Weaving humanity back into the web of life
Speakers
Christine Webb PhD
Christine received a PhD in Psychology from Columbia University (2015), where she studied individual differences in reconciliation behavior in humans and chimpanzees. Before joining Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology as a College Fellow, she continued studying conflict resolution through post-doctoral fellowships in The Netherlands and France in collaboration with the Tsaobis Baboon Project. Her most recent research focuses on consolation and other markers of empathy; her latest projects include a largescale comparative study between chimpanzees at Chimfunshi wildlife orphanage and bonobos at Lola ya Bonobo sanctuary, and a cross-cultural study of empathy’s development in humans across diverse Indonesian societies. Simultaneously, she has a growing passion for animal ethics and dismantling notions of human exceptionalism, particularly in science, and was last seen pronouncing humans the most arrogant ape. Read more about Christine and her work here
Sicelo Mbatha
Sicelo is a spiritual nature guide working through his organisation Umkhiwane Sacred Pathways. He has dedicated his life to fostering deep connections between humans and nature. He believes that this medicine is needed to heal the world from the wounds of environmental destruction and social injustice. Drawing from his Zulu culture and a yearning to better understand human's relationship to nature, Sicelo has forged a new path to nature with an immersive, respectful and transformative way of being in the wilderness. His book, Black Lion, is an urgent reminder of how much we need wilderness for our emotional and spiritual survival.
Sicelo grew up alongside the Huhluwe/Imfolozi nature reserve in South Africa, and nature has always been his medicine, his teacher and his spiritual home. He invites you to connect with the indigenous wisdom of his people, and with his local communities, and find your soul through the spirit of our collective humanness, or ubuntu. Read more about Sicelo here
