It's Happening: Transition Gathering in Portugal, May 2027
We are gathering. Will you help make it happen?
It's been over a decade since the international Transition movement last came together in person. A lot has happened since then, in the world, and in this wide community of communities. And through all of it, more than a thousand local groups across 70 countries kept finding ways to make their communities more resilient and supportive.
We think that's worth celebrating, and worth building on.
In May 2027, we are inviting Transition groups, supporters, partners and allies to gather in Portugal. It's the movement's 20th anniversary, and we’re designing a programme that will include workshops, Open Space sessions, World Café discussions, regional meetups, optional deep-dive trainings, evening celebrations, and a multi-day strategy retreat, to think seriously about where Transition goes next. And perhaps even more importantly, time for shared meals, unhurried conversations, time outside, and the connections that happen when people who've been working in parallel finally get to be in the same space.
We've thought carefully about whether a gathering like this makes sense, in terms of the costs, the carbon, and the time. We keep coming back to the same answer: there are things that only happen in person. Relationships that form differently, ideas that go somewhere they wouldn't on a screen, and sense of the movement as a whole that's hard to hold from a distance. We feel that once in a decade, that's worth it.
We also want to be honest that "worth it" only holds if the gathering is genuinely accessible. That means sliding scale registration fees, and it means scholarships and travel support for people who wouldn't otherwise be able to come. Some of the most important voices in this movement are in parts of the world where the financial barrier to something like this is real. We don't want a gathering that reflects only who can afford to show up.
That's where the fundraiser comes in. We've just launched a campaign with a goal of £50,000, split across venue and accommodation, programme coordination, and scholarships and travel support. We wanted to come to the movement first, because that's the right order of things, and the truest form of solidarity we know. And if you can't be there yourself, a donation is a real way to help someone else get there.
And we're thinking beyond 2027 as well. Our hope is that Portugal is a starting point, not a one-off: that what gets sparked there seeds a new rhythm of regional gatherings closer to home, lower in carbon, easier to reach for more people. The international gathering as a moment of ignition, and then something spreading outward from it.
Many of you have been asking for a Gathering in the past few years. If you'd like to be part of making this happen, you can donate and follow the gathering journey itself at gathering.transitionnetwork.org.
Esperamos que possamos abraçarmo-nos em maio 2027, em Portugal.