Nature - as a background, a classroom, or a space to retreat and reflect - is central to the Tällberg conversations. It is by combining intellectual discourse with culture and nature that the very special atmosphere of the Forum can be created. Nature is hard to ignore in Tällberg, where the village is just a few strides from the blue expanse of Lake Siljan or across the fields of wildflowers to the almost endless forests of Sweden, where everyone is accorded the right to access nature. Nature has always provided “ecosystem services” to the Tällberg learning experience.

For this year's Forum, the Tällberg Foundation went even further in weaving nature into the Forum program. Beyond being a mere backdrop to the unique environment in which the Forum takes place, the forests, meadows and vistas of Dalarna is an important program element.

During the opening session on Thursday 26 June, all participants were taken in small groups into the forests or by the lakeshore for over an hour of retreat and reflection. Also, two early morning nature walks took place. And in what is becoming a Tällberg Forum tradition, a group spent one night in nature, sleeping under the stars on an island in lake Siljan.