Zoöp

In this talk Klaas Kuitenbrouwer will introduce the Zoöp organisational model and share insights and experiences from the practice of various Zoöps. Zoöp is short for Zoöperation. It is the title of an organisation model for co-operation between human and other-than-human life that safeguards the interests of all zoë (Greek for ‘life’). In a Zoöp the interests of other-than-human life are actively represented and are holistically made part of the work of the organisation. Zoöps foster a practice of ecological regeneration.

To become a Zoöperation, an organisation appoints an independent ‘Speaker for the Living’, who helps to translate the interests of other-than-human life into the organisation’s decisions.This Speaker guides the organisation through a structured learning process, based on a 

cycle that follows the seasons. In this way, the organisation discovers how it participates in ecosystems and how it can learn to contribute to the health of these ecosystems.

The development of the Zoöp model was initiated by Klaas Kuitenbrouwer at het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. The Zoönomic Institute was then set up as the organisation to help other organisations to become Zoöps. Nieuwe Instituut became the first Zoöp in the world in April 2022. In 2023 three more groundbreaking Zoöps were established.