Events

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.

• For more information and to register, visit: acompassionateplanet.org.

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.

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.

• Read more about this event

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:

• Stanford University's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE)
• University of Helsinki
• Compassionate Mind Foundation
• Scottish Government
• Carnegie UK Trust
• Queensland University
• NHS Scotland
• and other invited guests.

[Invitation only event]