In a black Japanese robe, with a friendly rat on his shoulder, Bart Weetjens embodies the unexpected. A Zen Buddhist priest and social entrepreneur, Bart is best known for founding APOPO, the pioneering organization that trains African giant rats to detect landmines and tuberculosis — saving countless lives across the globe. Yet beneath his groundbreaking social innovations lies a deeper current: the practice of Zazen meditation, which became his lifeline after a near-fatal LSD experience in his youth and years of healing.

Bart invites us to consider how unexamined shadows and traumas may quietly seep into even our most virtuous work. Could cultivating inner well-being be the missing anchor for more sustainable, compassionate social change?

Today, Bart coaches changemakers, contributes to The Wellbeing Project, and co-founded Innerpreneurs, creating courageous spaces for entrepreneurs to fulfill their purpose with integrity.