We live in a time of growing division – social, political and technological – leading up to ever-growing conflicts and even war. The forces shaping our world often appear to be in opposition: progress vs. tradition, growth vs. sustainability, individual freedom vs. the common good. Faced with urgent challenges, we may feel compelled to reduce complexity to simple choices. But real transformation does not come from picking black or white. It emerges from bridging perspectives, integrating differences, and learning to navigate tensions wisely.
This year, we invite you to explore how leaders, communities, and systems can approach the paradoxes of our time with wisdom, humility, and courage. True leadership calls us to foster dialogue and integrate opposing views instead of sticking with outdated judgments and rigid certainty. By stepping up to the true demands of our time and cultivating the inner capacities needed to navigate complexity and uncertainty – both individually and collectively – we can ourselves become bridges to a more resilient, connected, and regenerative world.
Build your leadership bridge: Connect timeless wisdom with tomorrow’s edge.
As organisations worldwide increasingly recognise that meeting today’s complex challenges requires both outer action and inner transformation, the IDG Summit offers a unique space to embody this integration firsthand.
Join global business leaders, policymakers, visionary thinkers and grassroots innovators to experience how inner development can drive sustainable, lasting change across sectors for a more equitable, flourishing world.
From Framework to Living Practice
After three transformative years that saw the Inner Development Goals initiative grow from a pioneering framework into a global movement, we’ll gather again in Stockholm to explore how inner development scales into systemic transformation. Join leaders from around the world as we bridge individual capacities with collective impact.
IDG Summit 2022 – Inner Growth Outer Change
IDG Summit 2023 – Connecting The Dots
IDG Summit 2024 – The Space In Between
Join over 50 pioneering voices in sustainability, leadership and business alongside artists and creatives who weave music, movement and visual arts throughout the conference.
Who should join…
Leaders & Change Agents
The IDG Summit brings together forward-thinking leaders who understand that sustainable change starts from within.
Connect with peers who are integrating inner development into their leadership approach, organisational culture, and innovation strategies.
Discover how to navigate complexity with greater clarity and lead transformation that lasts.
Organisations & Teams
Whether you’re a business, non-profit, educational institution, or government body, the Summit offers practical frameworks and tools to foster cultures of inner growth and outer impact.
Learn from organisations already successfully integrating the Inner Development Goals and discover how to adapt these approaches for your context.
Leave with concrete strategies to implement across your organisation or system.
Practitioners & Facilitators
Deepen your practice and expand your toolkit through hands-on sessions with leading experts in leadership development, organisational transformation, and systemic change.
Exchange methods, share experiences, and build connections with fellow practitioners from around the world.
Access cutting-edge research and emerging methodologies in the field.
Potential Partners
Looking to make a deeper impact? Join leading organisations like IKEA, EY, and the Nobel Peace Centre as an IDG partner or Summit sponsor.
One Big Venue
Voices
In Person
Digital
THE IDG SUMMIT PROGRAMME
A 3 Day Journey
The question is not, ‘How do we build bridges?’ but ‘How do we become the bridge itself?’
DAY ONE:
Inspiration
At the iconic venue ‘Cirkus’ in Stockholm, expect inspiring talks, intimate conversations, art performances and participatory experiences centred around real-life stories on how inner skills can catalyse outer impact.
Dotted in and around the venue, enjoy space in between the talks for more magic to happen as you connect, digest and feel into the IDG skills across our five Dimension spaces: Being, Thinking, Relating, Collaborating, and Acting.
DAY TWO:
Deep Dives
Tailor your Summit experience and choose from five dynamic tracks spread across Stockholm that align with your interests or expertise.
Gain practical tools to reimagine the playbook on sustainable and systemic change in collaboration with leading businesses, institutions and government organisations.
Convene with others from your field or seek a new perspective in these interactive workshops, debates, and discussions aimed at transforming the way you live and lead.
Deep Dive Tracks
From corporate sustainability to climate action, from AI innovation to youth empowerment—our five specialised tracks offer transformative journeys guided by world-leading impact organisations. Each pathway combines cutting-edge external expertise and real-world case studies with powerful inner development practices and creative embodiment. Will you explore how inner capacities enhance business leadership? How technology can foster human connection? Or how bridging polarities transforms climate action?
The choice is yours—but whichever path you take, expect to emerge with both practical tools, profound insights and close connections that transcend sectors and borders.
Business Track 1: Leading Corporate Sustainability in a Changing World - WBCSD
Sustainable leadership requires more than just strategic thinking – it demands a deep integration of business intelligence and inner growth. This session brings together cutting-edge sustainability insights from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development with the transformative principles of the Inner Development Goals. Participants will explore how science-driven business strategies can be strengthened by leadership qualities such as self-awareness, resilience, and collaboration. Through interactive discussions, real-world case studies, and reflective exercises, participants will gain the tools to drive business success while fostering personal and organisational transformation – creating a sustainable future from the inside out.
Business Track 2: Leading in the Age of AI - Sutra
This track explores how AI and digital tools can support learning, collaboration, and community-building in ways that foster belonging and purpose-driven engagement. We will examine how technology can support human connection, personal and professional growth, and collective wisdom in an era shaped by AI. This day is designed for organisational leaders or change makers like coaches, consultants and facilitators interested in how technology and AI can help them cultivate IDG skills and have more impact with their work.
Track 3: Strengthening Social & Environmental Impact through Inner-Led Change - Inner Green Deal
This interactive track invites NGOs, donors, and other social impact organisations to explore how inner development can enhance both the impact and resilience of their efforts in a world facing crises. Through in-depth case studies and practical examples, participants will discover how collaboration between NGOs and donors can strengthen organisational capacity and integrate inner development into their core missions. This track offers a unique opportunity for stakeholders to come together and build a unified case for embedding inner development practices in social impact work, fostering meaningful transformation both within organisations and in the broader social landscape.
Track 4: Inner Development for Emerging Generations - CitiesRISE
Supporting the inner development of emerging generations is critical, particularly for the 90% of the world’s 1.2 billion adolescents who live in the Global South. This track will feature youth leaders, research experts, system leaders, and funders working collaboratively to make inner development accessible to youth across South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. Youth and adult allies will come together to build our individual and collective capacities to support inner development for youth around the world by learning from case studies, exploring and developing practical skills around intergenerational collaboration and making sense of research results integrating modern science and Global South-rooted ancient wisdom in support of inner development for youth.
Track 5: Cultivating Inner Resources for Climate Action - Climate KIC
This track examines how inner development can transform climate action from paralysis to decisive engagement. We’ll focus on practical methodologies for navigating complexity, making clearer decisions, and maintaining resilience amid turbulence. Through storytelling and practice-sharing, discover how inner capacities enable more effective responses to interconnected global crises.
Track 6: The Roots of What Drives Us Apart - Global Restoration Institute & Academy of Inner Science (Online)
Led by trauma specialist Thomas Hübl co-founder of the Pocket Project and the Global Restoration Institute, and Founder of the Academy of Inner Science, this track explores how collective and ancestral trauma shapes societal polarisation. Discover how inner development can create safe spaces for collective healing and cultural transformation. Learn practical approaches to conflict resolution and peacebuilding that address the deepest roots of what drives us apart.
DAY THREE:
Decompression
Unwind in this optional open space to deepen connections and nurture the seeds of inspiration that were planted as you mingle, integrate & co-create with fellow participants, speakers and artists.
Continue conversations with new friends, set up spontaneous discussion circles around questions that popped up, take a walk, join the unconference or embrace this free space for whatever wants to emerge.
BEFORE & AFTER:
Side Events
Before and after the main summit programme, there will be more chances to connect with fellow participants or nature, bring in your own ideas or simply unwind together.
IMPORTANT: Not all side events are included in the IDG Summit ticket and might cost extra.
The Digital Experience
The IDG Summit digital experience gives you full access to live sessions across both days, with recordings available for an entire year afterwards.
Through our interactive platform, engage in discussions with a worldwide community of practitioners and explore our curated digital marketplace – a treasure trove of innovative resources and ideas from fellow changemakers.
Whether you’re joining independently or through one of our 700+ global Hubs watch parties, the Summit comes alive wherever you are!
About the speakers
Dr. Barry Johnson is the creator of the Polarity Map® and a pioneer in Polarity Thinking®, a framework that helps leaders and organizations navigate complex, interdependent challenges.
Cliff Kayser is a seasoned leadership coach, organizational consultant, and thought leader based in Washington, D.C., with deep expertise in values-based leadership and polarity thinking.
Tickets
Don’t miss out on huge savings with our special package deal combining the masterclass with the Summit!
If you wish to purchase your tickets and have them invoiced to your organisation kindly send us an e-mail to finance@innerdevelopmentgoals.org
Please note for digital tickets, a minimum of 5 tickets is needed to process an invoice.
ITAC as our Artistic Director
We’re thrilled to welcome back the International Teaching Artist Collaborative (ITAC) as Artistic Director for IDG Summit 2025.
Through visual art, music, dance, and theatre, ITAC’s global network of teaching artists will integrate artistic experiences on stage, during the breaks and throughout the day two tracks, bridging the head, heart, and hands for deep embodiment and lasting transformation.
Jennifer Garvey Berger
Coach, Author, and CEO of
Cultivating Leadership
“The IDG Summit has more art, music, science, connection, but also genuinely moving experiences. You cannot come to the summit and not be changed by it.”
Gail Whiteman
Professor of Sustainability,
University of Exeter
“The IDG Summit is a space where people can come together and talk about, learn and showcase where inner development comes from and where it should go”
Gib Bulloch
Speaker, Consultant
& Author
“A bold mix of thought-provoking sustainability content combined with restorative theatre, music and meditation – one part Davos, two parts Glastonbury.”
Jennifer Garvey Berger
Coach, Author, and CEO of
Cultivating Leadership
“The IDG Summit has more art, music, science, connection, but also genuinely moving experiences. You cannot come to the summit and not be changed by it.”
Gail Whiteman
Professor of Sustainability,
University of Exeter
“The IDG Summit is a space where people can come together and talk about, learn and showcase where inner development comes from and where it should go”
Gib Bulloch
Speaker, Consultant
& Author
“A bold mix of thought-provoking sustainability content combined with restorative theatre, music and meditation – one part Davos, two parts Glastonbury.”
INNER DEVELOPMENT GOALS
About Us
Our vision at Inner Development Goals is a world where inner development unlocks humanity’s potential to create a flourishing future for people and the planet.
As a non-profit initiative, we research, collect and communicate science-based skills and qualities that enable us to live purposeful, sustainable, and productive lives.
The Framework
The open-source IDG Framework, co-created with input from experts, scientists, practitioners and organisations worldwide, provides a shared language and structured roadmap to cultivate the essential inner skills needed for effective leadership, collaborative problem-solving, and sustainable societal change.
