The Social systems
Foundation
“Tell me with whom you associate, and I will tell you who you are.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
What it does
Purpose and Objective
The purpose of the Foundation is to support and guide the work of the Social Systems lab with the broader remit to foster systemic transformation. From the statutes: The purpose of the Foundation is to support the emergence and development of initiatives, networks and communities that foster systemic transformations toward thriving societies and civilisations.
The Social Systems Foundation is religiously and politically unaffiliated.
How we got here
A Brief History
The Social Systems Lab was originally registered in 2019 in Cape Town in order to create a legal and financial container around the software project Crowdpol, an early version of the Circles platform. A year later a restricted dividend company was created in Sweden, owned by the non-profit organisation Syntropi.
As the project grew in scope to involve individual contributors from many organisations and networks, the necessity to create a longer-term structure that could strengthen and protect the open-source non-profit nature of the project became apparent. To meet this need, the Social Systems Foundation was created in Stockholm, Sweden, in January 2022 and took over full ownership of the restricted dividend company “Social Systems Lab International (svb)”.
It is worth noting that the AB (svb) business category is specially created for public non-profit operations, such as schools and elderly care. The category allows only a limited possibility to extract profits by the owners to ensure that as many funds as possible are invested in the business activity. In addition, as the business is owned by the foundation, any dividends paid to the foundation would need to be recycled back into the business or put to good use in some other way as the foundation is a not-for-profit entity. This means any funds accepted by the foundation are doubly protected.
As it currently stands, the Social Systems Foundation is the entity ultimately responsible for the Circles platform, the Altruistic Wallet application and all other activities within the remit of Social Systems Lab.
who it is
The Board of Directors
The board currently consists of Timothy Olsson, Robert Sevenius, Violeta Bulc, Alexander Laszlo, Mathapelo Mzizi and Arti Ahluwalia.
Tim Olsson is the founder and director of Social Systems Lab. He has a passion for designing human-friendly technology that might one day be part of the infrastructure of a thriving civilisation that will allow us to become an interstellar species. Because a guy can dream, can’t he? One of the main instigators behind the Circles project and The Altruistic Wallet, his professional background is in journalism, healthcare, facilitation, blockchain and project management. He is the author of one book, multiple articles, and quite a few catchy songs if he says so himself. He is the owner of several businesses and has a passion for transforming systems through civic technology and deep democracy. He is also the current acting chairperson of the foundation.
Robert Sevenius has written several books on law and finance, among these the seminal work on Due Diligence used in universities across the country, and has extensive hands-on experience in his field. He is also a sought-after speaker and consultant in the interaction between blockchain and finance as well as a lecturer. In his own words, he is on a voyage through legal & financial space with the mission to boldly go where no legal economist has gone before. This voyage has taken him through, among others, the outlandish microcosmoses of valuation, due diligence, M&A, corporate governance and business law. He is the treasurer of the foundation and thus the person who will make sure that any funds entrusted to us will be used wisely.
Dr Hc. Violeta Bulc is a multiply awarded innovator and entrepreneur who is probably best known for her five years as the commissioner of transport for the European Union where she placed priority on Digitalization, Decarbonisation, Gender inclusion, Women Empowerment, Innovation, people focus, and global collaboration in transport. Prior to this she was the Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia and is a board member of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI). She is also the founder and lead advocate of the Ecocivilisation network and a member of the G100 network with chairs in 34 countries and counting.
Dr Alexander Laszlo is a Researcher, consultant and instructor as well as a professor in graduate-level programs at a variety of accredited universities internationally. His experience includes that of Director of the Doctoral Program in Management at the Graduate School of Business Administration & Leadership (EGADE), Mexico, and Founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Leadership and Systemic Innovation at the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA). His expertise lies in the field of systems thinking and social systems design, facilitation of learning dynamics, individual and group empowerment, graduate and post-doctoral research in emergence, sentience and conscious evolution, research methods, conflict dissolution, and the philosophy and practice of the Martial Arts. He is the author of over a hundred journal, book, and encyclopedia publications and sits on the Editorial Boards of seven internationally arbitered journals.
Mathapelo Mzizi is the Partnership Manager at Ericsson Headquarters in Stockholm. She is a strategic powerhouse responsible for cultivating partnerships with prestigious organisations like UNICEF and the Nobel Foundation. She has over a decade of experience leading global marketing initiatives such as AI and expertise in Technology, Inclusion Innovation, Business and leadership experience. As a One Young World Ambassador and HULT PRIZE Dubai Intra competition regional winner, she is dedicated to driving positive change through her passion for innovation, human equality, and leveraging technology to solve socio-economic issues.
Arti Ahluwalia is a United Nations Representative and Coordinator of Publications UN Commons Cluster NGO Major Group. A Problem Solver and Solution Designer who plays with Agile Philosophy, Design Thinking, Systems Thinking, and recently also Laws of Nature concept. Arti has worked worked across 50+ Fortune & not so Fortune 500s in India and internationally on various subjects & industry types as marathon and journey interventions. Her passion project is BE WELL, a behaviour and wellbeing framework she developed to address vulnerable adolescents, that cusp of decision making citizenry of the planet, and its influencing human ecosystem, in gaining better awareness of themselves & each other to build those ideal thriving family and larger social networks, through a system of behavioural interventions.
Foundation information
The Social Systems Foundation
Registration number:
803482-2630
Bank details
Bank Name: SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken)
Account Name: Stiftelsen Social Systems
Account no: 52551081637
BIC/SWIFT: ESSESESSXXX
Social Systems Lab International (svb)
Registration number:
559264-4289
Bank details
Bank Name: SEB (Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken)
Account Name: Social Systems Lab International
Account no: 52151130126
BIC/SWIFT: ESSESESSXXX