The King joins first ever Harmony Summit at Highgrove Gardens with the CBA and the Earth Elders
His Majesty The King earlier this week attended the Opening Ceremony of the first ever ‘Harmony Summit’ at Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, UK.
The Harmony Summit, which was organised by The King’s Foundation in partnership with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance and the Earth Elders, brought together indigenous leaders, practitioners and policy makers with the aim of listening and learning from each other, and to explore how Harmony in practice can be embedded across a range of sectors, landscapes and geographies.
The Summit focused on attendees listening to and learning from the indigenous leaders and communities represented about their relationship with nature, and how this can inform the philosophy and practice of Harmony going forward.
A book on the Harmony philosophy, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at the World, was published by His Majesty as Prince of Wales in 2010. Co-authored by Tony Juniper and Ian Skelly, ‘Harmony’ describes the interconnectedness within and between nature and humanity, and offers this interconnectedness as a basis for taking a holistic approach to the challenges facing the planet and our communities, including living with nature, not against it. ‘Harmony’ values Indigenous values, knowledge and practices as guides for realising this approach.
Attendees at the Harmony Summit joined a series of listening circles and practical discussions. In discussion with the Earth Elders and the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance, The King’s Foundation set a series of intentions for the day:
- To listen to the indigenous leaders sand representatives from across the world to share their perspectives on the state of the Earth and what must be done.
- To bring together knowledge holders — from Indigenous traditions and from science, economics, governance and more — to explore how we can better integrate these different systems and approaches.
- To inspire real action by identifying areas where working groups could be established and carried forward in partnership. This will involve linking into a number of live projects being taken forward by The King’s Foundation, the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance and The Earth Elders.
Outcomes from the Harmony Summit will be shared in the coming weeks.
Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director for Education at The King’s Foundation, said: “This is a huge milestone for The King’s Foundation and everyone who champions the philosophy of Harmony. We are delighted to be hosting the first ever Harmony Summit with our partners the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance and the Earth Elders – and what better setting to do this than Highgrove, where The King first showcased his principles of sustainability and organics. We were honoured to be joined by His Majesty for the proceedings.
“Bringing together indigenous elders, land stewards and thought leaders was heartening and thought provoking. In a world where we work increasingly in silos, we have a shared belief that working together to ensure we are accessing what nature can teach us – and putting this into practice to ensure the wellbeing of people and the planet – is more important than ever.
“We look forward to seeing what practical action will take place as a result of the enlightening and dynamic conversations that took place.”
Marc Palahí, Circular Bioeconomy Alliance CEO said: “The CBA is delighted to be a partner in the Harmony Summit. We are facing the collision of two worlds: a dying world made of extractive and fossil economic thinking, and a new world that still needs to be born, one that has been kept alive for thousands of years through Indigenous wisdom and is a world in harmony with Nature, where humans belong. We work with Indigenous People not to support their future but because they are the future.”
Mindahi Bastida, The Earth Elders said: “Our traditions teach us that nature is not a resource—it is life itself. We are not just caregiving 80% of Mother Earth, we are caregiving life. To move forward, we must go back—to restore our relationship with the Earth, guided by ancestral wisdom and original thought.
“The Harmony Summit, hosted at Highgrove, is an important step toward rebalancing our systems by centering Indigenous knowledge, protecting sacred lands, and remembering that true progress begins with listening to nature.”
The Harmony Summit comes ahead of a landmark documentary on The King’s Harmony philosophy, currently in production and due to be released by Prime Video.
More information
About the CBA
The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA) was established in 2020 by His Majesty King Charles III (formerly His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales), and became a registered charity in September 2023. The CBA aims to accelerate the transition to a nature-first economy that is both powered by nature and prospers in harmony with it. It delivers transformative impact at scale through its global network of Living Labs that blend science, technology and indigenous knowledge to holistically regenerate landscapes, support communities and rethink value chains.
About The King’s Foundation
The King’s Foundation is a charity founded by King Charles III and was first formed in 1990. His Majesty is Royal Founding President of the charity.
Inspired by the vision and values of His Majesty, the Foundation builds and supports communities where people, places and the planet can coexist in harmony. The charity offers education courses for almost 15,000 students annually, health and wellbeing programmes for nearly 2,000 people every year, and spearheads placemaking and regeneration projects in the UK and overseas to revitalise communities and historic buildings.
The King’s Foundation is headquartered at its flagship regeneration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, and acts as custodian of other historic Royal sites including the Castle of Mey in Caithness, Scotland, and Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire. The Foundation also carries out its work at educational and cultural hubs in London, based at The King’s Foundation School for Traditional Arts in Shoreditch, Trinity Buoy Wharf on the River Thames and the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea. In addition to its UK presence, the Foundation delivers programmes and projects in over a dozen sites worldwide.
About The Earth Elders
The Earth Elders is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to protecting and regenerating nature by empowering Indigenous Peoples to lead conservation efforts. Guided by an Indigenous-led Council, Earth Elders integrates ancestral wisdom with modern regenerative practices to safeguard Earth’s biodiversity and biocultural heritage.
Photos: Ian Jones Photography / The King’s Foundation
