Our Mission
Four Intelligences. One Future.
The State of the World Forum was launched from 1995 - 2000 by President Mikhail Gorbachev and Dr. Jim Garrison and many others to bring together global leaders, scientists, business executives, young people, indigenous elders, visionaries and change agents to engage with the defining issues challenging humanity at the end of the Cold War. It became one of the first high-level platforms to bring global diversity together to transform conversations that matter into actions that made a difference. It proved that when people gather with shared intention, something meaningful and transformational can happen.
The 2025 - 2030 State of the World Forum builds on that legacy, not as a replication but as a new response to a new moment. Our mission centers around four consequential truths – planetary ecological collapse, instability at every level of human affairs, exponential growth of artificial intelligence, the reality of Cosmic intelligence on Earth. These data points represent four converging domains of intelligence — human, nature, artificial, cosmic — and our responsibility to engage with each and all of them together in a spirit of wisdom, curiosity and care. These intersections raise profound questions about identity, governance, ethics, consciousness and the future of humanity in a radically changing world.
The momentous opportunity emerging in and through our global crises is for humanity, for the first time, to transition from the arrogance of human supremacy over nature to the humility of sacred reciprocity with nature by coming into the awareness that not only are we not alone, we cannot make it alone. We need the larger ecology of intelligences to guide us now. Only by embracing our planetary and cosmic dimensions in the consciousness of the web of life being an interconnected whole will we survive and ensure a flourishing future.
The world is not simply in crisis — it is in transition. What we are living through is both the end of something and the beginning of a deeper reckoning about human identity and our place in a vast ecology of being far larger, more complex, more potentiated than we have ever imagined.
The State of the World Forum exists to create a place — moral, intellectual and relational — where this transition can be named, met and shaped with integrity.
We are not here to offer instant answers. We are here to ask deep questions — together. Questions that span disciplines, cultures, cosmologies, timelines. Questions that invite both strategy and silence.Questions that make room for the kinds of knowing that cannot be reduced to metrics or markets but are inspired by ancestral memories and awe at the wonder of the universe.
We are also here to transform conversations that matter into actions that make a difference. Already several major strategic initiatives are emerging that are global in scope and designed to bring people together to build an abundant future. They will be housed in a Center for Planetary Intelligence designed to serve as a container for deep discussions over time about how the four intelligences present in our historic moment can dome together to create a common future.
Forum Gallery
$100,000
Multi Intelligence Award
In the spirit of Buckminster Fuller, Jane Goodall, Nikola Tesla, Malala Yousafzai, and all pioneers of innovation and hope.
Presented by the Center for Planetary Intelligence.
FAQs
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Online access includes webinar features, interaction with online Delegates, and access to content (post-event).
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Yes, you may transfer your registration to another person from your organization at no additional cost up to 30 days before the event. Please contact registration@stateoftheworld.forum with the details of the new attendee.
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Registration cancellations received before October 14, 2025 will receive a full refund minus a $100 administration fee. Cancellations between October 15 and November 14, 2025 will receive a 50% refund. No refunds will be issued for cancellations after November 14, 2025, though registration transfers are still permitted.
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While the State of the World Forum is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, please note that registration fees, food and beverage expenses, and accommodation costs are generally not tax-deductible as charitable contributions, as they represent goods and services received.
However, the Forum welcomes additional charitable donations beyond registration fees, which are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law for U.S. taxpayers. International donors should consult their local tax advisors. All donors will receive appropriate documentation for tax purposes. -
Organizations can engage at deeper levels through our partnership programs, which offer opportunities for thought leadership, program development, and strategic visibility. We welcome conversations about mission-aligned collaborations that advance the Forum's goals. Please contact partners@stateoftheworld.forum to discuss possibilities.
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Select plenary sessions will be recorded and made available to registered delegates after the event. Some sessions, particularly those involving sensitive discussions or workshops, may not be recorded to ensure open dialogue. Digital Access Pass holders will have access to all recorded content.