Arrive in the beautiful city of Podgorica and tune in with the place, yourself and the other participants. While traveling is self-organized, we are expecting everyone to arrive at the location by 17:00 CEST, so that we can kick-off the Reflection Retreat together. You can expect a heartwarming opening circle, a delicious dinner and a time to slow down and connect with others.

Our primary intention for this retreat is to create the conditions for deep connections, build trust and nurture our relationships as an international network. The second day is all about this! We will start with a powerful personal practice, acknowledging our journeys with changemaking and the role of SIA in our lives and work. We will have plenty of time to share, connect and discover the impactful stories we all bring to this circle. The second part of the day is dedicated to peer to peer learning. We will visualize and celebrate the SIA journey we all had so far in 2024, and open the floor for a participants-led exchange around the best practices and challenges that feels most important to unpack. The day will end with a surprise experience meant to deepen our connections even more. No spoilers yet. :)

A second, but equally important objective for our time together is to tap into the power of participatory leadership and co-creation. If on a daily basis SIA is a lot about making things happen, joining this Reflection Retreat gives you an opportunity to take a step forward and actively shape the strategic direction of our program and network. You can expect to learn more about key strategic developments, (re)connect with your own leadership capacity within the network, and experience the power of collaborative decision making in a rich, diverse network! To balance this strategic lift, the afternoon is all about connecting with nature and exploring Podgorica and its blend of historical charm, cultural richness, and natural beauty. We will end the day on a fun note with a thematic party. Again, no spoilers. :)

As much as by now we might feel like moving in together or co-creating a SIA village somewhere in the outskirts of Podgorica, this day is about closing our retreat well. We will conclude what are the actionable steps we wish to take during the second part of our SIA year, set our intentions for the next in-person gathering during the SIA Summit, and wrap up any final threads. As always, we will make sure to have enough space to celebrate our retreat and shower each other with gratitude and a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves. We will have one last lunch together until 2:00 pm CEST, and then we will start traveling back to our home countries.