Ambassadors For Humanity 2025–2026 31 Oct 2025 – 22 Apr 2026. 5 weekends + 7 zoom calls. By Mette Koppelaar & team. Karada House, Berlin. A 6-month group journey to cultivate what makes you human & share it with your world

Ambassadors For Humanity 2025–2026

Ambassadors for Humanity is a six-month group journey for people who want to live the full range of their humanity and take an active role in inviting authenticity and vulnerability into their relationships and communities. It’s my most ambitious project yet—both in duration and in its intended societal impact.

Here’s what to expect:

  • A 6-month journey for aspiring life-shapers
    Join a group of humans exploring the full spectrum of their human expression. Be continuously invited into authenticity and vulnerability as a path to connection, meaning, and belonging. Apply your learnings to your personal relationships and social circles—and gradually start shaping your corner of the world.
  • 5 weekends, 7 zoom calls & your own creations
    From 31 Oct 2025 to 22 Apr 2026, we’ll meet for 5 weekends and 7 Zoom calls, staying connected online in between. You’ll be gently encouraged to initiate small gatherings and meaningful interactions with people in your life—either individually or together with others from the program. This could include sharing circles, cuddle evenings with friends, conversations with family about your dynamics, a group conversation about a meaningful topic at work, or something else entirely.
  • We'll be a community & host events together
    Our group will likely start feeling like friends or family. We'll journey through the program, share the ups and downs of life, and learn to shape our reality together. As part of this, we’ll co-organize small events and invite others into our space on some of the Saturday evenings. Planning and evaluating these evenings together will be a practical exercise in shaping your reality.
  • Learn to facilitate your life
    If you've experienced spaces that clarified how you want to live and relate—but aren't quite sure how to integrate that into daily life—this program helps build your confidence, skills, and sensitivity to authentically invite others into your worldview, without imposing. It's a meaningful step toward taking responsibility for your desired way of living and relating.

Why this matters now

Like many generations before us, we live in times of violence, oppression, polarization, attempts to control the ‘truth,’ and the silencing certain voices—not just in distant countries, but in many Western societies alike. To me, this underscores the idea that it’s each generation’s job to actively preserve and cultivate freedom. I believe we need to do this for ourselves as well as for others.

One aspect of safeguarding freedom lies in activism: directly supporting specific causes and groups. Another part—which is the focus of this program—lies in cultivating compassion, connection, openness, and curiosity toward all humans. It's to safeguard our sense of shared humanity. To hear me say more about this, watch the video below or scroll down to 'The societal–political dimension.'

Pre-events

Update: pre-events in July and August
Wed 9 July: First online co-creation evening.
9–10 Aug First intro weekend in Berlin (join Sat, Sun, or both).
More details below.

Co-creation evenings

Free, online gatherings to:

  • Start building group energy
  • Share your voice, ask questions, and help shape the program
  • Help you decide if you want to join the full journey

Schedule:

Potential topics

Each session's topic is chosen after the previous event. We'll likely talk about the program and you'll have a chance to ask questions. Additionally, we may talk about specific topics like:

  • The three layers of humanity: individual, relational, and societal.
  • Stepping into responsibility: how to start shaping your life and world.
  • Community-building in a hyper-individualized society
  • The roles of activism and cultivating humanity in times of intense polarization
  • The role of humanity alongside the rise of AI
  • Avoiding dogma: being open to people who live differently or whom we disagree with


It's not all serious

Yes, some of these topics are profound, but we value human connection above all else. We aim to play, laugh, dance, cry, hug, and show off our corgis:

Intro weekends in Berlin

Small, physical gatherings to:

  • Experience spending time in Mette's groups
  • Take some first steps toward facilitating your life
  • Decide if the full program suits you

Dates: (Join Sat, Sun, or both)

Cost: €50/day or €75/weekend (free for program participants). Can be deducted from the full program fee if you sign up the week after.

Limited to 15 people, so sign up early:

Venue: Holographic Healing Nest, in Berlin Neukölln (google maps). It's cozy and intimate:

Dates, price & practical

Program dates & venue

Each weekend is held at Karada House in Berlin (more info below). Times:

  • Friday: 18:30–22:00
  • Saturday: 10:30–22:30
  • Sunday: 10:30–17:30

Depending on the weekend, the Saturday evenings could be an informal group hangout, time off, or an event where we invite others and create an experience with/for them.

Weekend dates:

  • Weekend 1: 31 Oct – 2 Nov 2025
  • Weekend 2: 28–30 Nov 2025
  • Weekend 3: 6–8 Feb 2026
  • Weekend 4: 6–8 Mar 2026
  • Weekend 5: 10–12 Apr 2026

Zoom calls (Tuesdays, 19:30–21:30 CET)

  • 2025: 11 Nov, 16 Dec
  • 2026: 13 Jan, 27 Jan, 17 Feb, 17 Mar, 28 Apr

The purpose of the calls is to build community, share the ups & downs of life, support each other in taking initiatives, and plan the events we may host during the weekends. Calls will be recorded in case you miss one.


Photos of Karada House

Karada House (also known as KARA Kulturraum) is a queer collaborative art space in Berlin Moabit (google maps). It's a beautiful venue, and while these photos only show part of it, they give a pretty good idea of the vibe:

Accommodation & practical info

Dates & times: Scroll up to 'Program dates & venue'

Accommodation: During each of the five weekends, it's possible to stay at the venue (Karada House) on Friday and Saturday night for €40 per night. You'll get a mattress & sheets and will either stay in the workshop space or in another shared space. Limited availability.

Food: You can bring your own food or go to one of the nearby restaurants during the breaks.

Group size: 10–25 lovely humans (who will likely increasingly feel like close friends as we make our way through the program)

Language: English

Bring: comfortable, layered clothing, pen&paper, a water bottle, snacks to share—and whatever brings you comfort or joy.

Preparation: When you join, you can join all pre-events for free. You'll also receive a free copy of part 1 of Mette’s book, which you're invited to read.

Pets: You can't bring your super cute doggie. I'm sorry.

Accessibility: There is a ramp and extra bell that can be reached without climbing stairs at the entry. The house has no thresholds. There is an accessible bathroom and shower. The garden can be reached via the garden gate. The only non-accessible parts of the house are the two mezzanines that allow for extra space. There's a parking space available right in front of the door in the backyard. Please get in touch if you require any assistance.

Availability: There are still free spots.

Photos of Karada House

Karada House (also known as KARA Kulturraum) is a queer collaborative art space in Berlin Moabit (google maps). It's a beautiful venue, and while these photos only show part of it, they give a pretty good idea of the vibe:

Price, inclusivity & sustainability

I believe that attracting a diverse group makes this a richer experience for everyone. At the same time, I need an income to sustain myself. Sadly, it’s much easier to make a decent living by working for companies that harm the planet or fuel inequality than it is trying to contribute to a better world. It’s incredibly hard to make events financially inclusive without sacrificing myself in the process.

Many facilitators either rely on other income streams or stop facilitating after a few years—when they realize that the prices they offered weren’t sustainable for themselves. When event prices are sustainable for the facilitator, these events are often judged as expensive and 'commercial'—even when the finances are often still not great for the facilitator.

To see how the prices were calculated, scroll down to the 'Price calculation' box. For now, here are the prices:

Participation fee for the full program

Includes participation in the five weekends, seven zoom calls, online community, and—if you like—any of the pre-events. It's possible to pay in installments (at a small fee). You don't have to pay anything until we both feel a 'yes' after our call. To see how the prices were calculated, scroll down.

  • €1.450 — when money is tight and you join early
    Available until 31 Aug 2025.
    Includes 19% VAT.
  • €1.850 — when you can afford more or join later
    Available until 23 Sep 2025.
  • €2.250 — when you're financially comfortable or join even later
    Available until 26 Oct 2025.
  • €3.550 — when you feel abundant and want to pay the sustainable price
    Available until 26 Oct 2025.
  • €4.850 — when you can support those with a smaller wallet
    Available until 26 Oct 2025.
  • Join as a helper: €725 - €925
    Preference for those who need it most. Only 2 spots.
  • Request a scholarship
    If donations come in, I will be able to offer scholarships in the form of a 25–50% discount.
  • Enable a scholarship
    Scroll down to donate a fixed or monthly amount and make this work accessible for those with smaller wallets.

You can indicate your preferred option in the application form. Priority for helper spots and scholarships is given to those facing challenging situations or having marginalized identities. Unsure what to do? Message me on Telegram and we'll discuss the options.

Paying in installments

It's possible to pay in installments. As this brings more risk and administration on my side, this costs a little bit more:

  • Pay in 2 installments: 1.5% fee
  • Pay in 3 installments: 3% fee
  • Pay in 6 installments: 6% fee

Cancellation policy

Conditions for canceling your ticket

If your spot is taken by someone you found or someone on the waiting list:

  • 100% refund minus €75 admin fee

If no one takes your spot:

  • Cancel up to 2 months before we start: 100% refund minus €75
  • Cancel up to 1 calendar month before we start: 50% refund
  • Cancel up to 2 weeks before we start: 20% refund
  • Cancel in the 13 days before we start: no refund

A few things to keep in mind:

  • The waiting list only opens once the program is sold out.
  • I consider your spot taken when when (a) you found someone to take your spot and they mention your name their application form or (b) the program is full, the spots of any people who cancelled before you have been taken first, and someone on the remaining waiting list takes your spot.
  • I'll refund you once the new person has paid in full.
  • You can't transfer your spot to someone else without my approval.
  • If you haven't paid the full amount and no one has taken your spot, you're obliged to pay all remaining installments—even if you cancelled.

Conditions when I cancel the program:

  • 100% refund


Meet the team

Meet the lead spaceholder: Mette Koppelaar

Hi, I'm Mette!

As a writer, facilitator, and overall curious human, I look for authentic expression in playful and meaningful ways. I love to play with identity, normalize emotions, expand self-expression, and build connection by exploring our uniqueness as well as our shared humanity. In my spaces, I cultivate a deep sense of permission for you to fully follow your yeses and your no’s—enabling you to create imprints that support that same permission in other areas of your life.

I'm deeply invested in facilitating groups responsibly. Years ago, I started by participating and assisting some pretty brilliant facilitators like Chris van der Weijde & Rachel Rickards. I attended professional courses such as Internal Family Systems for therapists, the Wheel of Consent Like-a-Pro, the Field Facilitator Training, and multiple courses about the nervous system. I co-facilitated with a range of wonderful facilitators and held many of my own containers.

Creation has always been my main way of learning. I've learned both from my mistakes and from successful projects like creating the (currently inactive) Nibana Festival from scratch, dedicating years to writing and researching my book about authentic living, and spending the past few years offering courses and retreats about authenticity, vulnerability, sexuality, freedom, and co-creating a better world.

My social location & lens
When introducing myself, I think it's important acknowledge my lens. I was born in Amsterdam in 1984. I'm racialized as white, able-bodied, and come from a middle-class background. I'm gender nonconforming and use he or they pronouns. I studied AI before it was cool (and obtained my BSc) and have been self-employed since 2007, mainly running small startups and co-working spaces until I turned my life around in 2018. Although I didn’t turn out to be a typical straight cis-male, I did grow up as one. I’ve never had to worry about hunger, housing, or safety, and I’ve never directly experienced war or poverty. My passport allows me to travel wherever I want. I’ve faced financial stress, but only because I chose the uncertainty of self-employment. Mild bullying was part of my early teenage years, but overall, I felt supported. The experiences I consider traumatic pale in comparison to what many others have faced. I haven’t experienced severe intergenerational trauma, and my parents spent years in group therapy before I was born, which greatly contributed to the safety and stability of my family home. While my dressing journey deeply challenged me on a personal level, it fades in comparison to the levels of oppression that exist for the majority of people on this planet.

Hear my personal story
In this 2.5 minute video, I tell you how my desire to dress outside the gender norms eventually led me to do this work:

If you scroll down to the 'Behind the scenes' box, you'll find some videos where I speak about why I created Ambassadors For Humanity.

Photos: Bartjan de Bruijn, Ilse Wolf.

Meet co-facilitators Mikael & Cosima

Mikael Ibrahim (he/him)

“I believe that we create beauty and growth whenever we genuinely meet each other with openness and depth. I'm passionate about living in this way and bringing that to others. I love to offer private sessions to cultivate these qualities and move through obstacles that come in the way. In my work, I draw on body-centered training in the Pantarei Approach and Realization Process, as well as my own journey of recovery from burnout and chronic pain.“

Mikael Ibrahim

Cosima Siegling (she/her)

Cosima's bio will be here soon. A video of Cosima introducing herself can be found in the 'Behind the scenes' box below.

Cosima Siegling

Behind the scenes: watch us talk with each other

Below, you'll find videos of us introducing ourselves during our first meeting about this project. There's also a video where we talk about the status of the project and a video about what we'll actually be doing.

I think these videos give a pretty good idea of who we are because they weren't initially made for publication. So you'll see us in our natural expression:

Cosima introduces herself

Mette introduces himself

“Where are we at?”

Mette talks about the early stages of this project.

“What will we do?”

The three of us explore what the program could be about.

Mette's writings about humanity

Below are some of Mette's writings about the struggles and opportunities of accessing our humanity, authenticity, and vulnerability in everyday life.












Join or support the program

Sign up & become part of the group

If you feel that wonderful mix of fear and excitement, it could mean you've found your next edge for growth. It's this exact mix that makes me want to have you in the group :) So, are you ready to hold your nose and jump into the water?

There are two ways to join:


Not sure?

If the program speaks to you but you have some doubts or concerns, or want to get to know me, having a call is a really nice way to go about it. I won't try to convince you. Rather, I'll be happy to understand what drives you, tell you more about myself, figure out if joining is the right thing for you now, and if there's anything you need in that. It typically takes no more than 15-30 minutes to find clarity.

You can schedule a call below or message me via Telegram or the contact form.

Support: donate or give feedback

Offer your feedback

I'd love to hear what you think about this program and its cause, so I know what works and what I can improve. You're super welcome to message me via Telegram or the contact form, or to plan a 1-on-1 call.

Donate financially

As explained in the "Price, inclusivity & sustainability" box above, I do this work for one third of a median salary, which is not sustainable in the long term. By making a donation you can help me (1) make this program more financially sustainable for myself, and (2) make this program accessible to a broader range of people. Both of which are crucial for the long-term success. The current goal is to have a successful first edition, and gradually develop the program from there.

When you set up a monthly donation, it helps to reduce my salary cut so I can focus on this cause more fully:

  • €25 per month
    Decrease my salary cut by 1.1%
  • €100 per month
    Decrease my salary cut by 4.5%
  • €250 per month
    Decrease my salary cut by 11%

When you make a one-time donation, it lets me offer a scholarship (in the form of a significant discount) to someone who's highly motivated to join but whose circumstances or background make it difficult to join at the full price:

  • Single donation of €115
    Enable 12.5% of a scholarship
  • Single donation of €231
    Enable 25% of a scholarship
  • Single donation of €463
    Enable half a scholarship
  • Single donation of €925
    Enable one full scholarship
  • Single donation of €1.850
    Enable two full scholarships
  • Single donation of €2.775
    Enable three full scholarships

Ko-fi should support credit card, iDeal, Paypal, and more. In case your preferred payment method does not show up, you can message me via Telegram or the contact form.

Talk to me first

If the program speaks to you—and you consider joining or supporting it—but you have some doubts or concerns, or want to get to know me, having a call is a really nice way to go about it. I won't try to convince you. Rather, I'll be happy to understand what drives you, tell you more about myself, figure out if joining is the right thing for you now, and if there's anything you need in that. It typically takes no more than 15-30 minutes to find clarity.

You can schedule a call below or message me via Telegram or the contact form.


More detailed info

The societal–political dimension

Besides the big impact this program can have on your life and the people around you, there is a bigger ambition. It's grounded in the belief that each generation has to actively work on preserving the freedoms we have, on cultivating those freedoms for ourselves and others, and on staying connected to our shared humanity when there's so much hate, polarization. It's grounded in the ideological belief that while activism is important to support specific causes or groups, it's equally important to cultivate our ability for compassion and connection beyond our differences, as a way of preserving our individual and collective humanity.

The video below shows a private coaching call where my coach asked me why I do the work that I do. It wasn't intended for publication, but it turned out to be a pure, unpolished, and passionate conversation that shows exactly why I think this program is so incredibly important on both an individual and a societal level—and why it's so important now. So I decided to share it. It starts with a 4-minute intro of me talking about the program that I recorded later:

Foundational concepts we'll work with

Here are some of the foundational concepts that influence this program. This text is a super unpolished first brain dump, that will be further developed during the pre-events.

  • Cultivating inner/outer safety and permission
    Example of outer safety: making agreements. Example of inner safety: developing nervous system awareness. Example of permission: enjoying our full human expression, cultivating curiosity towards self and other, experimentation, and play.
  • Balancing honoring and questioning our inner worlds
    Two complimentary skills of making yourself and your inner world (a) incredibly important and worth of expression (b) something to question, challenge, play with, zoom out from, and not get attached to.
  • Sharing as a mutual exchange
    Rather than building a dogmatic way of living and imposing this on others, we strive not get caught up on our own world views. Yes, we can share our wisdom and experiences with others in our lives, but we can simultaneously stay open to others sharing their experiences and insights with us.
  • Fluidity & emergence
    We embrace messiness, inconsistency, experimentation, and being in the moment. We can do things without them having to define who we are. This program is informed by life and the group process as it unfolds. While we form ideas, agreements, program elements, and so on, none of them are sacred just because the team introduced them or even because the group agreed on them at some point.
Concrete topics we may work with

Here are some of the topics that I believe play into our overarching topic of humanity. This text is a super unpolished first brain dump, that will be further developed during the pre-events.

  • The three layers of humanity: individual, relational, and societal.
  • Stepping into responsibility: how to start shaping your life and world.
  • Community-building in a hyper-individualized society
  • The roles of activism and cultivating humanity in times of intense polarization
  • The role of humanity alongside the rise of AI
  • Avoiding dogma: being open to people who live differently or whom we disagree with
The price calculation

Sadly, it’s much easier to make a decent living by working for companies that harm the planet or fuel inequality than it is trying to contribute to a better world. It’s especially hard to make events financially inclusive without sacrificing myself in the process. Many facilitators either rely on other income streams or stop facilitating after a few years, when they realize the prices they offered just weren’t sustainable for themselves.

When event prices do work for a facilitator in the long term, these events are often judged as expensive and 'commercial'—even when things are often still not great for the facilitator. I'd like to show how I've calculated the ticket prices for this event, so you can get a sense of how this works from 'my side'.

The price calculation:

  1. I aim to work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. Out of those hours, roughly 40% of my time goes into things like admin, general promotion, and other general tasks. This means I have around 24 hours per workweek to make my income.
  2. On a yearly basis, I have to account for vacation, sick days, public holidays, festivals where I work for free to make a name for myself, and the time I receive training that lets me do this work in a responsible, trauma-informed way. This leaves me with around 38 work weeks per year.
  3. This means I have to make my money in 912 hours per year, or around 76 hours per month.
  4. My fixed business expenses are around €500 per month, which is actually quite low, but I also have to factor in taxes, my pension, savings in case anything goes wrong, disability insurance, and various other insurances.
  5. I spend at least 460 hours on one edition of this program:
    • 145+ hours of preparation: developing the program; promotion; venue communication; setting up a team; handling signups and cancellations; chasing payments; communicating with participants, helpers, team members, and the venue; shopping; and many more small tasks.
    • 275+ hours for preparing and facilitating the actual five weekends
    • 40+ hours for preparing and hosting the online calls
  6. Besides the time investment, I spend money on renting the venue, paying my team members, and buying materials I need for running the program. Depending on how signups are going, I might have to spend money on online promotion, printing flyers, etc.
  7. Now, to earn the median salary for someone my age in this part of the world, I would have to generate €104 for each hour that I work on this program (excluding VAT). To achieve this, I would need to have 20 signups for an average of €3.450 per participant (including VAT).
  8. To make this program more inclusive, I've lowered my salary to one third (!) of the median, which reduces the average price to €1.850 per person including VAT, which means I rely on additional donations to make it work. It also means that for everyone paying less, there needs to be someone paying more.

So, it's complicated... Bravo if you made it to the end of this. If you want to share your reflections, feel free to message me on Telegram or through the contact form.


Values & accountability

Values

The following values are the foundation for all my work. If these don't resonate with you, then we may not be a match. Of course, these values are always a work in progress. If something about them doesn’t feel right, or if you have ideas for improvement, I would love to hear from you. Message me on Telegram or through the contact form. If it ever feels like the facilitator(s) don't live up to these values, I welcome you to tell us.

1. Authenticity: Everyone's invited to verbally, physically, and emotionally express themselves. We can play with our expression without justifying ourselves, yet we strive to do so in a way that’s considerate of other people.

2. Inclusivity: We welcome all identities and personal backgrounds. We try to notice the judgments and assumptions we make about others, and question racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or other discriminatory beliefs or behavior.

3. Consent: We respect each other's space, stuff, boundaries and privacy. We share a responsibility to create a safe environment for ourselves as well as for others.

4. Confidentiality: We don’t share about other people’s experiences. We don’t comment on other people’s experiences without their consent.

5. Self and group responsibility: We try to be aware of the ways in which we take up space and strive to contribute to the safety of the group. We’re all responsible for our own physical and emotional needs.

6. No sex or romance with team members: Team members don't share arousal, sexual energy, or romance with participants. (We might like to share hugs or other forms of touch though!)

If you have an unpleasant experience

Not all experiences in these kinds of spaces are pleasant – no matter how much we all try to do things right.

If you have an unpleasant experience with a team member or fellow participant, I encourage you to contact them directly. Alternatively, you're very welcome to reach out to me/Mette on Telegram or through the contact form or to any other team member. We may be able to support you and won’t take any action without your consent.

If you have an unpleasant experience with Mette, you may reach out to Mette, to another team member, or to Mette's accountability partner Anouk Bongers. She won't communicate with Mette unless you consent to it. You can find her contact details here.

One more thing: It may take time to process certain experiences. Sometimes months or years. The offer above remains valid. There’s no such thing as reaching out too late.

You made it to the end. Want to join? Here’s that form once more. Want to join a co-creation evening or intro weekend/day, scroll back up. Want to have a call with me? Choose a time. To stay in the loop, join the Telegram channel. Want none of that? Here's a random fact that continues to blow my mind.