Contributors
Catalyst for ideas
After obtaining a master's degree in international relations, Marie spent the first 15 years of her career in the luxury industry, particularly in the watch and jewellery sector. She gained experience in boutique and retail management, marketing, product development and brand creation, at an international level.
Six years ago, she co-founded an eco-responsible watch brand within the Richemont Group. This experience allowed her to refocus on the planet, to put herself at its service and to explore new perspectives in terms of management and governance. She broadened her vision of the role of the company within its ecosystem, and then chose to become a catalyst for the transition towards a society that acts for a more responsible and sustainable economy.
Drawing on her deep knowledge of the luxury world and its challenges as well as her expertise in sustainable development, Marie is now dedicated to this environmental transition towards which we must all converge. Her passion for human relations and her love of the great outdoors serve as daily inspiration to make people aware of their power to act and to make the business world a positive force, leaving a better world for future generations.
"Albert Einstein said that you cannot solve a problem with the same way of thinking that generated the problem. The world that is preparing for the world of tomorrow must reinvent its codes of consumption, marketing, communication, management, law, seduction, production, living together... The world of tomorrow must find a balance between what it consumes and the capacity to renew nature's resources. This world will be biocentric, regenerative and fair. »
Novelist & Journalist
Mélanie is a novelist, playwright, columnist and journalist. She spent her childhood between Latin America, West Africa and the United States. Trilingual, she holds a degree in contemporary history from the University of Geneva and a DEA from the Institute of European Studies. She works as a journalist and columnist for Radio Suisse Romande. From her nomadic childhood, she has retained a taste for people and trees. She links each of the countries she visits to essences, and says she can recognise them by smell. You might come across her in the forest, with your eyes closed and your nose against a coniferous tree.
Journalist, producer and author
On the radio, then on television, she produced her own programmes and developed a strong network in French-speaking Switzerland. For the past three years, she has been devoting herself entirely to editorial production. She is inspired by storytelling methods to think differently about the communication of companies, cultural actors and public structures. Her objective: to create links and participate in telling the story of those around us.
"The wonderful thing about thinking about tomorrow is that everything is possible. The world of tomorrow, because it does not yet exist, is entirely to be dreamt, imagined and created. And it is today that we set ourselves in motion, that we act. It is by embodying the transition today that it will come to life tomorrow. The key is to dare to be, to dare to reconnect with what is essential, to dare to activate our creativity, and to carry loud and clear the spirit of commitment for the environment, for society, for people. »
Journalist
A Geneva-born journalist based in Berlin for several years, Özgül covers international news on a daily basis for a news agency and has previously worked for television and print media. With a Bachelor's degree in International Relations (University of Geneva, University of Aberdeen) and a Master's degree in International Journalism and Communication (Free University of Berlin, St. Petersburg State University), Özgül is passionate about politics, culture, feminist struggles and sustainability issues. Drawing much of her inspiration from art, literature and encounters, she believes in the power of words and personal narratives to deconstruct, inform and inspire change-makers.
"I hope that tomorrow's world will be one of solidarity, and I dream of a future where justice, equality and respect for the environment will be the fundamental values of a sustainable society.
Journalist & Writer
Kyra holds a double master's degree in international relations (The Graduate Institute) and journalism (City University, London). Her interest in humanitarian and environmental causes led her to work as a reporter in Cambodia in 1996. As a producer for the CNBC Asia correspondent, she directed, among other things, a feature-length documentary, Tant qu'il y aura du papier, in 2000. After many collaborations in the written press, radio and television in France, the United States and Switzerland, she became head of the foreign section of the daily 24 Heures. In 2007, she began writing fiction full-time and published several novels: Petit essai assassin sur la vie conjugale (Luce Wilquin, 2011); Le hasard a tout prévu (Luce Wilquin, 2013); Qui sont ces femmes derrière le voile? (Éditions du Moment, 2014), À L'Hermine blanche (Luce Wilquin, 2017); À la frontière de notre amour (Favre, 2019). She also works as a journalist for Geneva Solutions and Heidi.news and is preparing the text of a beautiful book on Geneva for Éditions Assouline. She is a member of the committee of the association J'aime ma Planète and of the Wow Gstaad literature festival.
"For me, the world of tomorrow is a just and sustainable world, an Anthropocene that is equal to its responsibilities;
a human world whose masters take their responsibilities in hand to reverse the disruptions they have caused. Whose business leaders act with a conscience, whose politicians govern without cynicism, and whose wannabes take on "green washing";
a world in green and blue that gives pride of place to trees, biodiversity and the oceans;
a world where we take the time to sort out the false from the true, to be with those we love;
a world sketched out by poets and artists where each of us makes a gesture for the Planet, a step towards the other. Where the sum of our individual efforts works for the collective good;
a world of sharing and empathy, resilient and bold, which honours the dignity of every human being. The world of tomorrow, the world of my children, sincere, authentic, joyful, which goes beyond the limits of traditional thinking and moves towards its future, resilient;
a world with zero emissions by 2050; a world that knows it only has one planet. »
Mathilde Sarasin was born in Geneva. After studying communication, she worked in various fields including fashion and media. Passionate about travel and art, her view of the world is as mischievous as it is lucid. Humour and determination are two qualities she possesses and knows how to use.
" La mèche is an opportunity for everyone to get informed, share and get involved. The ecological emergency must shape the world of tomorrow. There is still time to think and act. Let's all be in cahoots! »
Photographer
A retrospective exhibition at the Wacoal Art Center in Tokyo in 2010, followed by artistic residencies in Japan and Switzerland, led Cedric Bregnard to conceive the Roots of Heaven project, with which he has been working for the past four years, producing more than 30 participatory performances in museums, galleries, festivals and theatres, such as at the Garaman Hall in Ginoza (Japan) in 2017 or at the Grand Palais for Paris Photo 2019.
Welcoming and accessible to all, this singular project offers everyone, through the experience of letting go and the encounter with other cultures, in a sensory and creative movement, the opportunity to produce other narratives for today's world and to feel in one's being the strength that is created when a group of people united in the same goal forms spontaneously.
Passage, his diploma work at the Vevey School of Photography, already posed the question of what is after the last breath and was the first step in an artistic reflection on the transitions between life and death. Exhibited in Japan, Mexico, Switzerland and France, his work on the cycles and metamorphoses of life led him to question, through the movement of gesture, in the contemplation and encounter on Earth of different species of sacred trees, the link with nature, our direct environment.
These venerable trees are none other than the Roots of Heaven.
"This is how I see the world of tomorrow: inhabited by a community of beings connected to the life that animates our planet, felt as one great living organism. »
Founded in 2020 by Marie Chassot, La Mèche 's mission is to support people and organizations in their transition to a more responsible lifestyle and business practices, through a digital magazine, a consulting agency and a social network.
