Actor Michael Douglas Speech Elevates Hope As Pathway for Global Leadership Dame Jane Goodall and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg Deliver Co-Author Tributes Book Editor Osvald Bjelland, Origination Founder, Offers Hope as A Strategy
Surprise Appearance by Iranian Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi Stuns
NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Explorers Club hosted a star-studded global book launch event to celebrate the 80th UN General Assembly and 16th annual Climate Week gathering of global heads of state, business, cultural, scientific and academic leaders for Hope for Life on Our Planet: Inspiration for Seven Generations. With speaker, overflow rooms, and balconies filled, Explorers Club President Emeritus Ted Janulis and Explorers Club Trustee and Poet Laureate Leonard Levie, Chairman of AIAC, opened the event. Book editor and co-author, Dr. Osvald Bjelland, Founder and Chairman of the Origination Foundation, shared the story of the book’s genesis and the mission of over 60 notable contributing authors across interdisciplinary sectors. Bjelland shared the story of his efforts through former Chair of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee Berit Reiss-Andersen to secure an opening essay for the book from Iran’s Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi – then under solitary confinement in Iran’s Evin prison. The audience was stunned when Bjelland unveiled a live video link with Mohammadi in Tehran to speak.
Global icon ethologist and conservationist Dame Jane Goodall and Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg delivered co-author tributes on the importance of the book and of hope for our times. A distinguished panel followed with other co-authors Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s former Minister of Environment and Executive Director of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, Jonathan Granoff, UN Representative for the Summit of Nobel Laureates, and scholar Dr. Robert Thurman, Columbia University Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, moderated by Bloomberg News’ Lyndsay Howard. Actor and UN Messenger of Peace Michael Douglas‘ speech on leadership and human values closed the event.
“This is an important book because we are going through dark times, and it is more important than ever that we have HOPE. The book, HOPE FOR LIFE ON OUR PLANET could not come at a more important time,” said Dame Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, the global youth movement Roots and Shoots, and UN Messenger of Peace.
“The role of a leader is to be a hopeful person who empowers others to have the same feeling. Hope can energize us to do difficult and valuable work — and to believe we can change the world through hard work – and smart work. Technology plays a key role to power and empower people to connect to each other and prosper around the world. I believe everyone should have the same access to these technologies,” said Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg.
“No wall can imprison hope, and no power can destroy our belief in freedom and justice. In prison, I learned that hope is not only a feeling, it is a force. My message is simple but urgent: the world is still worth believing in. Hope is the strongest weapon we have. Let us build a world worthy of our children,” stated Iran’s Nobel Peace Laureate Narges Mohammadi.
“We see a tremendous energy, enthusiasm, and commitment by a growing number of young people around the world. They do not intend to give up on their own future. We also see global leaders with a relentless focus on technologies, business and financial modelling, and partnerships which will help us restore, regenerate, and drive progress for life on our planet,” said Origination Foundation Chairman and book editor Dr. Osvald Bjelland.
Hope for Life on Our Planet‘s contributing authors include three Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Iran’s Narges Mohammadi, Ukraine’s Oleksandra Matviichuk, and two-time president of Costa Rica Óscar Arias Sánchez; religious leaders such as the late Pope Francis; business leaders with World Bank president Ajaypal Singh “Ajay” Banga, Verizon’s Hans Vestberg, Tata Sons’ Natarajan Chandrasekaran, and Swedish green steel giant Stegra CEO Henrik Henriksson, as well as original essays from science, conservation, and exploration giants such as Dame Jane Goodall and polar explorer Robert Swan, among over sixty voices, many of whom joined the Explorers Club book launch.
Explorers Club Hope Book Event Links:
About the Origination Foundation
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