Towards a Golden Civilisation - Conversation on Primrose Hill, 21 November 2018
In late October 2018, George Kinder’s good friend Julian Powe invited 37 of his friends, ranging in age by 50 years, to “come and experiment” with him and his wife, Jacqueline, at their home on Primrose Hill in London. A group of 25 gathered on a Wednesday evening to, as Julian put it: “Imagine a thousand years into the future there is a Golden Civilisation. What does it look like? Feel like? How do people communicate, exchange goods, and govern themselves? And what else can we each do to move towards it right now? Bring your wildest ideas and most personal values to a conversation about the future - and come and enjoy a convivial and civil (perhaps even goldenly so!) evening on the 21st.” What came out of that first meeting was a beautiful vision poem of all the qualities of a Golden Civilization. This poem would be read at future Golden Civilization Conversations as an example of what others are doing and how close each groups’ visions tend to be. See for yourself!
Participate in Golden Civilization Conversations
Vision image from First Golden Civilization Conversation
Here's an image of our Vision from the first Golden Civilization Conversation. Eight of us gathered in my cabin by the pond in mid-September for a little experiment. Applying the Life Planning conversation structure to our group visioning session, we explored what civilization could look like a 1000 generations in the future. Here’s what we came up with! - George Kinder
Let's Create a Golden Civilization!
Over nine years ago, I began writing my latest book, A Golden Civilization & The Map of Mindfulness , as a reflection on the Banking Crisis, the Great Recession, and the distrust of the financial services industry that I spent my professional life combating. I wanted to address with positive visioning many of the societal structures and systems that caused it and that require change to bring authenticity, and both the exhilaration and peace of freedom sustainably into civilization.
And, something occurred to me as I was finishing the book: If we live in a participatory democracy, then we have the power to deliver ourselves into a Golden Civilization. Not within a thousand years or a thousand generations, but now . We need only come together, establish the most clear and powerful vision of what it is, and then take the action necessary immediately to make it happen.
In my book, I share what I think will take us to a Golden Civilization. and certainly the ideas are revolutionary and groundbreaking, but it is just my perspective. My aim is much greater. What I really want is to listen to and build without delay what Homo sapiens all over the world think a Golden Civilization would be. I want conversations to be thriving and intermingling the world over! Families gathering in living rooms, neighbors conversing around the kitchen table, students creating visions in the classroom, communities coming together to act in unison, and groups everywhere connecting with each other online. The Golden Civilization Conversation movement was born and we want more voices at the table so we can create a Golden Civilization within this generation.
Fast forward seven months and the conversation movement is taking place on five continents and growing every day. All over the globe, people have chosen to be leaders in their communities by holding conversations that vision the future and commitments to create it now.
Join me.
George