In early June, Pachamama Alliance sponsored an extraordinary event in Asheville, North Carolina, that brought together 65 visionaries, experts, and activists to collaborate on finding creative new pathways to a viable future for humanity and our planet.
The gathering emerged from an exploration that Pachamama Alliance has been involved in this year, grappling with how to respond to the cascading crises of climate change, ecosystem destruction, toxins in the environment, and growing inequality—all of which appear headed toward a catastrophic collapse for humans and many other species.
The June Gathering: A Convergence of Thought Leaders
It is clear that human choices and activities are driving these crises, and so it appears that nothing short of a total transformation of the human species can meet them. Something dramatically new is needed, and it must happen soon, within one generation.
Pachamama Alliance’s educational programs, aimed at building a world that works for all, have been powerful and impactful, as are many other initiatives offered by other organizations. Yet none are having an impact at a scale to create the transformation needed to meet the looming crises. The impetus and the focus for the gathering in June was how to accelerate that transformation—to solve what seems to be impossible.
The purpose of the gathering was bold and inspiring, aimed at getting to the spiritual heart of the problem:
To accelerate an evolutionary leap that transforms our species’ dominant way of being from human supremacy to sacred reciprocity with Earth, one another, and all Life.
Facilitated Collaboration and Indigenous Leadership
The participants who were invited brought expertise, passion, and influence in a variety of realms, and ranged from Indigenous leaders to corporate executives, major philanthropists to climate organizers, and artists to AI researchers. They came from South and North America, Africa, and Asia, and a majority were women. Indigenous shamans and leaders from spiritual groups led ceremonies and meditations that created a deep spiritual connection for the group process.
The gathering was facilitated by Rob Evans and Carolyn Buck Luce from Imaginal Labs, who led a highly interactive process with everyone mixing with each other, discussing, questioning, and creating together. The exploration was guided by a systemic map of the meta-crisis and its solutions, co-created by participants with the guidance of Scott Spann from Emergent Impact.
Emerging Principles and Earthshot Teams
In the latter half of the gathering, participants formed teams to develop actionable initiatives, which were dubbed “Earthshots”—interventions with the potential to create breakthroughs on a global scale. Eight Earthshot teams created a brilliant array of strategies.
They all centered on how sacred reciprocity can transform the systems that shape our world. Examples include building bioregional economic systems, AI trained in Regeneration, and how to train a generation of leaders who can realize these visions through political systems.
The Earthshots are sophisticated and innovative. Most of all, they feel real - they feel possible. The 65 people at the gathering have the knowledge, hearts, and leadership roles in the world to move these ideas into strategies that are a match for the scope of their visions.
The Earthshot teams are organizing themselves to fully develop their visions and to delve deeper into the pathways that hold the greatest transformational promise. With support from Pachamama Alliance, their goal is to have plans ready by the end of the summer to begin seeking funding, resources, and new alliances.
Continuing the Work and Future Plans
Every contributor to the June Gathering left with a deep knowing that something significant and powerfully transformative was seeded during this week. There is a ripple effect already underway as participants are sharing their experiences and inspiring others with their enthusiasm about this unique exploration and the potential to generate a breakthrough in the way human beings honor and regenerate all Life.
