This article was originally published in the Global Soft Power Index 2025
Initiator of the JUMP
FOR THE PLANET
Project
As a skydiver, trauma psychologist, and mountain rescuer, my life’s mission is to support people who are unfairly impacted by fate.
In 2026, I will skydive from the edge of space (148,000 ft / 45 km) to draw global attention to the plight of climate refugees and the vital work of Jump for the Planet, a bold rescue initiative aimed at providing rapid relief to climate refugees. These are people who lose their homes in an instant due to climate disasters. My goal is to deliver modular shelters within hours, offering safety, a place to cook, and a secure place to rest after traumatic experiences.
Despite living on a borderless planet, humanity has built artificial divisions—lines on maps, walls, and barriers that isolate us from each other and our environment. Scientific data and statistics alone fail to reach most people, but social media has the power to mobilise change. That’s why I am taking this leap—to engage a global audience in a conversation that truly matters.
My space dive aims to highlight how climate change endangers the most vulnerable communities. Beyond raising awareness, I am determined to secure over $1 billion to fund rapidly deployable emergency shelters worldwide. Before stepping off the balloon at 45 km, I will have 30 minutes to share my message with a live audience via YouTube.
My dream is to instil in people a lasting awareness of our shared planetary identity—an "Overview Effect" that cuts through division and inspires a future of collective responsibility for our planet and each other.
The goal of this partnership with global social media is to directly broadcast the skydive from space to hundreds of millions of people who will watch this unusual event.
The mission, however, is all about using this extreme moment to send a message to humanity about the importance of our actions in protecting a planet that still has a chance to be a safe home for future generations at risk. The Global Soft Power Summit provides a unique opportunity for all nations to unite in an unprecedented way in the fight for the greater good and also to show that it takes doing something crazy today to stop the madness tomorrow!
More than 40 years ago, a shipyard worker, Lech Walesa, started the Solidarity revolution against the communist regime in isolated Poland. Today, as an internationally respected Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of Poland, he is a patron of Jump For The Planet, believing that my crazy idea is how to build a better tomorrow for our children.
David Beaver, co-founder of The Overview Institute and The Center for Planetary Identity, supports the campaign: “Jump for the Planet is a critical initiative at a time when humanity faces unprecedented challenges. Mr. Kozlowski’s prior skydiving charity events have already made a difference, and this project quite literally takes those efforts to new heights.”
We have achieved incredible things as a species, yet deep divisions persist. Now is the time to channel our differences into a powerful force for good. By uniting governments, organisations, and individuals, we can build a global movement driven by compassion and action.
