Working mode:
Closed circle of participants under the Chatham House Rule
The Shanghai 2026 Inaugural Meeting launched the first session of
RE:THINK DIALOGUE 2045 as an intensive three-day think-tank summit
rather than a traditional conference.
It brought together a closed circle of participants under the Chatham
House Rule to test ideas for intercivilisational compatibility and to
lay the foundations for new cooperative structures around the emerging
SARAFAN Alliance.
Designed as a non-hierarchical, high-trust environment, the meeting
combined plenary discussions, methodological sessions, and working
tables focused on long-horizon cooperation, talent, and civilisational
balance.
Photos
Plenary session of the Shanghai
2026 Inaugural Meeting.
Working atmosphere of the first
RE:THINK DIALOGUE 2045 meeting.
High-trust discussion
environment during the three-day summit.
Participants gathered for the
opening discussions under the Chatham House Rule.
Meeting space during the
inaugural session in Shanghai.
Working session on future
development and civilisational balance.
Participants
Participants and countries represented
In total, representatives from 15 countries took part in the Inaugural
Meeting, forming a first circle of RE:THINK DIALOGUE 2045.
Countries spanned Eurasia and Russia: Mongolia,
Tajikistan, Russia; Europe: UK,
Bulgaria, Italy,
Croatia, Spain; Asia-Pacific:
China/Hong Kong, Malaysia; South Asia
and the Middle East: Pakistan,
Lebanon; Africa: South Africa,
Zambia; and Latin America: Brazil.
Participants included diplomats and former ministers, economists and
finance experts, academics and researchers in sociology, engineering,
political risk, banking, medical sciences and agronomy, entrepreneurs
and cooperative-sector leaders, think-tank and NGO heads, and
specialists in strategic communications and platform architecture.
Discussion
What was discussed
The three-day programme was structured around several thematic blocks:
the global context and the need for non-dominant compatibility in a
fragmented world; civilisational audit and the role of Conscience,
Talent and Measure in future development; and new forms of cooperation
suited to the post-bloc era.
Participants explored how countries of the Primary civilisational belt
might regain agency, how to work with a joint vision of the future in
an AI-driven world, and how long-horizon thinking can inform practical
mechanisms for governance, cooperation and project design.
Photos
Participants exploring
practical mechanisms for cooperation and project design.
Discussion of non-dominant
compatibility in a fragmented world.
Participants in dialogue on
long-horizon cooperation.
Convergence
Shared understandings and points of convergence
Across different regions and disciplines, the meeting produced a shared
understanding that long-term cooperation requires compatibility rather
than uniformity, and that conscience, talent and measure should act as
organising principles for future development.
Participants converged on the need to build high-trust networks beyond
bloc logic, to use Reverse Horizon Thinking from 2045 back to present
decisions, and to translate civilisational values into workable formats
for projects, institutions and value chains.
Next steps
Next steps and emerging SARAFAN architecture
As a zero event, the Shanghai 2026 meeting set the direction for a
broader process: drafting a Memorandum of Compatibility, developing a
roadmap for 2026–2030, and forming the SARAFAN Alliance and a
global project team linking entrepreneurs, cities, universities and
think-tanks.
Participants agreed to continue working together through regular
sessions, thematic working groups and the SARAFAN.ID.PAGE digital
platform, which will serve as a tool for communication, knowledge
continuity and cooperative project coordination.
