What should an intelligent age make possible for people?. We build machines that can think. What should they think about?. What ritual is the modern world missing?. The world is getting smarter. Are we?. What should a machine never decide?. Does progress know where it is going?. What does it mean to flourish, not just function?. What will your grandchildren refuse to sell?

Over three days, Bhutan Innovation Festival brings people together to explore how countries can grow while protecting what makes life worth living.

The world has never had more wealth, technology or possibility, yet somehow it can still feel like less. Human Abundance asks what it would take to build a future rich in human possibility.

Our North Star

Welcome to Bhutan Innovation Festival

Discover different ways of thinking about the future at BIF-27.

MindfulSocieties

What should guide a society when the future gets harder to predict? BIF-27 explores how wellbeing can move societies forward without losing what makes them human.

IntelligentEconomies

Can new forms of capital and technology expand who benefits from growth? The festival explores how technology can widen human capability and how more people can share in its progress.

RegenerativeSystems

Can progress be sustainable for both people and planet? Bhutan, the world's first carbon-negative country, invites BIF-27 leaders to conceptualise systems that restore more than they take.

In a world where everyone trains models, who trains judgement?

Read the BIF-27 Prospectus

They joined us in 2024. Now we invite you to join us in 2027.

Faculty: Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate · Economist; Evan Spiegel, Founder, Snap Inc.; Bjarke Ingels, Architect · BIG; Juan Manuel Santos, Nobel Peace Laureate · Fmr. President of Colombia; Matthieu Ricard, Monk & Author; Antony Gormley, Artist; Konstantin Novoselov, Nobel Laureate · Physics; Richard Roberts, Nobel Laureate · Medicine; Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School; Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan; Karma Tshiteem, Gross National Happiness Commission; Carissa Nimah, Chief Marketing Officer · Brand Bhutan; Thinley Choden, Social Entrepreneur; Tshewang Wangchuk, Executive Director · Bhutan Foundation.

Bjarke Ingels — Architect · BIG — Bjarke IngelsArchitect · BIG

Juan Manuel Santos — Nobel Peace Laureate · Fmr. President of Colombia — Juan Manuel SantosNobel Peace Laureate · Fmr. President of Colombia

Matthieu Ricard — Monk & Author — Matthieu RicardMonk & Author

Antony Gormley — Artist — Antony GormleyArtist

Konstantin Novoselov — Nobel Laureate · Physics — Konstantin NovoselovNobel Laureate · Physics

Richard Roberts — Nobel Laureate · Medicine — Richard RobertsNobel Laureate · Medicine

Rebecca Henderson — Harvard Business School — Rebecca HendersonHarvard Business School

Tshering Tobgay — Prime Minister of Bhutan — Tshering TobgayPrime Minister of Bhutan

Karma Tshiteem — Gross National Happiness Commission — Karma TshiteemGross National Happiness Commission

Carissa NimahChief Marketing Officer · Brand Bhutan

Thinley Choden — Social Entrepreneur — Thinley ChodenSocial Entrepreneur

Tshewang Wangchuk — Executive Director · Bhutan Foundation — Tshewang WangchukExecutive Director · Bhutan Foundation

Carissa NimahChief Marketing Officer · Brand Bhutan

Why Bhutan

As the world rethinks progress, Bhutan, the only nation to measure Gross National Happiness, invites leaders to explore what it and the world can learn from one another.

What to expect

Three days of dialogue, cultural immersion and celebration, shaped by guests from Bhutan and beyond. Open grounds for mingling, and hands-on opportunities for cultural immersions.

Who it's for

For leaders who question the answers as much as they answer the questions, and are ready to put their influence to work on a better, more mindful future.

What questions can Bhutan and the world answer together?

Some questions come into focus only when we leave the usual view behind. BIF-27 considers what an intelligent age should make possible for people, and what it should never ask them to give up.