Duane Elgin, author, educator, and media activist, delivered this inspired introduction to his work in an evening lecture cum seminar, recorded live at the Foxhollow Forum in Lenox, Massachusetts. Elgin’s presentation centers around the contents of his acclaimed book, Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity’s Future, and presents a comprehensive exposition of his concerns about the state of the world and the future of humanity. As an overarching structure for the talk, Elgin outlines three kinds of core influences that will effect our future: opportunity trends, as in the latent potential of expanding global communications to up-level our worldview, adversity trends, like overpopulation or climate change, and transformative elements, such as an unexpected scientific breakthroughs. Between each exposition, Elgin engages directly with the audience, posing questions such as, “What stage of development do you think humanity is in?” and “If we are still in a formative stage of development, how long do you think it will take us to reach maturity?” As the entire audience breaks into small groups, the hall erupts with animated discussion and debate. The result is an engaging, informative, and thought-provoking presentation that illuminates a few essential opinions and attitudes many of us surprisingly seem to share about who we are, where we are, and how to best navigate the complexities of modern life in order to create a sane and sustainable future for all.

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