A woman with long curly hair wearing a khaki dress, smiling, standing on stage with a black curtain background, holding a microphone.
A woman with long brown hair speaking on stage with a microphone headset, holding a notecard, in front of colorful plants and a purple background.
Decorative floral border with pink lilies, peach flowers, green leaves, and peach bells on a black background.

Speeches and guest lectures on systems change, shifting paradigms, and the importance of inner work

Get in touch here if you’re part of a conference, summit, or event, or if you are an educator or professional looking for a speaker who is experienced yet relatable to future generations

You can read books and studies on your own, which is why I don’t only speak about the hard facts

Of course, I share the hard facts and figures people need to hear. But I don’t just do that and then hope that facts alone will make an impact. For every talk I do, whether it’s a guest lecture at a university or a public speaking opportunity, I’ll give the audience something of myself.

I’ll share a story or a personal experience, and I’ll open up to your audience as if I were talking to a friend because it’s through connection that true insight and learning happen.

My talks are always firmly in the creative tension between what is, and what could be; neither doomsday apocalypse nor naive utopia thinking detached from reality. They’ll be where reality meets a connection with hope.

I believe we all have a fire within us, but sometimes it dies down to embers due to conditioning, hopelessness or burnout. My aim is always to spark something, remind each person of their agency and bring fire back to people’s hearts because that’s what will drive them to take action - and the research backs this up!

A middle-aged man with a beard, wearing a dark suit jacket and white shirt, standing outdoors with trees and a fence in the background.

“Nora Wilhelm reminded us of the vital importance of addressing the causes and not just the effects of the climate crisis, which necessarily includes social factors; inequality is a structural problem. It was a convincing and inspiring speech!”

Sami Kanaan, Vice-president of the Union of Swiss Cities and member of the Executive Council of Geneva

Core topics

Systems change, paradigm shifts, and the co-creation of a more just and regenerative future

As you probably gathered by now, the core topics my work and speeches are focused on are systems change, paradigm shifts, and the co-creation of a more just and regenerative future. Related topics include collaboration and participation, finding one’s unique contribution, funding systems change, and the importance of remaining hopeful.

Whilst I care about many, I would not claim to be an expert on a single cause (such as women’s rights or the environment) but through the lens of systems thinking and in dialogue with you as the expert, I can offer a perspective on any complex challenge.

I offered my answer to the question ‘Can social entrepreneurship lead to systems change?’ in a talk for Climate-KIC and Impact Hub Zurich, spoken about the role of higher education in the transformation ahead to senior leaders of a university, and to Swiss mayors about the role of cities and the future of democracy.

My talks are always adjusted to fit the audience and the context, so no two speeches will be exactly the same. The main point is that it gets the audience thinking about the challenges they are facing, hopefully in different ways than they did up to this point.

Decorative floral design featuring a central red flower with pink edges, surrounded by green leaves and peach-colored flowers on a horizontal line.

To give you a sense of what I’m often asked to speak about, here are some examples of my most requested speeches which can be adapted to your needs.

  • This talk begins with one powerful question: Why, despite all of our collective efforts, are we not seeing the results we hope and need to see? Why are we not reaching our goals? Using systems thinking, I offer a perspective on how we need to shift the way we think and act to be able to address the complex social and environmental challenges we are facing. From the big picture to the individual, everyone walks away with applicable insights.

  • Most people’s minds, upon hearing the words ‘systems change’ go straight to global economic systems and dynamics so complex and so beyond their influence that they couldn’t possibly make a difference. In this talk, I bridge the gap between the systemic and the personal, show how it’s not an either/or question but rather a both/and, helping people overcome powerlessness and instead find agency in their role in systemic transformation.

  • ‘Systems change’ has gone from an obscure concept to something discussed in political arenas and written on the signs of activists. But even for those who have learned a little something about thinking systemically, the question remains: how are we to transform the systems that are causing the countless social and environmental challenges we care about? This talk offers some perspectives and potential pathways, illustrated by the Social Innovation Labs strategy.

  • It’s no secret that silos, fragmentation and duplication are stumbling blocks preventing us from reaching our full potential and achieving the SDGs. But this goes much deeper than what most people think. In this talk, we take a deep dive into what eco>ego (borrowing Otto Scharmer’s wording) truly means. We explore how understanding ecosystem awareness, combined with self-awareness, unlocks a whole new potential for transformation.

  • A talk about how we all have a role to play in the co-creation of a more just and regenerative future, and how to find yours. Because at some point I realised that after any talk or workshop I gave, no matter the topic or context, the number one question people kept asking me was: how did you find your ‘purpose’ and how can I find mine? I am deeply convinced we all have an important contribution to make, and spent a few years developing a unique systems-informed framework to help your audience hone in on theirs.

  • Most of us engaged in change spend almost all of our time in the ‘outer work’: strategising, project managing, fundraising, executing, gogogo-ing. Some people spend all of their time in the ‘inner work’: pausing, self-reflecting, learning, growing. I believe the two belong together like two sides of the same coin, and I illustrate this concept with an infinity symbol like model called the Transformation Loop. In this talk, I explore why both are crucial to be an impactful changeworker and offer concrete tools to bridge the inner and the outer.

Seen on stage at

  • Logo with the words 'change' in white and 'NOW' in black, with a circular arrow replacing the letter 'o' in 'Now'.
  • ETH Zürich logo with white and gray text on a black background
  • The Forbes logo in black and white.
  • Text reading 'Climb Now' in white letters on a black background
  • HSLU logo with white text on a black background
  • Logo for Impact Hub featuring the words 'IMPACT HUB' in bold, with White and Gray text on a black background.
  • Illustration of a daisy flower with the word 'Implenía' next to it.
  • A logo with seven white squares arranged in a curved pattern, resembling a stylized paw print or a digital abstract design.
  • Start Summit logo with a circular icon and text
  • TEDx logo in white text on a black background.
  • Logo of the University of Lausanne with the word 'Unil' in cursive and the full name underneath
  • Maastricht University logo on a black background.
  • University of St. Gallen logo with stylized emblem and university name.
  • Text image with certifications or documentation details, partially visible and blurry.
  • Logo of Swiss Foundations with a black background and white text
  • Logo of BioVision featuring a stylized map of Africa with the company name beneath.
  • Dialogue 2030 logo with a speech bubble icon.
  • Logo of Unimed, a healthcare cooperative, with the name in bold white lowercase letters and a small white dot above the 'i' on a black background.
  • A black butterfly with text overlay reading 'Tage der Utopie' in white letters.
  • Logo of the Subcommittee on State and Local Politics from the Institute of Politics.
  • Logo of Pioneers of Orange with stylized orange and grey text.
  • Three donuts with a sign that reads "Global Donut Days."
  • A screenshot of a social media post from Instagram showing a paragraph of text about a financial topic, with a profile picture and username at the top.
  • SDG Allianz Liechtenstein logo in black and white
  • ACB Convention 4 logo in black and white

My speaking milestones

I’m no stranger to speaking on stage, and I’m happy to say that the nerves I had way back in 2012 are mostly long gone now! If you look closely at the photo you might be able to see them in action…

A young woman with long, curly brown hair standing at a podium with a European Union flag, giving a speech at European Youth Parliament event, with a purple banner in the background that reads 'Welcome to Young Europe!'

My first speech in front of a large audience was in 2012 in Istanbul, and I remember that day like it was yesterday!

A woman with dark wavy hair standing at a wooden podium speaking into a microphone during a presentation. Behind her, a colorful projected slide shows text with partially visible words.

In 2016 I spoke in Laax, at the International Session of the European Youth Parliament (EYP) I had head-organised, and the then Swiss President Didier Burkhalter who spoke after me said that speeches like these are missing in Swiss politics (still my grandma’s favorite humble brag about me)

A woman is giving a presentation on a stage in front of an audience at a conference or event. There is a large screen behind her displaying her image. The stage is lit with blue lighting.

I spoke at the Pioneer of Change Summit (next to Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Kate Raworth, Jane Goodall and Meg Wheatley)

A woman with long curly red hair speaking at a podium with the Swiss flag emblem, in front of a dark curtain.

In 2019 I held the keynote at the Annual Conference of Swiss Development Cooperation, in German and French, in front of more than a thousand people

A woman speaking in front of a large screen displaying the United Nations logo and the text 'UN Sustainable Development Summit New York, 25 September 2015' during a conference or presentation.

I had the honour of opening the ETH Zürich’s first ever public lecture series on the SDGs in 2020 (ranked one of the top 10 best universities in the world)

A woman with long, curly brown hair, wearing a white shirt and dark blazer, speaking at a podium with a microphone, in front of a large screen displaying an image of icy blue glaciers and water.

In 2021, I was invited to close the ‘Day of the Cities’ (called Städtetag or Journée des villes in Switzerland, a conference attended by city mayors and their teams), opened by the then Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga, with an inspiring and thought-provoking speech

Three women in traditional Swiss attire standing on a stage under a tent, with mountains and a lake in the background. One woman is speaking at a podium with a Swiss cross symbol, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Speaking at Rütli, the 1st of August national day celebration of Switzerland (at the historic/mythological 'birthplace' of the country) in 2022 was definitely a highlight too

My approach to complex ideas

Many of the topics I specialise in aren’t easily understood by people outside of the sector, and a confused or overwhelmed audience isn’t engaged and doesn’t take action on what they learn.

That’s why I take very complex and big ideas, like systems change, and break them down in easily digestible and relatable ways, like when I spoke about the wide topic of Shifting Paradigms with Satish Kumar, or when I spoke at the Alpine Impact Summit in Innsbruck (Austria) in October 2024 about the problem with how we think, how we act, and what we ignore as we try to address the social and environmental challenges we are facing.

Ensuring that what needs to be said, is still said, but in a way that doesn’t dampen the magnitude of the topic or treat listeners as if they are inexperienced.

A woman with long, wavy brown hair wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, smiling and looking upward in a forested area with trees and green foliage.
A floral illustration featuring a large red flower with white-tipped petals, smaller white daisies with yellow centers, and an orange lily, all surrounded by green leaves on a transparent background.

Some of my talks out in the wild

A young woman with wavy brown hair and a bright smile, wearing a black top and a gold necklace, standing outdoors with green foliage in the background.

“Nora is an outstanding speaker. Her ability to inspire and engage audiences is truly remarkable. Nora not only possesses a deep understanding of her topics but also has a unique talent for effectively conveying complex ideas in a clear and compelling manner and with visually appealing presentation slides.”

Eliane Albrecht, Lead Programs & Partnerships at Impact Hub Zurich

I won’t switch between multiple languages unless you ask!

My preferred speech language is English but I can also fluently speak French, German, and Swiss German, and Spanish if necessary. While a language switch can come in handy in a bilingual or trilingual context (something that happens frequently in Switzerland), don’t worry, I’ll stick to the one language!

Podcasts

If you’ve got a podcast in the systems change, leadership, ‘sustainability’, social entrepreneurship, purpose, creativity or mental health space and would like me to be one of your guests, get in touch! Together we can explore what this would look like. Check out the featured podcast episodes below if you want a taste of what I could bring to yours!

Media

The media has a key role in shaping new narratives for the future and sharing inspiring stories that give people a sense of hope and agency. Below, you’ll see a selection of previous media coverage. If you’ve got an audience who would benefit from my stories, knowledge, and first-hand experience, get in touch and let’s see what we can come up with.

Podia & Workshops

I typically recommend combining a speech with at least a panel discussion so that the audience has the opportunity to ask questions. Even better: a workshop, giving the participants space to digest the insights and apply them to their context. Find out more about how we can dive deeper into a systems change topic through interactive workshops here.

Need something else?

If you’ve got a specific need that you don’t see covered here, fill out my contact form and let me know what you’d like to discuss. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Selected media clippings

A woman with curly brown hair wearing a dark green blouse with lace details, sitting at a table with a laptop, microphone, and coffee mug, smiling while recording or participating in a podcast or video call in a cozy, modern room.
Decorative floral illustration featuring a prominent red and white flower with green leaves and smaller orange flowers, on a black background.

Get in touch about a speaking opportunity