Global Conversations

What is Civilization? Envisioning the Future of Humanity

October 4-6, 2024 | Kathmandu, Nepal

In October, COMIT co-organized an international conference in Kathmandu titled “What is Civilization? Envisioning the Future of Humanity.” The gathering addressed a critical gap: while postmodern critiques have made “civilization” suspect in Western discourse, this abandonment leaves us without language for imagining planetary society at precisely the moment we need it most. Yet across much of Asia and the Middle East, the term retains profound vitality, tracking closely to social realities and collective aspirations for development and progress.

Scholars from China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, the UAE, and the USA explored how to reclaim and reimagine civilization for a period of heightened interconnectivity and mutual reliance. Over three days, participants examined the crisis of modern civilization, interfaith relations, the spiritual dimensions of progress, and humanity's collective future. The conference addressed a central question: What would it mean for the idea of civilization to integrate material and spiritual progress while moving toward world peace grounded in humanity's fundamental oneness?

Co-organized with ASIAR Research Cluster, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Hong Kong, the Asian Institute for Advanced Research in Kathmandu, Nepal, and the Centre for Studies in Science and Humanities, Beijing Normal University, China