(Photos: Peter de Koning)

We are all human beings. Our professional functions in our institutions should be supportive to the core natural values for sustainable human progress. Our institutions then become powerful instruments for sustaining our wellness today and for the future generations. In the past money driven economic parameters may have determined our choices and investments. Now it is our (own and environmental) health, awareness and safety, that leads us. Money is a means, just like technology, our talents, insights, commitment, etc.

“It is significant that I, a simple human being as citizen of this region, not in representation of any institution or government, just through the invitation to our cooperative, multidisciplinary initiative for health, air quality and regional dynamics (AiREAS), is formally asking the leading most knowledgable institutions of our region and country, to engage and help with their expertise and means, the health challenge and projects that we all (citizens and institutions) share in this world, country and region.”

As we sign and cut the cake we turn the world to what it should be, institutions as powerful instruments for wellness and sustainable human resilience in the hands of human awareness and prioritized health challenges. The photo is significant because all institutions, with people in leadership and management function, symbolically gather BEHIND me as the representative of our core natural human values in act of support and commitment. A beautiful and significant moment.

We will be rolling out a measurement network for air quality and sound. This will be done to support citizens and institutions of 21 municipalities in the region to take measures for health insights, improvement and maintenance. Three research actions have been formulated. City air quality, airport impact and rural (specifically cattle holding impact) pollution. We will be working on air quality and health through citizens and institutional engagement. AiREAS and its sister COS3i (social inclusion and engagement into our core values) already work with various municipalities on very local challenges through participation.

AiREAS was set up as sustainocratic cooperative in 2010 within the context defined by STIR City of Tomorrow. It does not wish to be another institution, therefore has no resources of its own. It ‘s function is to connect in a multidisciplinary way resources and people to our common challenge, in this case for air quality, human health and our regional dynamics. All necessary resources are brought in by the diversity of partners, based on projects and expected results, formulated together. The biggest challenge being our citizen’s engagement to our own health with the support of the institutions. AiREAS shares its results worldwide through open access publications.