9 years from now, in a not-so-distant future, the people of 2030 face a new set of existential threats unforeseen in the decades preceding it.  Now accustomed to the chaotic nature of a globalized world and the unrelenting onset of technological progress, human life has intensified beyond imagination. Existing increasingly in the digital domain, lives pass through more non-material experiences than ever before, protecting depleting resources and stripping back the human footprint on the planet.   However, the prominent use of telecommunication as the medium for human interaction, be it in business or in a more social context, has exposed the interconnectedness of our species' fate with those of others. Despite our recognition of the need to act in the face of mounting environmental challenges, growing populations clinging to obsolete economic growth logics have all but continued the planet’s catastrophic downward trajectory.   After years of empty political promises to combat these challenges and acutely aware of their growing urgency, people have taken the matter into their own hands and transformed consumer behavior from the bottom-up. Agents over their own lifestyle choices, people’s consumer and disposal habits have become increasingly self-regulating, forcing businesses to adapt and realign with demand.   Despite their best efforts, however, they must still battle against an increasingly polarised war of information surrounding environmental challenges and the best way to address them. Bombarded by data-driven, targeted advertising from online marketplaces in which greenwashing is rife, the people of 2030 continue to face societal pressures to consume. This commodity culture remains deeply entrenched in people’s relation to the world around them and emerges as the true driver of many of the Earth’s problems.

​

Consumers now often shop using digital cryptocurrencies to buy software-rendered art and design pieces, from fashion to furniture, which their avatars inhabit on online platforms. However, as physical beings, humans remain heavily reliant on the same essential sectors that were identified during the pandemic that occurred earlier in the century. Although telecommunication has increased the efficiency of the logistics behind resource distribution, any gradual improvements have been hindered by growing competition for land and over-cultivation of once-fertile soils.   Furthermore, our transition towards non-material, digital lifestyles has inadvertently disrupted the food chains on which our natural renewable resources are reliant. Confused by the electromagnetic storm of signals surrounding them, the bee population has rapidly depleted. Up until now, environmental challenges had been met almost exclusively with techno-fixes that allowed humans to short-sightedly adapt their existing consumer behaviors to the immediate circumstances.   Cornered by the twin risks of their material and digital existences, humanity arrived at a defining juncture which forced them to critically confront not ‘what’ they consume, but rather ‘how’ they do it. In response to this crisis, international cooperation set out a pathway towards a more sustainable future which included the organization of a network of retreats, to be known as ‘The Summit’, as a catalyst for society’s transition into a post-consumerist world.   Working as a voluntary holiday, funded on a ‘Pay What You Want basis (both in terms of money and time), ‘The Summit’ presents the opportunity for individuals of all ages and backgrounds to take a much-needed breath of fresh air from the chaotic and claustrophobic world of the future. As a digital detox as well as non-consumerist escape, ‘The Summit’ brings together diverse lived experiences and understandings of the challenges facing humanity. It aims to foster collaboration and facilitate intergenerational learning opportunities between the guests themselves, allowing the skills of both past and present, inspired by the visitor’s own experiences of key events in recent world history, to be revived and shared.  By experiencing new outlooks on their own generation or community’s lifestyles, the congregation hopes to provide visitors with some self-critical perspective that will help to inform their consumer behaviors when they return to their everyday lives. It is hoped that the benefits of attending ‘The Summit’ will improve mental health and encourage participants to share positive experiences and construct a social norm surrounding the retreat as a valuable investment of people’s time.