The Hearth Summit is a gathering shaped by the belief that transformation begins within. It brings together leaders and changemakers from around the world to reconnect with their inner landscape and reclaim a sense of wholeness.

The Hearth Summit is an international convening designed to spark social transformation by placing wellbeing at the center, hosted by The Wellbeing Project. Since the first global summit in 2022, more than 20 Regional Hearth Summits have been held, drawing participants from over 90 countries.

The summit marks a shift from traditional problem-solving approaches toward a model of collective transformation—supporting change across three interconnected layers of wellbeing: individual, collective, and ecological. Through a blend of research, practice, and cross-sector collaboration, the summit aims to cultivate new cultural foundations for connection beyond division.

Hearth Summit Gifu 2026 will offer a 4day program combining a city-based conference followed by a retreat in the Nagara River watershed. Through dialogue, embodied practices, and encounters with the regenerative spirit of the land, participants will explore the “shadowed” resources hidden within pain, stagnation, and memory—and draw from them new currents of hope and renewal. Our intention is to build a foundation for both inner transformation and systemic change.

We live in an era of *polycrisis—a convergence of rising living costs, polarization, and global instability. At the frontlines of social change, many leaders face deep internal strain that affects the quality and sustainability of their work. As figures like Gandhi, King, Rosa Parks, and Mandela demonstrated, the “inner journey” is essential for grounding creativity, collaboration, and moral courage. We believe that the wellbeing of leaders is not merely a personal matter, but a fundamental and long-term prerequisite for meaningful social transformation.

The Wellbeing Project (TWP) is a global leader in advancing the wellbeing of changemakers and in strengthening the research and practice that support this field. Co-created with Ashoka, Georgetown University, Impact Hub, Porticus, the Skoll Foundation, and Synergos, TWP is a collaborative international community spanning grassroots networks, universities, foundations, and companies. TWP works to deepen the evidence base around wellbeing in social change, support leaders and organizations through learning and practice, and help seed cultures of wellbeing across sectors.

Central belief is that changemakers working for social transformation must first tend to their own wellbeing, the richness and grounding of their inner lives. From this starting point, TWP work alongside leaders and organizations around the world to explore inner development, to reconsider the structures and cultures within our institutions, and to reconnect with the wider ecological systems to which we belong. Works include a model program for experienced social-change leaders, long-term initiatives supporting organizational cultures of wellbeing, research, evaluation, and network-building efforts that help expand the global field of transformative practice.