 Welcome to Socap 18! I love how much yellow there is in this crowd. It's really, it's going with our Socap vibes today. It's sometimes kind of surreal to be standing up here after all the work that goes into this and knowing every corner of the world that you've all flown in from. So thank you all for being here and we have a really big week ahead of us. I'm Lindsay Smalling. I'm the CEO of Socap. This is a really, thanks. It's a new title, kind of same job but pretty good new title. So this is a really special year for Socap. Last year was our 10-year anniversary, but this year marks the next, the start of the next decade of impact and that's really the way that I've been thinking about this since Socap 17 wrapped last year. And just thinking about what do we already do well, what do we need to keep doing, what do we need to change, where are we headed and who else needs to be in the room. In our closing plenary last year, that was one of the big themes is who isn't here, who needs to be here. So if you're a repeat Socap attendee, you'll notice that in this next decade we've made some changes to this event and if it's your first time at Socap I hope you'll find that this feels more like a festival than a conference. We've always had a lot going on on campus with more than 10 parallel breakout sessions, great parties, lots of side events, but this year you'll find that there are people in programming everywhere that you look. This year the main stage, this main stage after tonight will run parallel to all the breakout sessions so that'll be running through the morning, through the afternoon, your choices about where to spend your time will be even harder. We have over 12 themes for you to explore this year. There's multiple formats, so we've really recognized that having over 150 panels is a little overwhelming so we've mixed that up with some workshops and also some facilitated networking sessions recognizing that there's as much wisdom in the room as there is on stage in any session so please take advantage of all of those different formats. And then we have different experiences and interactive places throughout campus. There's the Indigenous Dome, there's the Africa Lounge at Socap. Hopefully you've all seen the climate ribbon as you came in. So take a moment to experience those and have those be part of how you plan your day. People often tell me that Socap is like drinking from a fire hose, which is literally, I probably hear that once a month and that exact phrasing. So why are we leaning into this even more? Why are we creating an even more frenetic sort of chaotic experience? And the reason we're doing this is because I really believe that that's where the magic happens. This variety of themes attracts people who might never be in a room together and the way that we curate invites questions and conversations and this beautiful spot right on the bay on this sprawling campus opens people up to new possibilities, new ways of thinking, new collaborations. So as much as you may feel on Friday that it was a total whirlwind, it's sort of by design, so just sink into it and let it all happen. I was asked earlier this year if I would be interested in having a manifesto video made for Socap, which then sort of prompts the question, what is our manifesto? And I had actually been thinking about this to some degree in different, not exactly those terms for a while because in 2016, Socap was acquired by a new set of investors who really saw the potential of Socap, of this community and I had to think about with this new backing, with this support, with this enthusiasm, what were our values? What did we really want to hold onto as we grew the Socap community and the Socap brand? And so I rambled to these generous folks who offered to make us a manifesto video about all of the things that I've learned from our founders and the people who have shaped Socap over the years. All the listening that I've done from Kevin Jones and Rosalie Hardin, Tim Freundlich, Penelope Douglas have all taught me so much about this labor of love that they've really built with all of you over the last 10 years. And something in those ramblings must have landed with them and sparked their creativity because they created this beautiful video for us, which I'm excited to present to you now, present an ode to Big Tents. If you were alone in the whole wide world, wandering the wilderness in the cold, quiet world, I'd venture to say you want one of those one-man tents that pop right up and keep all the elements at bay, but nothing that would do to make a little bubble just big enough for you. Now, if you were one less than thrice, you'd go for one of those two-man tents. Yeah, that'd be nice. A bigger little bubble just right for two, but bump into nine or 910, you definitely need a much bigger tent. A generous, tremendous, voluminous tent. A bubble so big it will burst by then and face with such an abundant space you would wonder. What could you station in such an unselfish habitation? Circuses, celebrations, ceremonies, conventions, convenings, comings together, forward operating bases of operations on the front lines of very decisive battles and places to look after those on the front lines of very decisive battles. Places to take refuge. Spaces for talking and learning and making a start for when it takes everyone and when you need a big canvas for everyone to paint their parts. They'd be good for crowds guessing the weight of cows. That is, all those things where a lot know better how to count than any one person singled out. In fact, there's something like a laboratory bursting with beakers for experimentation spiked with catalysts added to speed reactions or like a brain on out waves singing in the shower prone to taking disconnected reflection and snapping them into electric connections. And they're a good way to spread sticky things, viable things, contagious things for better or for worse. So everybody wash their hands, but more to the heart. Everybody wave their words. Lead with helping, lead with hearing, lead with compassion. Consider that if we were alone in the world, those blessings would never exist because if we were alone in the world, neither would big tents. It would be just us wandering the wilderness in one of those one man tents that make a little bubble just big enough for you. But we're not alone. So we need these places, these places for everyone to connect, collaborate, collide, catalyze, to be surprised, synergized and unified. Always remember that I am not, you are not. They are not alone in this world. So we're going to need a bigger tent. You're all in the big tent right now. We are the big tent convening in this growing field and that isn't just by chance. It's a choice. We continuously are looking to invite broader participation and we want to prioritize discussions over definitions. This is not about experts. It's about creating spaces for intelligence, wisdom, fun, rigorous debate to all coexist. This is not a red carpet affair or the white glove service. I would not be any good at that. But we do invite everyone into this big tent to sit around this table. We serve really good food and we do our best to make everyone feel welcome and taken care of while you're here. I hope that Socap is never about who's in but that we're always asking the question about who's still out and how do we get them in? How does their voice and their value intersect with these conversations? We have to make this tent bigger and that's not going to just happen at this annual conference. I'm so excited that what I see in this next decade of impact is that you're going to see Socap grow to a year-round events and media platform. So we'll take all of the things that are sparking discovery and connection and inspiration here in the annual conference and reach a much bigger audience. We've already started. So through our year-round Socap 365 events, we've done over 40 events in nine cities and we've also launched a podcast Money and Meaning to reach all the people who aren't in those nine cities and we need to keep getting these stories out to anyone who's never going to make it to a live Socap event. I'm personally just so invested in getting this story, all of your stories, out into the world. But as much as I've been thinking about these big picture ideas of Manifesto and the big tent and reaching far-flung members of this community, I also know that what happens in this room matters. The physical experience of being here with these people and the new thoughts and questions and emotions that bubble up throughout the week are pretty much impossible to create remotely. I want to encourage all of you right now and throughout the week to just feel your body. Check in every once in a while and see where you're feeling the event. I'm someone who operates from my head and when something grabs me in my body, I remember it. And some of my most memorable experiences at Socap over the years have been a moment of true emotion from a speaker an inspired performance by an artist an actual disagreement allowing itself to play out on stage. That's what I want more of. So, I hope that this year this experience somehow lives in your body whether it's a memory of being out on the bay it's a speaker you hear from and to help make that happen this year I've invited two thoughtful, really creative artists that I've had the pleasure of getting to know through Socap to be our emcees. So rather than seeing me up here a bunch you will in this opening plenary throughout the rest of the week, not as much. I've invited Aishara Akindayo and Sami Bloom to join us as emcees this year and I know that they're going to bring an amazing energy to really weaving all of the pieces of this conversation together.