DESMOND BERGHOFER

Desmond Berghofer is a leader of new thinking for a sustainable future. He brings a lively and diverse perspective to his work, ranging from business management consulting to the writing of futuristic fiction. He is an educator, author and consultant on leadership and the creative management of change.

Desmond holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Alberta and a BA from the University of Queensland. He is President of Creative Learning International, which he co-founded with his wife and business partner, Dr. Geraldine Schwartz, in 1988. They work as strategic coaches to organizations in business, education, government and the community. Desmond's professional career includes 11 years, from 1977-88 as Assistant Deputy Minister of Advanced Education with the Government of Alberta. He has represented Canada internationally through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

As an author and speaker, Desmond displays a passionate concern for the future of the planet and its citizens. His powerful first book, The Visioneers, floods with his strong belief that people who understand the larger picture will care for their earthly home. He developed this value growing up in a farming family in Queensland, Australia. It was here that he first learned to love the Earth.

A lifetime of experience in teaching, government service and entrepreneurial work in business brought him to Vancouver, Canada, where he now makes his home. As well as being President of Creative Learning International, Desmond is Chairman of the International Foundation of Learning and Co-founder of the Institute for Ethical Leadership. All three of these organizations are committed to acting to raise the quality of human interaction towards peace and sustainability.

Desmond has been editor and contributor to the The Visioneeer Newsletter since 1993. He is author of A Christmas Wish (1996), a delightful Christmas story for people of all ages, and Producer and Director of the film When the Earth Still had 1000 Days, which features the inspirational message of Dr. Robert Muller to the Global Citizenship Youth Congress in Vancouver in 1997. Desmond is also a contributing author to Prayers for a Thousand Years (1999), a collection of blessings and expressions of hope for the new millennium from leaders and visionaries around the world.

Desmond's current writing project is The Millennium Diary, which is being written day by day throughout 2001 to stimulate new thinking and energy for the momentous task now facing humanity of shifting economic, social and cultural life on Earth towards sustainability, equity and peace.

Desmond looks forward to meeting and collaborating with fellow Visioneers around the planet, as we all work together in the early decades of the 21st century to raise the consciousness of the human family to our sacred role of stewardship of the planet and all life on it.