Mindfulness conference set for new JUMP building in downtown Boise
Boise will join London, New York and Tel Aviv as sites for a series of conferences dubbed “Wisdom 2.0 Connect,” focusing on bringing mindfulness and innovation to the contemporary workplace. The Jan. 22 session is set for Jack’s Urban Meeting Place, or JUMP, the new center downtown that will open this month as a tribute to J.R. Simplot.
The events are an offshoot of the “Wisdom 2.0” main event that’s held annually in San Francisco, and draws more than 3,000 attendees from around the world. “We’re delighted to have chosen Boise from hundreds of applicants from around the world,” said Soren Gordhamer, author and founder of Wisdom 2.0. “Given the livability of the city, the mixture of start-ups, established corporations and creative entrepreneurs, it’s the perfect place to explore the role of mindfulness in business.”
Dana Menlove, speaker and founder of The Center for Mindful Work in Boise, said, “With the pace of technology and ‘always-on’ workplaces, we are constantly faced with unlimited distractions. Living mindfully is about bringing presence (to) the moments that make up our days and optimizing how we show up for ourselves and others. The natural outcome is greater clarity, innovation, focus, and compassion.”
The group announced that speakers at the Boise event will include Jim Everett, the recently retired CEO of the YMCA of the Treasure Valley; Don Kemper, CEO of HealthWise; Daina Middleton, head of global business marketing for Twitter; and John Michael Schert, co-founder of the Trey McIntyre Project and now a visiting artist and social entrepreneur at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. The day-long conference costs $90 including lunch and will be limited to 200 attendees; there’s more info here.
The “Wisdom 2.0” events have been running since 2009; the New York Times wrote about them and the mindfulness in the workplace movement in a 2013 article here.
The distinctive “JUMP” building in downtown Boise, which includes a collection of creative studios and other public spaces, opens to the public Dec. 15, and has scheduled open houses Dec. 13, 20 and 27 from 1-5 p.m. It’s being constructed by the JR Simplot Foundation alongside a new corporate headquarters for the J.R. Simplot Co. The company describes JUMP as “a not-for-profit, interactive creative center and community gathering place at the heart of downtown Boise.” It includes the late company founder’s collection of 110 antique tractors, along with creative studios, performance and public gathering spaces, an amphitheater, play structure and rooftop gardens, and more.
Hoffman Construction Co., which is building JUMP, also built the Experience Music Project in Seattle and the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in Oregon.
