the fear of ‘the strange other’ in order to develop inter-cultural connections as ‘multicultural society’ by means of:

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

To this end, the QfWf-programmes are cocreated by paying attention to the cultural-historical contexts of the collected stories, rituals and symbolism from wisdom traditions from North and South, East and West on the one hand; on the other hand, by highlighting transcultural values, like hospitality, empathy and humanity through music, visual arts and other intercultural expressions, that help to transform the globalizing society.

Being able to deal well with differences is a pressing as well as delicate issue of late modern times; a social question that sparks intolerant opinions and heated political and religious debates. To stay away from polarizing discussions, the QfWf focusses on inter-cultural connections, following a path of ‘glocalization’ ― a combined perspective of ‘the local’ with ‘the global’. In this way, the QfWf aims to contribute to a cosmopolitan mindset in growing Circles of Concern (Martha Nussbaum). This integrative approach was discussed by the late emeritus professor Couwenberg on the Wisdomweb.

Dealing with differences: World Citizenship!

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’.

Therefore, the QfWf focusses on creating awareness of who ‘we’ are as citizens of the cosmopolis: nomads with intercultural identities, transcending differences in culture, race, religion, ethnicity, gender,…

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

The QfWf-goal of world citizenship follows a path of developing inter-cultural artistic programmes both by tapping into the cultural and historical contexts of stories, art, music, rituals, and symbolism from various wisdom traditions, as well as creating in-between spaces through living encounters with music, visual arts, and dialogue, expressing values that connect cultures — like mercy, empathy, and humanity — to foster an ethos of world citizenship in the dynamic field of a globalizing society.

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-between people for a human world (Hannah Arendt) 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, established by the core value of reciprocity! Please, contact us on out vision and mission: bestuur@questforwisdom.org

6, 7: The Board of the QfWf

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

The Quest for Wisdom carries out its activities through the voluntary efforts of a Circle of dedicated artists, writers, and other volunteers. The occasionally awarded grants have given the QfWf-projects a boost.

The grant applied for in 2025 by an alliance of 8 organisations to the municipality of Amsterdam was unfortunately not awarded. However, this application did provide a spin-off for a new collaboration and for exposure, such as participating at the event in Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam on 19 March 2026 during the week celebrating 60 years of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, established by the UN after the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960.

In 2021 as well as in 2024 the QfWf received funding, due to the cultural and social relevance of her activities. The first grant in 2021 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 grant in 2024 on Global Citizenship resulted in organizing several events around a visual exhibition with an intercultural program and the launching of a digital platform for the Golden Ratio Quest around a yearly theme of the intercultural art of living.

Hereby, the QfWf has integrated the three Quest for Wisdom to serve the shared goal of world citizenship: 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 in retrospect since 1 January 2018.

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

Annual Reports of the QfWf

Update 2026-08

QfWf: Cultural ANBI status Read More »