2023 brought more inspiration, clarity, and exhaustion than I've experienced in a long, long time... maybe ever.
I gathered a few of my thoughts in our annual Founder's Note:
"Ten years ago, my classmates and I decided to continue working on a class project after graduation. It was called 'Brain Busters' (a regrettable name that was naturally already taken by a wrestling duo). It was an interactive game to help people learn about neuroscience and society. It was also one of the earliest iterations of The Plenary, Co. model.
We’ve embraced several evolutions since then. We’ve facilitated workshops, led free science communication trainings across campuses, developed undergraduate courses and multidisciplinary frameworks, curated artworks, designed curriculum, and even did a brief stint as social platform developers. Some of these experiments were successes and others were... not. But regardless of the outcome, each was an exploration of what could be. They were our attempts to answer the question: if we used what we collectively know about how people stay open, connected, and inspired around ideas, what kind of system would we build?
In 2023, we used every learning and insight from the past decade to sculpt a series of experiences that challenge today’s norms for how communities explore ideas, who should be at the center of the conversation, and what it looks like to intricately braid curiosity and creativity together in pursuit of wellbeing for people and the planet.
These were our biggest experiments yet. And after ten years of testing and iterating, we’re proud to finally have our answer to that question. Now it’s time to build it."
I can't wait for this next phase, and I'm so immensely grateful for all of the stubbornly hopeful and imaginative people who have walked with us this far. Don't forget to rest, yall. We've got a lot of work to do.
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We may be a quarter of the way through 2024, but we're still glowing from everything our team learned, built, and experienced in 2023. Our Annual Report is now live!
A few highlights:
🌱 We hosted thousands of participants at an interactive art show on civically-critical scientific ideas in downtown San Francisco, featuring inspirational illustrators like Islenia Mil and Aashti Miller.
🌱 We partnered with brilliant independent makers like CASITA MICHI to craft multisensory experiences and answer age-old questions, like what does imagination ✨smell✨ like?
🌱 We hit a major milestone of reaching over one million students through our I Am a Scientist program, which aims to uplift students of all backgrounds and identities in worldshaping STEM fields.
🌱 And we signed a lease to open up our first ever physical space, coming to San Francisco's Pier 70 neighborhood later this year!
As always, our deepest gratitude goes to the funders, partners, creative collaborators, and members of our communities who share our commitment to building a more informed, equitable, and sustainable world.
We can't wait to keep dreaming up new pathways to what's possible together.
Check out the full report below and here: https://shorturl.at/oUY14
