Yossi Ghinsberg, cosmopolitan figure and eternal nomad, travels the world extensively and unceasingly, advocating fiercely on the need to preserve both the environment and global peace.
In 1981, Yossi Ghinsberg sailed with a group of friends to the Bolivian rainforest, where he separated and got lost for weeks with no food or weapons, in the midst of the worst rainy season in decades. Based on his life-changing experience he authored the international best-seller "Jungle" (1986).
In 1992 he returned to the Amazon to initiate The Chalalan Project, which demonstrated that -rather than mere conservation- the best strategy to conserve pristine rainforest is sustainable development in cooperation with its indigenous people. The initiative promoted the recognition of intellectual properties for indigenous people, gaining international acclaim.
In 1995 he was appointed Vice-president of The Center for Investigation & Treatment of Addiction, where he promoted a new humanitarian approach to treatment of opiate addiction, establishing 12 treatment and research centers around the world. He also launched the Alma Libre initiative to educate society about opiate addiction and promote reintegration of rehabilitated patients.
Yossi has great interest in both personal and organizational conflict resolution. In 2001, during the peak of the Palestinian "intifada", he was invited to return to Israel to produce a reconciliation festival. Despite the escalation of violence in the region, the festival managed to attract spiritual leaders of Judaism and Islam, as well as unprecedented audiences.
Yossi Ghinsberg holds Philosophy and Business degrees from Tel Aviv University, and has followed a comprehensive study of religions and philosophy ranging from the ancients, the classics, the Eastern and the Contemporary. He describes himself as "a truth seeker by an inner calling".
