More than a conference, this is a gathering of friends, old and yet-to-be-discovered, who are coming together to support each other in their personal and professional journeys as we work toward transforming the world at this pivotal and perilous time — what Christiana Figueres, former UN Secretary of the Environment and one of the Architects of the Paris Climate Agreement calls “the most important decade in human history.” 

We are gathering a small group of people to explore how we can more deeply join forces to create a more joyful, just, and thriving world for our generation and generations to come. We will gather people who are working to transform culture, politics, and capital.

This is not an event of people giving lectures and talking at one another. We will instead harness the power of our shared wisdom and capacities.   

This event is for people dedicated to creating a world of deeper presence, equality, and connection, who want to change the world with their close friends and make more treasured friends as they positively impact the world.  In short, it is a true community dedicated to personal and planetary transformation.  

These collaborations are the highest form of friendship, “friendships of virtue,” as Aristotle put it.  

Thich Nhat Hanh said, “The next Buddha will be the sangha (community),” and this gathering is community as teacher, as supporter, and as transformer. 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the greatest joy and strength in life comes through ubuntu, our relationships with one another, and that “we can be human only together.”  

We believe the time is now to discover and live friendship, sangha, and ubuntu together. 

In our times of hyper individualism, we have forgotten this oldest need for tribe, for community, and for deep transformational relationships.  

We will begin by exploring two simple but profound questions: 

1. What is on the edge of our understanding — what are we trying to figure out, to learn, to discover?  

2. What conversation can we have with one another in this place and at this time that we can’t have anywhere else and with any others?  

In short, what is the most catalytic and transformative series of conversations that can help us and the world get to our next stage of evolution?

Many events focus on speakers.  This gathering focuses on the attendees, who all could be speakers.  While there will be a limited number of talks and dialogues, the most important part of this gathering is the people we will meet, the conversations we will participate in, and the partners we will find.

This gathering will serve as a launching platform for a community that will continue throughout the year and that will serve as the hub of a global community interested in transforming themselves and our world for the benefit of all.