On April 7, the Tällberg Foundation together with The National Council of Swedish Youth Organisations (LSU) held a conversation with Chief Oren Lyons. He is Chief of the Onondaga Council of Chiefs of the Haudensoaunee, Iroquois Confederacy.

The conversation was hosted by the ”Young Muslims” organization and took place at the Mosque in central Stockholm.

This evening conversation started with an overview of the sustainability challenge that we are facing, with the climate crisis being the most urgent problem. Population and economic growth, fuelled by fossil energy, has led us to an unparalleled eco-systems and climate challenge. While we earlier have been able to act as if Earth is unlimited, we are now each day approaching or surpassing the boundary conditions of the eco-systems. While this is leading to new conditions for life for large parts of the world, the pressure on the lasting resources are increasing. What does the leadership look like, that can deal with this systems problem?

Chief Oren Lyons led an open and explorative conversation on the leadership challenges for today’s world and for the future. He greeted the group of 30 young leaders from various Swedish youth organizations with the challenging words, that ‘you are part of a special age group with a large obligation’. With the words and messages from Chief Lyons, the pace in the room slowed and made room for reflections. Through his stories about his own community and their approach to leadership, Chief Lyons stressed the need for cooperation, systems understanding and sustainability. He asked for a new type of leader, who is both visionary and pragmatic at the same time. We need this if we are to cooperate to find the truly sustainable solutions to today’s great challenges.