8–9 April 2026  ·  Züricher Hochschule der Künste

Unboxing Holotopia

Among the initiatives aimed at reversing our civilisation’s downward spiral, the Holotopia initiative stands out by facilitating a transformative shift towards a significantly improved human and societal condition—which we refer to as “whole.”

In this workshop, you'll have the unique opportunity to actively participate in designing the holotopia paradigm prototype: a comprehensive toolkit encompassing all the essential components required for this transition.

We begin each module with a lecture introducing its theme, followed by a session where participants contribute their own experiences, views and questions.

Read the programme ↓

Workshop leaders

Dino Karabeg
Associate Professor Emeritus,
University of Oslo

Fredrik Eive Refsli
Associate Professor,
Kristiania University of Applied Sciences

Hosted by

MA Transdisciplinary Studies in the Arts
Züricher Hochschule der Künste

Programme

Two days. Six modules. From world in chaos to global thriving.

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The programme is available as a PDF.

Open programme PDF ↗

About

Arne was demonstrably right, when he urged us to shift focus from “problems” to “deep ecology”.

Through the Holotopia initiative, we aim to transition from a superficial to a profound—or, as we prefer to call it, informed—approach to the core issues of our lives and times, especially in light of the pressing and existential challenges we face.

This transition is made tangible and feasible by the holotopia paradigm prototype—a carefully constructed model designed to facilitate and operationalize it.

At its core, this prototype comprises a complete prototype of a transdisciplinary academy, encompassing all the elements that constitute academic disciplines, from epistemology and methodology to an international community of experts and real-world applications.

Our prototypes are actual instances of complete socio-technical systems or their components, serving as (1) models, demonstrating how a specific societal system, such as public informing, education, or scientific communication, can be significantly improved, (2) interventions, enabling us to channel our creative energies into impacting and transforming real-world systems, and (3) experiments, revealing what works effectively and what still requires improvement.

By creating prototypes, the transdisciplinary academy empowers us to harness our creative abilities for meaningful impact and change.

Does the holotopia paradigm prototype truly encompass all the necessary elements to successfully complete this timely transition? To address this, we are organising a series of unboxing holotopia events that will engage experts and change-makers to contribute to its further evolution.

Arne Næss photo
“A shallow, but presently rather powerful movement, and a deep, but less influential movement, compete for our attention.”

— Arne Næss, 1973

Book 1

Holotopia in Brief — an initial prototype of the holotopia paradigm

Holotopia in Brief describes a comprehensive paradigm prototype—a toolkit of ideas, methods, and prototypes—for transitioning toward a world that is whole. It is the intellectual foundation of the Holotopia initiative.

Holotopia in Brief – front cover Holotopia in Brief – back cover

The book introduces polyscopic methodology: a transdisciplinary approach to knowledge that treats all forms of human experience—scientific, artistic, traditional—as equally valid sources of insight. Where conventional academic work produces fragments, polyscopic methodology seeks coherence.

Written to be accessible to a general audience while remaining rigorous, it maps the fundamental error at the root of our civilisational challenges—and outlines the corrections that could set us on a different course.

Book Excerpts (click to read)

  • Holotopia turns problems into fuel for creative change

    pp. 4–6

  • Transdisciplinary “scientific method” is key to cultural revival

    pp. 52–57

  • Holotopia’s ethics is opposite from the ethos of materialism

    p. 92

  • Public informing that illuminates the way to (true) democracy

    pp. 77–79

  • Education that empowers students to change traditional professions

    pp. 80–81

  • Scientific communication that brings results to impact

    pp. 82–84

Book 2

Liberation — the next step in the holotopia journey

Liberation continues where Holotopia in Brief left off. Where the first book outlines the paradigm prototype as a toolkit, Liberation explores the deeper human and cultural transformation that is both the precondition and the consequence of moving toward a whole world.

Liberation – flat cover

The title points to what is ultimately at stake: freeing ourselves from the habits of thought, perception, and organisation that keep us locked in a fragmentary world—and discovering what becomes possible once those constraints are removed.

Together, the two books form the literary backbone of the Holotopia initiative—one mapping the territory, the other tracing the path through it.

Holotopia Resources

Further reading, viewing, and exploring

The Holotopia initiative drives positive global change through a two-way information flow: (1) We collaborate on developing the holotopia paradigm prototype, and (2) we facilitate real-world change through communication and implementation of its various components. We are currently utilising the following resources to implement this activity.

Holotopia in Brief

The elephant (metaphorically representing holotopia, the impending new world order) is already in the room; to manifest him, we need to connect the dots. The book begins by explaining why and how the holotopia paradigm prototype and the transdisciplinary approach to knowledge enable us to connect the dots and make the difference that has to be made. It then outlines the resulting holotopia vision and explains how this vision challenges and transforms our understanding and handling of ethics, politics, and religion.

Liberation: Religion Beyond Belief

This book presents the “liberated” or “enlightened” or whole human condition, focusing on its inner or personal aspects in the first five chapters and its outer or societal aspects in the remaining five. Its central theme is that these two aspects of wholeness are densely interconnected. The book provides a compendium of resources for advancing to a whole personal and societal condition, presented as engaging people and situation histories called vignettes.

Holotopia YouTube Channel

This channel’s purpose is to spread holotopia’s memes in video format. Currently, it contains only a teaser trailer called “Noah and the Elephant,” which highlights the initiative’s core objective: empowering our next generation to collaboratively create a coherent new world order.

Holoscope Blog

As the Holotopia initiative's academic publication, this blog delves into the technical aspects of the holotopia paradigm prototype. It also functions like a newspaper, sharing with its readers an enticing vision of a remedial new world order emerging.

We repurposed the Holoscope blog by removing the old posts and adding a single post titled “Holotopia’s Ontology”—which challenges the assumptions about fundamental ontological entities—language, mind, and reality—that underpin our world order.

Only by reaching this level of depth can we transform the “huge problems” we perceive into huge opportunities.

This Website

Once fully developed, this website will serve as a community portal, enabling us to develop and streamline the initiative's activities.