Tällberg Gathering 2019, a small scale and high level seminar on the theme of “Tao in Life” was successfully held in Tällberg, Sweden. This event was co-hosted by Beijing International Exchange Association Sustainable Development Committee (BJ-SDC) and TongTao Institute, and was organized by Aurora Borealis Foundation.
Group Photo at Tällberg
Dozens of influential participants from academic and business sectors attended the event, including Anders Wijkman, Co-president of the Club of Rome; Hans Olov Olsson, Vice President of Volvo Cars; Göran Carstedt, former President of IKEA North America; Christopher Chuang and Bo Ekman, Co-founders and Co-Chairs of Aurora Borealis Foundation; Simon Jones, CEO of Aurora Borealis Foundation; Alwin Van der Linde, Renowned Artist and Ambassador of Extremadura Autonomous Region for China; Jeanne-Marie Gescher, World’s Leading Advisor on China; Tomas Björkman, Founder of Ekskäret Foundation; Julie Catterson Lindahl, Author, Researcher and Social Entrepreneur; Ray Liu, Chairman of BJ-SDC and Alice Wang, Executive Chairman of TongTao Institute.
Discussion - "Tao in Life"
As an important initiator and sponsor of this activity, Christopher Chuang, Co-founder and Co-chair of the Aurora Borealis Foundation, led a discussion on Taoist culture. Participants jointly discussed how to become a pioneer of “Tao in Life”. In a life with Tao, we explore the relationship between nature, society and our lives, promote ourselves along with the evolution of Tao and finally achieve the state of "living in Tao and Tao in life". During the event, guests from the east and west gave in-depth interpretations of "Tao in life" from their hearts.
Christopher Chuang (middle of the front) and Bo Ekman (right of the front)
Besides the discussion around the Tao, the participants also had a detailed discussion on the international forum to be held by BJ-SDC in Africa in early December, to lay a solid foundation for advancing the preparatory work for the forum. Simon Jones and Alwin van der Linde also provided precious suggestions for the "Lijiang International Forum on Ecological Civilization" to be held by BJ-SDC in Lijiang, Yunnan, from October 23rd to 25th.
Concert
After heated discussions on various issues, participants visited Dalhalla Amphitheater to enjoy a concert by the famous Swedish singer Laleh Pourkarim. Her music is exquisite, clean and fluent, and purify everyone's heart with her unique voice. Dalhalla Amphitheatre, venue of the concert, is also one of the amazing buildings in Sweden. The 4000 seats amphitheater is located in the central Swedish province of Darana and was rebuilt from an abandoned limestone quarry.
Swedish musicians performed at the gathering
After the meeting, members of BJ-SDC also visited the Ytterjarna, the ecological town in Sweden. The town is close to the Baltic Sea and has a favorable geographical location surrounded by bio-dynamic farms, forests and open fields. Since 1930s, many social enterprises inspired by anthroposophy established their career here, including organic market, clinics, dairy stores, bio-dynamic farms, schools, hotels, cultural centers and social institutions providing support for people with physical and mental disabilities. The small town is a combination of nature, art, humanity, ecology, and practicality. It is a successful case of eco-community worth learning from.