Aside from the delights of lunches at the Dalmatian village, the fascinating exploration of Zlarin’s coral heritage, and connections with fellow funders against the gorgeous Adriatic backdrop, what do I take away from this year’s Philea Forum?

The appetite for funding deep transformation of systems, in place of piecemeal projects, was the most striking to me. Maybe it was the particular sessions I attended, but the fact that the ‘Scary but refreshing’ session on systems change was so oversubscribed that many more chairs had to be brought in to the room spoke volumes. For sure, different funders are at different stages on this journey – Alexandre Giraud (Fondation de France) was explicitly and rightly humble about the fact that they are learning, and don’t have all the answers. In the face of the complex, interlocking crises of ecological destruction, inequality, and runaway climate change, anyone who pretends to have all the answers is kidding themselves, to put it mildly.

In the session on intersectionality and climate justice, Nani Jansen Reventlow gave a keynote, and her calls for letting go of silos and taking a structural approach to support ecosystems were enthusiastically received. As Lynda Mansson (MAVA), Leslie Johnston (Laudes) and I explored lessons for philanthropy in the session on MAVA Foundation’s closure, the participants literally voted with their feet overwhelmingly in favour of the advice to ‘Be Bold and Act Systemically’.

It brought to mind the energy and momentum for something radically different that was also on display the previous week – at the Beyond Growth conference in the European Parliament. More than 2000 people attended in person, with a further 4500+ registered to follow the debates online.

The strength lay in the sheer breadth of speakers – Europe’s most senior politicians from the Commission, 20 MEPs representing 5 political groupings (including both the centre-right EPP and the centre-left S&D) top scientists, academics, changemakers and activists. Together they spanned a spectrum of views.

President Ursula von der Leyen opened the conference by saying boldly: ‘A growth model centred on fossil fuels is obsolete’.

Others went further and set out the stark and inescapable contradictions between planetary science and current economic models based on endless growth in the use of natural resources. Many advocated for degrowth, some arguing that it was inevitable – the choice is only whether we manage reduction in material use or have it forced upon us by disaster.

And Professor Jason Hickel shared the fact that millionaires are on track to burn 72% of the remaining carbon budget for 1.5 degrees. A particularly sobering and salient data point for philanthropy to reflect on.

Despite the broad range of views, there was a clear shared desire to shift our focus to what matters: the wellbeing of people and planetary health, instead of the poor proxy of GDP.

Of course it is easy to talk boldly at a conference and still fund timidly when the grant decisions come round. And the extent to which this desire for systemic change is shared by Foundation boards is an open question. The latest analysis of environmental funding in Europe shows that although over time funders are increasingly supporting deeper systems transformation, it still makes up just a third of green grants, which themselves make up a tiny proportion (5%) of overall philanthropic funding.

Yet the momentum for a different way of thinking about our economy is clear, whether in the thousands flocking to the Beyond Growth debates in person and online, or the growing interest evident at this week’s Philea Forum in how to fund systemic change.

The debate continues on 15 June with a Philea webinar on new economics, hosted jointly by FPH, Stiftung Mercator and Partners for a New Economy. Sadly no gorgeous Croatian coastline as a backdrop, but the discussion promises to be every bit as stimulating as this week.

Jo Swinson, Director, The Partners For A New Economy