Experience
Bhutan · 11–18 December 2026
A week that begins before Bhutan.
Meet the people, places and work that shape the gathering—from the first online conversations to what participants carry forward together.
Explore the experience
Context
Work already under way in Bhutan
Across Bhutan, public institutions, enterprises, educators and practitioners are already working on parts of what a mindful economy needs.
In September 2026, GMCA convened the Ecosystem Design and Strategic Planning Workshop in Thimphu, where Bhutanese partners looked at what institutions are already doing, where their work connects and where collaboration might help. It surfaced more than 30 initiatives across the emerging for-benefit landscape, from 15 institutions.
This is a partial snapshot of work still developing. Confirmed participants receive more detail during the advance sharing sessions, and the gathering is designed around this work.
30+
Initiatives
15
Institutions
Surfaced at the Ecosystem Design and Strategic Planning Workshop convened by GMCA in Thimphu, September 2026.
- Public institutions
- Government, regulators, public agencies and emerging institutions.
- Enterprise
- Businesses and for-benefit enterprises.
- Knowledge and education
- Universities, researchers, educators and knowledge partners.
- Civil society and ecosystem
- Civil society organisations, networks, convenors, standards bodies and other intermediaries.
The journey
Five stages, one thread.
A conversation might begin in an advance sharing session, continue on a hike in December, sharpen in the working sessions and carry on long after.
Stage 01
Discovery and connection
Three to four online sessions connect participants with Bhutanese partners to share work and common ground before arrival.
- 01
Before December
Discovery and connection
- 02
11–13 December · Optional
Arrival and immersion
- 03
14–15 December
Core gathering
- 04
16–18 December · Optional
National Day
- 05
After the gathering
Continuation
01 · Before December
Discovery and connection
Preparation begins in Bhutan, where institutions and enterprises across the country set out the role each wants to play in a mindful economy. This grounds the gathering in work already planned here, and helps identify people elsewhere whose interests match it. Once you register, you join three to four facilitated online advance sharing sessions with institutions and partners in Bhutan and with other participants. In pairs and small groups, you share the work you are part of, what you hope to learn and what useful collaboration could look like. Nothing more is asked of you before December. By the time you arrive, you will already know some of the people you are travelling to meet.
What are you working on?
What can you bring?
Who would you like to meet?
02 · 11–13 December · Optional
Arrival and immersion
These optional days are spent together around Bhutan, building on relationships started online. You plan this time with the people you have come to know and others you meet. You might hike together, share a meal, visit cultural or spiritual places, or see an enterprise or community connected to your work. The organising team makes sure everyone has a place in these days, and Nyingnor, as event partner, handles the arrangements. Bhutanese hosts help shape the encounters they take part in, and are acknowledged by name and fairly paid.
03 · 14–15 December
Core gathering
14 December opens with sessions that set out a shared understanding of the mindful economy and of the collaborations that took shape in the advance sharing sessions. Participants then present their work and interests to the whole gathering. Across the two days, facilitated working sessions help participants turn their connections into practical plans: what they want to do together, who will take part, what still needs working out and which next steps need coordinating. The programme also includes meetings with entrepreneurs and institutions, conversations on the emerging economy of Gelephu Mindfulness City, and time for reflection and mindfulness practice. Presentations support the discussion rather than lead it.
What should we work on together?
04 · 16–18 December · Optional
National Day
Bhutan's National Day falls on 17 December. Staying on lets you see Bhutanese public life at a significant national moment, and place the week's discussions in that context. The organising team will assist with participation in formal events, subject to access requirements.
05 · After the gathering
Continuation
Participants decide which relationships and joint work they will carry forward, and each collaboration names the people taking it forward and an agreed next step.
Participants decide which relationships and shared work to carry forward. Each collaboration names who will take it forward and agrees on a next step.
- 01Institutional relationships
Long-term connections with relevant Bhutanese institutions.
- 02Pilots and projects
Taking promising ideas from conversation towards experimentation.
- 03Workstreams
Continuing collaborative work around shared interests.
- 04Research and knowledge exchange
Sharing what is learned, in Bhutan and beyond.
- 05Enterprise partnerships
Enterprises in Bhutan and elsewhere working together on shared purpose.
GMCA and 4SG Bhutan help sustain these connections. Participants can record their collaboration and progress in a partnership record on the GaME website. What we learn from December will shape future gatherings.
Begin
Registration is the first step.
Tell us what you are working on, what you hope to explore, who you would like to meet and what you might bring.
Register