Events
Events
Events
We believe events are essential for community building, creating knowledge, and catalyzing change. The Villars Symposium and Villars Summit are designed to foster intergenerational collaboration and to promote trans-disciplinary collaboration. The Villars Institute also organizes artistic, cultural, educational and wellness activities that encourage biodiversity, planetary health, and sustainable development with partners from across Switzerland and from around the world.
Upcoming Events
The Global Learning Conference in Africa convenes leading educators, thought leaders, policy and decision makers, entrepreneurs and multi-generational learners to address these systemic issues, to reshape the future of learning, and to drive impact at scale. The conference was co-founded by the Global Learning Council, the Villars Institute and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and the 2026 edition in Africa is co-hosted by the Rwanda Ministry of Education. This gathering offers a unique opportunity to collaborate across geographies, sectors and disciplines, to design resilient pathways for the future of learning and education, and to spark innovations that respond to our most pressing global challenges.
FIFAD returns to the Villars Palace for its third winter edition, offering a dynamic mix of film screenings, discussions, and encounters celebrating our mountains and the people who protect them. In partnership with the Villars Institute, the festival highlights key issues of sustainable development, climate change in alpine regions, and the preservation of natural heritage. The 2026 program features a Best Of selection from FIFAD 2025, exclusive meetings with directors, athletes, scientists, and a special environment and climate day dedicated to young audiences.
The Villars Institute Summit 2026 will take place on 18-20 March at the Villars Palace Hotel with 300 experts, conservation leaders, chief sustainability officers, entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists. The aim of the Summit is to address the climate and biodiversity crises holistically through interdisciplinary collaboration to accelerate systems transformation.
EduFest— Institut Le Rosey's annual education festival—celebrates learning that is inspiring, engaging, and for everyone. Rather than promoting a single viewpoint, it showcases a lively mix of current ideas in education: something to challenge, excite, try anew, or reinforce existing strengths. In a relaxed, festive atmosphere, educators come together to explore cutting-edge research and bold, thought-provoking perspectives. In 2026, the Villars Institute is proud to join as a main partner, supporting this vibrant celebration of curiosity, collaboration, and the evolving future of learning.
The Villars Symposium brings together the Institute’s partners and leading experts with the Villars Fellows to begin their life-long development as systems leaders.
Experience an unforgettable two-day celebration of classical music featuring leading international musicians performing alongside rising talents and prize-winning artists from the Villars Music Academy. The program also includes the announcement of the Robert Dunand Prize finalist, an exclusive distinction awarded to one of the Academy’s outstanding young performers.
Past Events
The Villars Symposium brings together the Institute’s partners and leading experts with the Villars Fellows to begin their life-long development as systems leaders.
The Global Learning Conference 2025 was an exclusive, invitation-only event held in the Villars Palace Hotel, set in the stunning Alpine surroundings of Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland.
This highly interactive event emphasized active participation over mere attendance.
The program featured:
- High-level panel discussions
- Peer-to-peer exchanges
- Expert-led roundtables
- Community networking
The Villars Institute Summit 2025 will take place on 19-21 March at the Villars Palace Hotel with over 280 experts, entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropists. The aim of the Summit is to address the climate and biodiversity crises holistically through interdisciplinary cooperation to accelerate systemic change.
The Villars Symposium brings together the Institute’s partners and leading experts with the Villars Fellows to begin their life-long development as systems leaders.
The Villars Institute is delighted to co-host the 2024 Awards Ceremony of the Frontiers Planet Prize. Three international champions will each be awarded 1 million Swiss francs in the 2024 Planet Prize Awards Ceremony, to support scientific breakthroughs with the greatest potential to stabilize the planet’s ecosystem.
The GLC 2024 Annual Meeting will take place on 24 and 25 June 2024 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland. This Annual Meeting will bring together thought leaders, practitioners as well as students and learners from around the globe.
The Villars Institute Summit 2024 took place on 20-23 March at the Villars Palace Hotel with over 280 experts, entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropists. The aim of the Summit is to address the climate and biodiversity crises holistically through interdisciplinary cooperation to accelerate systemic change.
The Villars Framework Launch Event – Remaking the Global Trading System for a Sustainable Future Project convened senior leaders from national governments, international organizations, businesses, NGOs, and universities to shape a people-centered and inclusive agenda to align the international trade system with sustainable development and climate change action, and thereby strengthen the trade system. The discussion focused on the Villars Framework for a Sustainable Trading System, which represents the culmination of two years of intensive research, analysis, and discussion, through ten thematic workshops exploring various aspects of the trade-sustainability interface.
The Nature Restoration Roundtable is a global meeting of 30 invited experts to explore ways to accelerate natural climate solutions at scale in key biomes around the world. The Roundtable will also shape the agenda for the 2024 Villars Institute Summit which convenes over 200 experts, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and philanthropists working across domains to unlock systemic solutions in the areas of agrifood, biodiversity, climate, and energy. The Roundtable will also provide an unique opportunity to shape the future strategy of a new $500 million USD nature-based solutions platform (Silvania) focusing on preventing deforestation; supporting biodiversity; and scaling sustainable forest management.
The Villars Symposium brings together the Institute’s partners and leading experts with the Villars Fellows to begin their life-long development as systems leaders.
The inaugural Villars Institute Summit took place on 15-17 March at the Villars Palace Hotel with 200 experts, entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropists. The aim of the Summit was to address the climate and biodiversity crises holistically through interdisciplinary cooperation to accelerate systemic change.
The Villars Symposium brings together the Institute’s partners and leading experts with the Villars Fellows to begin their life-long development as systems leaders.
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