The Fourth Gathering
We are people who, traversing the same terrain from different directions and with different destinations in mind, come together with an unfailing commitment to collaborative inquiry to reimagine the role that social systems could play as essential elements in our globalised world. Inspired by the wicked companies of an earlier time, our method is ‘Friendship and Conversation’. Knowing that understanding is always partial, provisional, insufficient, disputable, Conversation is, for us, deeply subversive. It is an in-between space where we dare to free our minds of existing perceptions so that, with humility and courage, we can engage with the perspectives of others to construct a broader vision of truth. And, as lovers of conviviality, Friendship provides us with a structure of relatedness that supports us in our efforts to fulfil our agency in the world.
Wicked Company’s Fourth Gathering will take place in ‘the land of fire and ice’, Iceland, from Tuesday 1 st September – Thursday 3 rd September 2026, in the setting of the grandeur of Reykjavik’s Independence Hall and the beautifully restored galleries of the Ladies’ School which are both located across the square from the Alþingi, the home of one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. Working with the theme of Ways of Knowing, we invite you to join us to address this question: Do we need a new grand narrative for our own turbulent times?
The programme will include visits to The Settlement Museum, the centrepiece of which is a 10 th Century Viking longhouse presented in its original location; the World in Words exhibition at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies which houses some of the most valuable Saga manuscripts; and the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft.
The Cost: The cost for this non-residential programme is £1495 to include materials, lunches, the Museum tours and dinner on the 2 nd of September, and VAT.
This programme is offered in association with the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science
Dr Steve King MBE, Professor Katie Maguire, Dr Valur Gunnasson, Sue Hollingsworth MBA, Dr Mary Ann Rainey, Dr Kate Cowie, Heather Berthoud, Michael Ciszewski, Rhian Cadvan-Jones and Birthe Hyldborg Jensen.
Group size: 30