Part of a Second Renaissance Movement
Second Renaissance Conference
Transformation in a Time of Metacrisis
After Harvard University, We Continue the Conference Journey of Presence and Purpose for a Wiser, Weller World!
We are confronting a metacrisis—a series of deepening, interconnected challenges such as social division, ecological collapse, increasing inequality, and a widespread crisis of meaning. At the heart of these issues are the foundational beliefs and values of our civilization. Addressing them requires both personal transformation and a reimagining of society as a whole (learn more about the Metacrisis in Life Itself's white paper here).
Visionaries from academia, activism, politics, the arts, technology, and spirituality recognize that lasting solutions call for both systemic shifts and the cultivation of heartfulness and wisdom—a Second Renaissance dedicated to transformative change at every level.
Our questions include:
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How does 'being', wisdom and compassion help build the resilience and resistance necessary in this time?
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What are the root causes of the impending societal and ecological collapse?
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What does compassion and wisdom look like when facing complex collective challenges?
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What does science have to offer, and what are its limitations when dealing with the contemporary metacrisis?
This online event brings together thought leaders and agents of change from diverse backgrounds to inspire dialogue and collaboration, paving the way for a wiser, healthier, and more compassionate world.
From Diagnosis to Renewal
We begin with lucid seeing — naming the crisis beneath the crises. Together we descend to the roots (systems, meanings, ways of being), then re-emerge with clarified vision to reweave culture and institutions.
Descent: Facing the Metacrisis
Honest diagnosis across ecological, cultural, psychological dimensions; courage without despair
Ascent: The Second Renaissance
Renewal of wisdom, creativity, and moral imagination in practice — systems that sustain life.
Honest diagnosis across ecological, cultural, psychological dimensions; courage without despair
Themes
Four lenses that hold the descent–ascent arc — rigorous analysis, moral imagination, embodied practice, and institutional design.
Crisis of Meaning & Meta-diagnosis
Seeing the roots beneath symptoms — culture, psyche, technology, economy.
Paths of Renewal
Practices that cultivate wisdom, compassion, and coherence.
Reweaving Knowledge & Art
Uniting science, humanities, and the arts for a fuller seeing
Institutions that Sustain Life
Governance, economy, and design that embody renewed values.
Who it’s for
A bridge across worlds — rigorous systems thinkers, tradition-oriented leaders, activists and policymakers, artists and embodied practitioners.
Changemakers
From policymakers and activists to impact funders and civic designers. Those focused on transforming societal systems, economics, and governance toward a wiser, weller future.
Sensemakers
From academics and systems theorists to complexity scholars and futurists. Those clarifying the interconnected crises of our time and building frameworks for understanding and action.
Artists & Embodied Practitioners
From meditators and therapists to coaches and artists. Those cultivating the inner and cultural foundations of transformation through healing, creativity, and presence.
Stewards & Leaders
Including elders, youth, community weavers, and indigenous knowledge holders. Those sustaining cultural coherence and guiding transformation through service, relationship, and lineage.
A First at Harvard University
On May 2-3 2025, Life Itself partnered with the School Founders of the World, a student-run club at the Harvard Graduate School of Education's (HGSE), to host the first international Metacrisis conference in Cambridge, MA.
We are excited to continue to build bridges and shed light on the impending societal dark age spolighting innovators, thought leaders and deep practitioners.
Meet the Program Team
We are a growing team of embodied catalysts, working to build a robust community and movement for a wiser, weller world.
Contact us at boaz@lifeitself.org if you are interested in volunteering,
it's only together that' we'll get it together!