Our Story

For people to undertake a great task, they need to believe that they can do it. The Visioneers International Network began with a story, a story about how people all over the world came together in a great human drama to create a global civilization of peace and prosperity for all. They called themselves Visioneers, pioneers of the future, creating visions of what people can achieve when they are aligned with higher purpose and choose to work together to turn their dreams into reality.

Visioneers International Network Web of Good Work with a globe supported by a collection of diverse hands symbolizing global support, collaboration and unity on a backdrop of stars.

The founders of The Visioneers International Network are Dr. Desmond Berghofer (Des) and Dr. Geraldine Schwartz (Gerri). They are an energetic and creative team who have worked as partners for three decades, combining their talents to found and operate a number of business and educational organizations focused on leadership development, and especially on ethical leadership and the creative management of change. In The Visioneers International Network, they are joined by a team of exceptional people spanning a spectrum of ages and life stories, working together from around the globe to capture the energy of the original Visioneers story to become the architects of our own positive social change movements through a global Web of Good Work.

Dr. Desmond Berghofer and Dr. Geraldine Schwartz sit smiling in front of a bookshelf

The vision of the Web of Good Work is inspired by a story.


At the heart of all great human achievements is a story that people tell themselves about something that can be done. The story of the Web of Good Work is told in the novel, The Visioneers: A Courage Story about Belief in the Future, written by Desmond Berghofer. In this fictional account, a band of enterprising people from many different countries and backgrounds set out to engage people around the world to envision a future of planetary cooperation and peace. At the end of the story, the whole world has come together in a Congress of the Global Mind filled with a resounding spirit of “Why Not?” Why not create on Earth the wonderful world we all believe is possible?

Visioneers Novel cover

Desmond Berghofer, the author of The Visioneers describes how civilizations ancient and modern have always followed a story embedded in their collective psyche. The current dominant story of never-ending material expansion on a finite planet is not sustainable and must urgently be replaced with a new story in which humanity comes together as a human family grounded in values of kindness, compassion and cooperation. The original Visioneers story may serve as inspiration and guide for this transformation.

The inspirational novel, The Visioneers: A Courage Story about Belief in the Future, was brought to life when the book was first published in 1992 in an Audio Theatre voiced by Dr. Desmond Berghofer (the author) and Dr. Geraldine Schwartz. The original recording has been remastered and updated for today’s social, political and environmental conditions. It is an extraordinarily entertaining and inspirational commentary, including readings from the book.

As a gift for becoming a member of the Visioneers International Network, we are pleased to provide you with the full 20 thirty-minute episodes of the Audio Theatre, as well as a new introduction and conclusion created for the unique challenges of the 21st century.

The Visioneers International Network Web of Good Work seeks to utilize the connective power of the Internet to engage people to become part of a global network that celebrates and showcases projects of good work and the people behind them. The mission of the Web of Good Work is to support and become a part of the processes that are shifting human civilization into a new phase where communities of global citizens push the margins beyond countries and borders towards a peaceful collaborative world enterprise that will produce a richness of human culture and experience beyond our current imagination.

What are the Visioneers? Watch this video of the Visioneers Youth Team speaking about the next-generation online platform that we have created to empower people around the world, young and old, to connect, collaborate and create better prospects for the future. The video features commentary by the director, Tatiana Speed, the author of The Visioneers, Desmond Berghofer, and the founder of the Visioneers International Network, Geraldine Schwartz.

Interested in becoming a Visioneer?

Learn more about the initiatives, benefits and goals of the Visioneers International Network