The Gather Conference is a communal meeting ground for thought-leaders, big-thinkers, and industry-changers from many different intersections.

Gather was rooted in the unwavering belief that human rights are every human's right; and that inclusion and collaboration are the basis for innovation, imagination, and impact. We never play the comparison game when acknowledging the impact of society, culture, science, or technology because each plays a unique role. Real change happens when people at these intersections join forces to cultivate new ideas and feel empowered by working together.

One of Gather's cornerstones is to shed light on society's most urgent challenges by discussing five pertinent themes

THEMES

Consider these themes our starting point for unpacking the complexities of societies in today's world.

Cities & Society

The Gather theme of Cities and Society focuses on the democratic city and creating urban spaces for everyone, but also on the augmented and technological city. What does a smart city mean in reality? With everything from self-driving cars to vertical farming on the horizon, we need to re-establish the way we will live with technology and what goals towards living even tighter together are physically, and virtually, possible.

Economy & Transactions

Technology in the form of algorithms and decentralized platforms are completely reshaping our economic landscape. In the midst of innovative crowd-sourced financing, crypto-currencies, neo-banking, and DAO:s, we need to establish a direction forward. What does the future of democratic and participatory financial systems look like, how do we make sure people aren't left behind when banking and money are increasingly digitized, how do we build trust in automated and self-learning systems, and how do we build sustainability into these platforms?

Media & Creativity

The concept of media and "the truth" is more in flux than ever. Media encapsulates both design, content and communication; areas that are becoming increasingly skewed, political and polarized; but also increasingly influenced by new emerging technologies such as machine learning. What does the future of media and democracy look like in times of (increasingly regulated) big tech, conspiracy and distrust? And what does creativity and intellectual property mean in the era of NFT:s, AI-generated music and blockchain?

Democracy & Power

The world is changing faster than ever, and the burning question is whether modern democracy will be able to keep up with the changes? In what is often called a post-political and post-truth world, it is clear that technology continues to have a profound influence on economy, society and culture, but also on how we as humans think and understand the world around us. Is the social contract dead, do we need new political models, and what does citizenship entail in these times of globalization, climate change, algorithms, extremism and conspiracy?

Humans & Machines 

The merging of humans, society and machines is undoubtedly one of the most impactful forces right now. As American engineer Arati Prabhakar states “We and our technological creations are poised to embark on what is sure to be a strange and deeply commingled evolutionary path". The Gather theme of Humans and Machines will outline and discover the potential rewards we face in the future with technology, as well as the risks we face.