In shifting global and domestic contexts, the FORGE Program is dedicated to uncovering new approaches and solutions that reimagine rights and governance worldwide. With the hope of building momentum toward a brighter future, FORGE seeks to: 

1. Inspire the global community of practice with new ideas about global rights and governance.

2. Encourage experimentation with new actions (methods, practices) that can transform the outcomes for rights and governance worldwide.

Acknowledging the challenges for global rights and governance, what new approaches, methods, and solutions can regenerate and rejuvenate networks seeking to steward healthy democracies, defend human rights, and protect the flourishing of our planet’s diverse ecosystems? What ideas and actions might we nurture at the local, regional, and international levels toward this goal?

The premise of this gathering  is that - in the wake of weakening democracies, rising inequalities, technological disruption and ecological emergencies - the future of rights and governance requires bold, new approaches from a broad range of disciplines and local contexts working together. Building from the momentum of FORGE 2023 and the 2024 Experiments for Change, FORGE 2025 seeks to  strengthen a solutions-oriented community of legal experts, artists, social scientists, governance professionals, and community-based practitioners who share a desire to renew democracy, improve the stewardship of Earth’s ecosystems, think consciously about technology, and address rising inequalities worldwide.

The FORGE Program is loosely organized these four themes: 

• Democratic Renewal: showcase, co-develop, and unpack ideas and solutions that contribute to democratic resilience and renewal

• Ecological Emergencies: avert the worst scenarios of climate change, biodiversity loss, and other ecological challenges by drawing on ideas and efforts by youth collectives, Indigenous peoples, leading voices in governments and civil society, and more

• Technology: discuss the risks and opportunities posed by AI and other digital technologies, building on the work of leading technologists, advocates, regulators, and global rights and governance researchers 

• Rising Inequalities: explore the multiple effects of inequalities on rights and justice, fostering creative and collaborative thinking about new equality- and rights-enhancing norms and practices