These proceedings include works of the third symposium of the Overcoming International Association*. The symposium was held by the Association jointly with the Biopolitics International Organization (B.I.O.), with the participation of its Founder and President Dr. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis.
The place and time of the symposium are symbolic. Participants of the symposium gathered in the city of Slavutich, which sprang up 10 years ago as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. They gathered on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the technological disaster which has become a symbol of contemporary postindustrial civilization and. at the same time, an example of overcoming a crisis situation. Today the city of Slavutich lives its normal life while the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant has risen from the ashes, is working and completely safe.
There is no universal recipe for overcoming crises and catastrophes. Yet, we can point out a necessary condition for a way out of the present difficulty. This condition is the observance of moral principles, common to all mankind — that is, in following the voice of conscience and the Ten Commandments. This is the basis of our existence, and is the main road for people who have power and are called to make decisions.
The time of the symposium is also remarkable in a very deep sense. It took place on the eve of Holy Week, a week of great sufferings, and then the death and resurrection of our Lord. This Christian truth and hope accompanied the discussion that followed the reports at the symposium.
Problems of a paradigm of civilization for the third millennium were discussed from two points of view: from the point of view of B.I.O. and from the point of view of the ideology of Overcoming. Just as in the previous symposiums in 1995 and 1996, a wide range of philosophical, cultural and social problems was in the center of attention of participants:
- the creation of an “artificial space” and judgment of existence by reason;
- contemporary eschatology;
- absolute evil and the loss of the future;
- a search for ecological, energy and moral limits in practice;
- a need for a purpose in life;
- the holiness of existence and reverence before life;
- a shift from the anthropocentric to the biocentric model of existence;
- the connection between the historical progress of mankind and the ecological state of the planet;
- a common scheme for the formation of the structure of world civilization:
- a need to balance the interaction between man and nature;
- the accumulation of information and the need for comprehending knowledge;
- a dialogue between philosophy and religion, and science with theology;
- an anthropological look at technology as at a projection of human organs;
- limits for the exploitation of world matter;
- life precepts of man and the civilization process;
- inner and outer religiosity;
- a map of contemporary religion;
- a shift of religious paradigms in the next millennium, etc.
The ideas of B.I.O., set forth by Dr. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis, played a significant role in discussing the problems under consideration. In her speech, she offered a realistic way out of the deadlocks of the present civilization. The subject of her presentation was an integral vision for the future from the position of preserving all the living, “the reverence before life” which will allow us to shift from personal and national problems to the most essential task of the continuation of the chain of life on this planet. Dr. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis led a brainstorming session which resulted in an idea of creating in Slavutich a branch of the International University for the Bio-Environment (ideas of B.I. 0. are supported in 85 countries of the world). An offer of Dr. Stanislav Sokolenko, Director General of the Foreign Trade Association ”Ukrimpex,” to establish a free ecological and economic zone in Slavutich, was actively discussed.
Thus theoretical reports which were necessary for understanding the global situation on the planet finally focused like an X-ray on the destiny of the city of Slavutich. In this single-industry city with a population of 26,000, the problem of unemployment and the shift of the city to another model will spring up immediately after shutting the Chernobyl Plant down. The biocentric model with the priority of ecological, cultural and spiritual values was offered as such a model.
In conclusion, the participants of the symposium carried a resolution where their vision of the present state of civilization was reflected and the necessary first step for OVERCOMING the approaching disaster was marked out.
Dr. Agni Vlavianos-Arvanitis spoke English, while other participants spoke Russian.
The texts of the speeches and discussions were transcribed from a tape recording, so they retain the specific character of the spoken style of the authors.
* Overcoming is a new and more succinct name for the Moral Preconditions for Overcoming the Crisis in Ukraine Public Movement
