Events

Online events, campus conversations, convivia and seminars on compassion.

Join the conversation

Realising a Compassionate Planet • 5 November 2021

A groundbreaking event that brings compassion science into dialogue with climate science.

Join our gathering of compassion changemakers taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland and online during the time of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

As we enter the decade of last chance for addressing the climate crisis, the global community’s response cannot rely on scientific expertise, accurate data, and technical excellence alone — it requires realising the power of a compassionate planet.

Realising a Compassionate Planet 5 November 2021

Previous Events

Our high profile events are listed below and provide a flavour for different conversations we contribute to and convene.

Edinburgh Futures Conversations: The Future of Health • 2 March 2021

Experts from around the world shared their perspectives of the pandemic – exploring how to change and reshape public health systems to transform outcomes.

Watch session videos and read the Declaration of Principles that emerged from this event.

Image of edinburgh skyline

Compassion and the New Normal • 2 March 2021

How do we work together to create a healthier, more equitable and mutually supportive world?

We were delighted to join this event organised by colleagues at the University of Queensland on 2 March 2021. Our co-director, Professor Liz Grant, spoke on 'Global Compassion' alonside alongside Peter Singer AC and Paul Gilbert OBE – a cross-disciplinary, big-picture discussion exploring the role of compassion in the New Normal.

Convivium on Creating Compassionate Universities and Organisations • 7 October 2020

We invited international leaders in compassion research and implementation to contribute to this convivium. Together we explored what compassion can mean in principle and in practice for our Universities and organisations.

Universities are increasingly looking at compassion and kindness as values by which to operate. Compassionate Cities are emerging around the world. The Scottish Government identifies both Compassion and Kindness as core values within its National Performance Framework. The UK's National Health Service (NHS) and multiple businesses name compassion as a value.

In order to deepen our understanding of what compassion looks like in practice (within organisations) we explored insights from a wide range of contexts and put them to work on Edinburgh University as a ‘case study’. 

  • How does compassion look and feel in organisational settings?
  • How is it embedded and what makes this difficult?
  • How can progress pathways to resource universities and other organisations to create a compassionate future?

This convivium was organised and hosted by the Global Compassion Initiative at the University of Edinburgh. We welcomed colleagues from:

[Invitation only event]

 

Event listing

Event date
Nov 30 2017 -

Compassion in the Age of Disruption

Nov 30-Dec 1 2017: A one-day summit to explore how deep human values will forge a way forward in the age of artificial intelligence.

Further information
Jun 28 2016 -

TedX University of Edinburgh - Compassion and Courage

TedX University of Edinburgh in collaboration with the Global Compassion Initiative at the Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh, will be curating an informal and informational evening to spark ideas and share experiences around what it means to be human and how we foster connection.

Further information
Mar 16 2016 -

New Perspectives on Compassion: Stanford University and the University of Edinburgh, Global Health Academy

Join CCARE and the University of Edinburgh for a half-day mini-conference exploring the frontiers of compassion research.

Further information