AEON Collective

That’s a wrap folks! Thanks to all the lovely people who came along to join us at our COP16Riyadh People’s Pavillion over the last few weeks and to those who popped their heads in to say hi. We loved meeting you! 👋🌳 We had a packed schedule of back-to-back events throughout our time at COP16. A big thank you to all of our #team for their tireless enthusiasm and devotion and a big thanks to all of our #partner organisations for making the last two weeks a big success with fruitful #collaborations, #knowledge exchange and enjoyable discussions. We’re here to support the many transitions #SaudiArabia is going through towards a more sustainable #future, based on the ancestral wisdom of our #past and evidence-based #research from our present. Our initiatives are local, regional and international, and we’re growing. We’ve been building and expanding our #network at COP16 and over the last year. There is much more to come! Watch this space for our new initiatives in 2025 as we accelerate and deepen our #mission to advance #sustainabledevelopment and repair the #planet. For more of our regular updates, check out our Instagram @aeoncollective_ here: https://lnkd.in/eeDzpKfQ At #COP16, we launched our Planetary Action Network (a network of #institutions focused on repairing the planet) 🤝 and our Tree Library initiative (a community-building platform for #people focused on repairing the planet) 🌳📚 . For more on our Tree Library initiative, see here: https://lnkd.in/epNZuD7U Meaad Abdalla Sara Saud Alshalan Wakim Zeidan Syed Hamdan Abdullah Al-Nahdi Charles Phillips Patricia Sala Sam Usher Arwa Osman Evan Blumer Mashael AlShalan Noura bint Turki Al-Saud #planetaryrepair 🌍

“The Dear Quarter” The tale of our land encompasses an ancient majesty and a bright future. HH Princess Mashael Al-Shalan, Co-founder of AEON Collective, tells the story of her profound connection to the land. #OurLandOurFuture #COP16Riyadh "الربع الغالي" قصة أرض تحضن التاريخ، وتعانق المستقبل الأميرة مشاعل الشعلان الشريكة المؤسسة لمجموعة AEON Collective تروي قصتها مع الأرض. #أرضنا_مستقبلنا #كوب16_الرياض

KAUST is committed to collaborating with policymakers and NGOs to create a healthier and more sustainable future for Saudi Arabia. KAUST Professor Imed Gallouzi joined HH Princess Mashael Al-Shalan from AEON Collective and fellow researchers at #COP16 to highlight the need for a united response to interconnected challenges related to land degradation, air quality and human health. Bringing KAUST's expertise to the forefront, Professor Gallouzi emphasized the urgent need for action and showcased how KAUST is contributing to solutions through: Developing advanced sensor technologies for air-quality monitoring. Bridging the gap between scientific research and impactful policymaking. #KAUSTCOP16 #KAUST

Today, I had the privilege of moderating a powerful session hosted by AEON Collective, who helped bring my topic to life through their incredible support and vision. The session, titled “Resilience in the Face of Generational Trauma: Navigating Ongoing Hardships,” featured a distinguished panel, including Christopher Bailey (Arts & Health Lead, WHO), Abdelkader Damani (Chief Curator, AEON Collective), and Markus Reymann (Co-Director, TBA21). Together, we explored the profound impact of generational trauma and its interconnection with resilience and healing through the arts. The discussion delved into personal stories of working with marginalized communities, including those in Ukraine facing the ongoing effects of conflict and trauma. We examined how generational trauma not only affects individuals and families but also leaves its mark on the land — through damaged ecosystems, agriculture, and landscapes in war-torn areas. A key insight was the role of art in healing generational trauma. Unlike traditional therapy, which may inadvertently cause communities to relive their trauma, art offers a transformative approach. It allows for expression, storytelling, and the reshaping of narratives, serving as a powerful tool for both personal and collective healing. Thank you, AEON Collective, for hosting us and creating the space to engage in such an important conversation. It was an honor to collaborate with this inspiring panel, and I look forward to continuing these vital discussions in the future.

We had a wonderful meeting this afternoon with one of China’s leading #conservation NGOs, SEE Foundation. The Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE) Foudation has extensive experience in addressing #desertification in northern China and in #storytelling of local #sustainability practices. SEE has brought a delegation of experts from China to COP16Riyadh to share lessons from China and develop international #partnerships. Tree Planting: The team told us how they have helped plant 100 million #trees in Inner Mongolia! SEE’s approach is to empower local #communities and learn from the #wisdom of local #farmers to protect the #environment. SEE was set up by #entrepreneurs concerned for the environment. See more here: https://lnkd.in/eMMuJBwA Gamification: The team also showed us the Ant Forest mobile App (backed by Alipay and Ant Finance) which enables users to plant and own real-life trees, using #gamification tools to encourage #behaviouralchange in peoples’ daily lives. We loved seeing this! Collaborations: As a Saudi #NGO dedicated to #sustainabledevelopment and #planetaryrepair, our work at AEON Collective has a lot of synergies with the growing #sustainability work being done in China. We look forward to deepening partnerships with our counterparts in East #Asia over the coming years. 🇨🇳🤝🇸🇦 Film Screening Today: We’ll be screening one of SEE’s short #films at 1:30pm today at our People’s Pavillion (it’s within the Science Oasis building in the COP16 Green Zone). Come along and join! Thanks to Peter Zhu and his team for paying us a visit and for the lovely gifts presented to Aeon’s Co-Founders Princess Mashael AlShalan and Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud. And thanks to our AEON Collective Associate Charles Phillips for bringing us all together. 🙌

NOW Partners Foundation is honored to join forces with AEON Collective, partnering at COP16Riyadh to advance regenerative agriculture and forestry as key solutions to combat desertification, climate change, and food insecurity. Together, Aeon and NOW co-hosted a Solutions Dialogue Dinner focused on Carbon Credits and a Green Zone session: "Regenerative Agriculture and Forestry Solutions that Prevent and Reverse Desertification" ➡️ Key Insights: Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud (Aeon Collective): "As stewards of our planet, we have a shared responsibility to prioritize sustainable land management and resilient food systems... By investing in nature-based solutions and empowering smallholder farmers, we not only address critical challenges but also create a path toward equitable and sustainable growth." Princess Mashael AlShalan (Aeon Collective): “The outcome is quite clear: agriculture is front and center in what we need to address with land degradation, and regenerative agriculture is the only solution. Now it's just a question of how do we ensure that we have the frameworks around them that would enable us to do it and deploy it?” Dr. Eliane Ubalijoro (CIFOR-ICRAF): Dr. Ubalijoro emphasized the importance of connecting farmers to farmers, sharing evidence-based practices. "Science tells a story about what nature has gifted us. We need to quiet our own cleverness and listen to the 3.8 billion years of this beautiful experiment called life." @Aline de Paula (Rabobank): "We need to find innovative finance opportunities to support the transition towards regenerative practices, recognizing that 85% of our portfolio is dependent on ecosystem services." Helmy Abouleish (SEKEM Group): What we experience in Egypt is that organic agriculture is part of the solution of so many of the challenges, also providing better livelihoods and cares for people. What we have already now are solutions. And what we need is mechanisms to put these solutions in place in different contexts and apply them. Walter Link (NOW): "Successful agroecology innovations demonstrate on millions of acres how to prevent and reverse desertification. Combining this with market-based mechanisms such as EoL’s Whole System Carbon Credits, farmers are fairly compensated for their crucial ecosystem services and earn better incomes than with chemical ag." Hunter Lovins (NOW & Global Academy): "The global expansion of regenerative agriculture is a key solution to the desertification and climate crises. Only if we make regenerative agriculture into the new mainstream will countries and companies be able reach their ambitious carbon neutrality goals." Merijn Dols (Future Economy Forum): “Our connection here is on the belief that bringing solution owners together in dialogue, holds a tremendous opportunity and actually is a key to solving these interconnected crises.” ➡️ Learn more: https://lnkd.in/guSsDBHs Fotos by Lobna elshoky and Gulin Olcer 

انضموا لنا في جلسة حوارية بعنوان "قيادة الحراك: النساء يشكلن مستقبل الأرض والطاقة والمياه" ضمن فعاليات قمة المناخ #COP16 #المرأة_والطاقة

My SGI Talk - What are you up to on Saturday 3pm (Saudi time)? Come along to this talk I’m moderating! It’s part of the #SGI Talks series which are taking place every day at 3pm in the Saudi Green Initiative Pavillion within COP16Riyadh’s Green Zone! I’ll be interviewing: -Andrew Zaloumis - CEO, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve Development Authority (PMBSR) -Dr. Talal AlHarigi - CEO of Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve Development Authority (IARDA) ‎هيئة تطوير محمية الإمام عبدالعزيز بن محمد الملكية I’ll be representing AEON Collective, a Saudi #NGO dedicated to #sustainabledevelopment and #planetaryrepair. We’ll be talking about #ecotourism, #animals, #rewilding, #biodiversity, restoring degraded #lands, how to prevent #overtourism and #hunting, local #communities, #women and #youth, scientists and #research, #economicdiversification and more! Come along and join! The event is free and open to all. Register to access the Green Zone here (it’s easy to do): https://lnkd.in/dPSDjZpa Nature Reserves: #IARDA manages 2 reserves: Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve and King Khalid Royal Reserve. Both are open to visit and are only about an hour’s drive from #Riyadh! They now offer several ecotourism activities: https://iarda.gov.sa/ #PMBSR is in northwest Saudi Arabia (in #Tabuk). The team have just reintroduced the indigenous Onager to #SaudiArabia after 100+ year absence: https://lnkd.in/eWx-Fk3r See more about the SGI Talks on the website here: https://lnkd.in/eKfjycAi Thanks to all of the team for bringing us together for this event! Loulwah Redwan, Reema AlThuwaib, Yvette Ayivi, Mercedes Bailey, Kawther AlShlash Faisal Al Smari #tourism #nature #reserves #naturereserves https://lnkd.in/etdneU6r

Today at #COP16, Professor Matthew McCabe spoke on the critical role that Earth observation will need to play in global biodiversity and land degradation efforts - particularly in KSA. He discussed the progress being made on creating an earth observation dashboard, with a prototype in the works, in collaboration with AEON Collective, Planet and the Københavns Universitet - University of Copenhagen. #ResilienceDay #LandDegradation #Sustainability #SaudiGreenInitiative #KAUSTCOP16

For Agri-food System Day, Dec 5 at COP16Riyadh: NOW Partners Foundation, co-hosts with AEON Collective the session in the Green Zone "Regenerative Agriculture and Forestry" including partner organizations Future Economy Forum, SEKEM Group, Economy of Love and Natural Capitalism Solutions If you are COP16Riyadh, join us in the Green Zone People's Pavilion Science Oasis Tent ➡️ Solutions Dialogue Details: Date: December 5th  Time: 16:00-17:00 AST Location: Green Zone People's Pavilion Science Oasis Tent ➡️ Co-hosts and moderators:  HH Princess Mashael AlShalan (Co-Founder, AEON Collective) Merijn Dols (Managing Partner, NOW Partners Foundation) ➡️ Speakers:  Dr. Eliane Ubalijoro (CEO, CIFOR-ICRAF)  Helmy Abouleish (CEO, SEKEM Group, Co-Chair EoL Global) Aline Fernanda de Paula (Rabobank) Walter Link (Founder, NOW Partners Foundation, Co-Chair EoL Global) Hunter Lovins (CEO, Natural Capitalism Solutions) ➡️ About: This session explores regenerative agriculture as a transformative approach to address global challenges in food security, climate resilience, and ecosystem restoration. By prioritizing practices that rebuild soil health, enhance biodiversity, and sequester carbon, regenerative agriculture offers a nature-positive solution for sustainable food systems. ➡️  Full Future Economy Forum schedule: https://lnkd.in/eRZjgxYx