Playfulness creates space for establishing meaningful connections between people, which fosters encounters that both entertain, educate and stimulate the participants: by letting go of our compulsion of norms, codes and traditionally learned frameworks and allowing a new interplay to arise in the in-between space…. Feeling free to explore different perspectives together and to agree on appropriate rules for what is at stake.
The Quest for Wisdom foundation has created the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living, on which the game Amor Fati elaborates, enhancing Global Citizenship. The book with the same title explains the board game as well as the philosophy of the Wheel as the intercultural art of living. Lecturer Michiel de Ronde says about this book:
“I see your work as a great reassessment, also revaluation, of the pre-modern world orientation. All those profound insights and life-creating practices that were often worshipped or cursed through hierarchical dominance, you present within a depth perspective of an endless horizontal mythic-human field, through which the world can become a home for all beings and people can meet on the basis of dialogue and appreciation.”
NL/EN, 2024, ISBN 978 90 441 3970 9
Also the bilingual Dialogue Tables Four Winds (De Vier Winden) is developed to enhance an open cosmopolitan culture as global citizens. The Adinkra-game consists of a set of cards with Akan symbols and proverbs, ordered according to the wisdom of the five elements earth, water, air, fire and ether — in a way that the Ghanaian elemental wisdom might be compared to European visions on the natural elements.
There are more World Games and teaching modules (to be) developed, in which intercultural perspectives are playfully and dialogically incorporated.
One hundred percent of the money raised by the sale of all of the products will be used in realising our upcoming QfWf educational projects, all of which are non-profit and run by volunteers.
Turn the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living!
Free as a Bird – Annelie van Steenbergen
The Game for Wisdom is based on mythical narratives, proverbs and intercultural symbols that encompass visions of happiness to explore your own art of living.
Twenty stories and eighty symbols from all corners of the world are categorized according to the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living. Through reflecting on questions and visualizations of elemental wisdom, players arrive at one of the 20 stories and are assigned to a personal path, that is mirrored in the narrative assigned by the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of Living. They then choose one of four symbols from that story as an intercultural symbolic signpost. In total, the game consists of 80 different symbols from wisdom traditions from the East, West, North and South.
How to play the Game for Wisdom
Animals from the woods ― symbol for natural wisdom
The Game for Wisdom invites players to reflect on (their own and others’) views on happiness in life through means of seven questions.
These revolve around themes of the art of living:
To which natural element do you feel connected most (earth, water, air, fire, ether)?
Is your attitude to life more towards being proactive or go-with-the-flow?
Which elemental motto gives direction on your life’s path?
Which strong quality encourages you for further development and which weaker quality do you want to develop more?
In which direction are you heading as your path to happiness?
See how a narrative envisions your path in this direction, according to the Wheel of the intercultural art of living;
Which intercultural symbol from this story, assigned by the Wheel of the intercultural art of living, would you choose as a signpost for your personal art of living?
Would you like to receive the full story and the symbol by mail in order to tap into the meaning of the symbolic signpost – possibly in a conversation with a Quest for Wisdom foundation counsellor?
Please contact us for free: info@questforwisdom.org
Heart, symbol of being open and listening to your own heart
The aim of the Game for Wisdom is to review the particular course you’ve taken in your life (and career) as seen from the perspective of (inter)cultural mythological and philosophical wisdom.
The symbolism of the game forms a valuable mirror, which can be further explored through dialogue for the development of the intercultural art of living individually, as well as of a peer group or family, or as a work or sports team.
Professional use of the Game for Wisdom
Are you interested in using the game in a professional environment yourself? Inquire about possibilities:info@questforwisdom.org
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
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!
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:
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Playfulness creates space for establishing meaningful connections between people, which fosters encounters that both entertain, educate and stimulate the participants: by letting go of our compulsion of norms, codes and traditionally learned frameworks and allowing a new interplay to arise in the in-between space…. Feeling free to explore different perspectives together and to agree on appropriate rules for what is at stake.
