Michael Rowe

Trying to get better at getting better

What would a conference look like if we thought of it as a retreat?

What comes mind when I think of a retreat? Silence. Rest. Solitude. Reflection. Thinking.

What comes to mind when I think of a conference? Busy. Networking. Listening/watching. Rushing. Choosing.

I’m not suggesting that one is better than the other; they’re different activities with different aims.

But, I am fairly confident that one of these is more likely to lead to the kind of learning I want to get more of.


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Comments

2 responses to “What would a conference look like if we thought of it as a retreat?”

  1. Joost Van wijchen avatar
    Joost Van wijchen

    It seems interesting that the noun conference or retreat has different connotations that even the verbs connected to it ar influenced. By posting the question you invite into strangeness and actually start with emotions and verb which can create nouns describing what it will be

  2. filip2016 avatar

    Esalen Institute comes to mind immediately as a place that has been taking the retreat approach for a considerable time: https://www.esalen.org/