SOAM

A community catalyst dedicated to nurturing collaboration, experimentation and learning for transformative change.

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This is a decisive decade for humanity and the planet. We need to take action now to shape our long-term future.

Our life’s foundations are radically shifting. From climate crisis to technological acceleration and changing values, transformations abound in today’s world.

What we need now are societies capable of co-creating desirable futures. This takes new ways of thinking, acting and coming together — across disciplines, sectors and localities.

In short: we are called to cultivate our collective ability to imagine, seed and catalyze radical systemic changes.

SOAM is a community catalyst that explores new forms of collaborative imagination, experimentation and learning. Our programs support and connect people who work on the cutting-edges of social, ecological, and technological transformations.

Join our evolving community of practice and engage with other spirited, inquisitive and — at times — provocative minds.


Why we exist

Mission,

In face of growing existential risk, how might we steward pathways toward planetary well-being?

Around the world, we are feeling the urgency to shift the status quo in order to tackle today’s planetary-scale challenges. Calls for transformation are popping up everywhere. Yet we hardly move beyond buzzwords or proclaimed intents.

So how might we make meaningful change happen? How might we leverage our relationships to bring the new into reality? How might we imagine, design and build systems that support a collective breakthrough?

SOAM strives to advance our understanding of transformative change by weaving together diverse people, projects and perspectives. Launched in 2021, we are guided by our conviction that all purposeful transformations are a collaborative journey. This is why we support and connect communities that aim to challenge established paradigms and demonstrate new patterns of possibility. Our intention is to nurture new ecologies of thought and practice through which we can build a thriving future, together.

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What we do

Approach,

Not all collaborations change the world but all systemic changes require collaboration.

We are offering two distinct yet interrelated programs:

The SOAM Residency Program provides individuals or teams with the opportunity to pursue their projects in a serene environment and connect with fellow residents from different disciplines, sectors and backgrounds.

The SOAM Community Program creates containers for diverse communities to gather and connect around shared commitments to action — all in a stimulating setting conducive to generative dialogues and integrative experiences.

The programs support both accomplished practitioners and up-and-coming pioneers at the cutting edge of social, technological and ecological transformations. This includes but is not limited to researchers, artists, entrepreneurs, innovators, designers, technologists, policy-makers and civil advocates.

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Who we are

Curators,

We are a growing network of people dedicated to unlocking our collective ability to transform the status quo.
Felix Beer (Harvard Kennedy School):

Felix (he/him) is a researcher and strategist working at the intersection of democracy, technology, and institutional design. With affiliations at the TUM Think Tank, European University Institute and BlockchainGov, he focuses on building collaborative interfaces between public institutions and governance pioneers. His goal is to develop innovation ecosystems capable of prototyping and scaling the deep institutional transformations needed to tackle today’s planetary challenges.

Nicole Manger (German Federal Foreign Office):

Nicole (she/her) is a strategist and diplomat shaping global frameworks for AI governance and digital cooperation at the German Federal Foreign Office. She has launched major multilateral initiatives, including the UN-backed Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF’d), to improve crisis prevention through open-source data. Through her new project the Global Digital Futures Architects, she builds a community catalyst for expertise, talent and capital to change the future of public-interest technology.

Holke Brammer (Hypercerts Foundation):

Holke (he/him) is a political economist who is committed to improving the capacity of groups to engage in collective action through the use of technology. Currently, he is focused on the development and adoption of open-source protocols for public good funding and impact reward systems.

Florian Egli (Technical University Munich):

Florian (he/him) is a political economist and Professor for Public Policy for the Green Transition at TU Munich. He leads the Transformation Finance Lab, where he co-develops policies with key stakeholders to mobilize finance for sustainable and equitable futures. He advises VC funds, contributes to EU policy bodies such as the Scientific Committee of the European Environment Agency, and co-founded Expedition Zukunft, a think-and-do tank for transformative change.

Caroline Breit (TUM Think Tank):

Caroline (she/her) is a political scientist exploring how technology and governance can serve the public good in times of deep transformation. At the TUM Think Tank, she works on public interest technology, AI capacity building, and the development of institutional approaches to emerging technologies. Previously, she led the development and implementation of a multi-million euro public-private fund to strengthen civil society.

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Support us

Partner,

SOAM thrives on collaborations with individuals, organizations and networks who want to break new ground. Together we develop programs that have a strong, positive and lasting impact on the community we support as well as on the audiences they reach.
 
We would be delighted to count you among our partners and look forward to engaging in a sustained dialogue.