I had my PhD in sociology and worked as a researcher in social sciences (e.g. at OECD, Paris). Through civil engagement I found my way into environmental issues and got the chance to found an Institute for Social Ecology in Vienna, at an interdisciplinary faculty in the late 1980s, which I have been leading for over two decades. As professor emerita now, I am still involved in teaching and research there, but enjoy the liberty to give scientific guidance to a Greek island community in its ambition to turn into an MAB reserve by UNESCO standards, as a showcase of substainability, and to work as an expert in UNEA's International Resource Panel.