A Personal Tribute to Dr Ervin László
This week, the world lost one of its great visionaries.
Dr Ervin László passed away this week at the age of 94, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy of ideas that challenged humanity to think differently about itself, about consciousness and about our shared future.
For me, this is far more than the passing of an internationally respected philosopher, systems thinker and peace advocate.
It is the loss of a dear friend, mentor and collaborator whose work profoundly influenced my own journey for more than two decades.
As I began looking back through the many hours of footage we filmed with Ervin for Positive TV, I realised what an extraordinary privilege it has been to witness not only his remarkable intellect but also his kindness, humility and unwavering optimism.
He never lost faith in humanity.
Even in times of uncertainty, Ervin would gently remind us that periods of disruption often become the catalyst for profound transformation. While many focused on the crises facing our world, he chose to focus on our potential. He believed that humanity could evolve—not simply through technology or politics, but through a shift in consciousness.
That belief shaped everything he did.
Where Our Journey Began
Our journey together truly began on 9 September 2009 at the British Museum with the Declaration of Global Emergency – 999, an event organised alongside Robin Lincoln Wood.
It was much more than an event.
It was a call to humanity.
At a time when the world was becoming increasingly aware of converging global challenges—environmental degradation, economic instability, conflict, resource depletion and growing inequality—the declaration invited us to respond not with fear, but with a profound shift in consciousness. Its central message was that the crises facing humanity were not merely political, economic or environmental. They reflected the way we understood ourselves, our relationship with one another and our place within the living Earth.
Rather than seeing the future as something to fear, Ervin invited us to see it as an opportunity—to rethink our values, recognise our interconnectedness and consciously choose a more peaceful, compassionate and sustainable path.
Looking back now, I realise that day changed the course of my own life.
I couldn’t have imagined then where it would lead.
That gathering marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey that would take me across the UK and Europe, documenting Ervin’s work, his ideas and the remarkable community of changemakers who gathered around him.
It also helped shape my own understanding of what positive media could be.
Many of the values that continue to guide Positive TV and now The Positive Press—telling stories that acknowledge the challenges we face while shining a light on the people, ideas and solutions helping to transform them—were deeply influenced by those years working alongside Ervin. Along with Barbara Marx Hubbard’s Wheel of Co-Creation who I met through Ervin at this time.
A Shared Journey
Over the years, we explored Ervin’s vision for a more conscious and compassionate world through countless events and conversations.
With Positive TV, we brought his message to audiences across Britain and beyond.
We took the vision of WorldShift 2012 to the Sunrise Celebration Festival alongside Sun Bird, inviting festival-goers to imagine not simply surviving the future but consciously creating it.
We hosted thought-provoking discussions at the House of Lords with Edward de Bono, exploring food poverty, resource sharing and new ways of thinking about society’s greatest challenges.
We gathered at the beautiful Chalice Well in Glastonbury, where conversations about science, spirituality and consciousness seemed perfectly at home among the ancient gardens and sacred spring.
One of the greatest honours was serving as President of the UK Chapter of the Club of Budapest and later as an Honorary Associate.
Founded by Ervin in 1993, the Club of Budapest was created as an international community of scientists, artists, business leaders, spiritual thinkers and changemakers committed to fostering what he called “planetary consciousness”. Its mission was to build bridges between science and spirituality, ethics and economics, generations and cultures, recognising that the complex challenges facing humanity could only be addressed through a fundamental shift in awareness and a deeper understanding of our interconnectedness. It was a living expression of Ervin’s belief that lasting change begins not simply with new policies or technologies, but with a transformation in the way we see ourselves and our relationship with each other and the living world.
Working alongside Jane Taylor, we created the Mid-Summer Symposium on Consciousness, bringing together extraordinary pioneers including Barbara Marx Hubbard, Don Beck, Dr Jude Currivan, Ebon Alexander, Lawrence Bloom and Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk, alongside participants from around the world to explore humanity’s future.
These were not simply conferences.
They were conversations about what humanity might become.
Our journey also took us to the South of France for the Renaissance II gathering with Barbara Marx Hubbard, where inspiring thinkers from around the world came together to explore conscious evolution and the future of civilisation.
During the Cannes Film Festival, we celebrated remarkable changemakers through the WorldShift Awards, recognising individuals whose work reflected Ervin’s enduring belief that every person has the capacity to make a positive difference in the world.
Capturing a Legacy
For many years, I travelled to Budapest to film the annual Club of Budapest gatherings for Positive TV alongside David Woolfson.
Those conversations—with scientists, philosophers, artists, spiritual leaders and innovators from around the world—have become an extraordinary archive documenting not only Ervin’s ideas but also his generosity of spirit.
Looking back through those films today, I realise just how important they have become.
They preserve not only his words but something of his presence.
His calmness.
His humour.
His compassion.
The Man Behind the Vision
What I will remember most was not simply Ervin’s brilliance.
It was his gentleness.
He possessed that rare quality of making everyone feel genuinely heard.
Whether speaking with Nobel laureates, young students, volunteers or complete strangers, he offered the same warmth, curiosity and respect.
He embodied the very values he spoke about.
His message remained beautifully consistent throughout the years: that even in times of uncertainty, humanity has the capacity to evolve; that we are far more connected than we often realise; and that by recognising that interconnectedness, we can build a wiser, kinder and more compassionate world.
In today’s world, those words feel more important than ever.
Continuing the Conversation
Over the coming weeks, Positive TV and The Positive Press will begin opening our archive, sharing many of the interviews, lectures and conversations we were privileged to film with Ervin over more than two decades.
My hope is that these recordings will introduce his work to a new generation while reminding those who already knew him why his voice mattered so deeply.
His ideas were never about predicting the future.
They were about empowering us to create it.
Thank you, Ervin.
Thank you for your friendship.
Thank you for your trust.
Thank you for your wisdom.
Most of all, thank you for reminding us that hope is not something we wait for—it is something we create together.
Your work lives on.
And so does your vision.
Story by Dana Amma Day
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