Example:
Exchange for Change

Here is an example of how Concopia Cards can add the magic of great conversations to an event. Together with VELUX and The Klosters Forum Concopia hosted the event “Exchange for Change” where we gathered pioneers and change makers with in architecture, design and engineering for a day of inspiration and cross-pollination:

Time to think – and rethink

In a world that celebrates productivity and efficiency, Concopia provides a space for slowing down to reimagine and rethink.

It is a call to get together, have vibrant conversations and respond to the challenges of our time with zeal and ingenuity.

Concopia is…

Combining the best of the analogue and the digital

The 50 Concopia Cards are the analogue tool that reenchant your conversations with friends and colleagues at dinners, meetings and conferences. Celebrating the joys of physical and mental presence while enjoying the beautiful cards.

The virtual Conversation Salons are a climate friendly meeting point for Concopians around the globe.
A chance to explore each other’s
minds and cultures.

Some of the notions Concopia builds upon

  • Copia

    Literally: Latin term meaning “abundance" or "plenty.” In rhetorical theory Copia refers to the abundant supply of knowledge, vocabulary, ideas and inspirations one knows and keeps by heart - allowing the speaker, conversationalist or thinker to come up with relevant examples, quotes or perspectives in conversation and in writing.

    Concopially: Copia was used in the early 16th century by the great humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam who recommended that every writer or thinker should have a “Common Place Book”; A personal collection of inspirations, quotations, observations, ideas and intriguing questions that one can always refer to. 

    Copia is the stuff great conversations and contemplations are made of. The richer, more varied and more nuanced your Copia, the better. However - in recent years this richness has slowly been withering away as we have come to rely more and more on search engines, the GPS and AI. 

    We believe this calls for a reinforcement of our inner libraries, rediscovering our intuitive sense of direction and an eye for the enchanting, unpredictable details in life. Concopia Cards represent 50 starting points - and in the coming years we hope to explore and create many more with a lot of help from our fellow Concopians around the world.

  • Utopia

    Literally: An imaginary or idealized society. The term was popularized by Sir Thomas More in his 1516 in the book "Utopia." The term Utopian is often used to denounce ideas as being impossible to implement.

    Concopially: We live in a world that urgently needs a lot of rethinking. Much of the lifestyle we take for granted today isn’t sustainable, democracies are falling apart, and humanism is under pressure. We need to do some deep thinking and make bold actions.

    But far too often the attempts to make great changes are met with an eye-roll from people who say it’s utopian - i.e. impossible - to do anything that matters. It comes in many variations such as “It makes no difference what I do when the system/government/politicians don’t do their job” or “I’m too old to change my habits - I trust the younger generations to make the necessary changes”.

    We therefore need a new term that coins the desire to make changes, strive for a better world and reach for the stars. It doesn’t mean perfection, but it makes us believe that every small step matters towards a brighter and more exciting future.

  • Concordia

    Literally: Latin term meaning “harmony," "unity," or "agreement." It refers to a state of peaceful coexistence, agreement, or a harmonious relationship between individuals, groups, or nations.

    Concopially: We believe that a world in harmony should be able to contain differences in cultures, beliefs and interests, and that harmony and agreement are not always the same. In many discussions and meetings we have the underlying aim of convincing the others of a certain opinion or reach consensus. But rather than striving for agreement a Concopian Conversation is a container for respectful divergence.

    Using Concopia Cards we are inspired extend our tentacles and share nuances, perspectives and understandings because we know that the others around the table will listen respectfully, listen openly and be truly curious about who we are and where we’re coming from.

    Thus - Concopia refers to a togetherness that allows for harmonic divergence.

  • Kaleidoscope

    Literally: An optical instrument that contains mirrors and small gems or beads that constantly form new intricate patterns as they are rearranged and reflected in the mirrors.

    Concopially: As we get older and our lives get busier, most of us tend to loose scope. It’s easy to get stuck with a circle of friends who come from the same field and have more or less the same interests, preferences, opinions, number of kids and lifestyle. When our brains are constantly fed the same bits of information we risk significantly limiting the number of new patterns our inner kaleidoscope can create. We need to constantly add new gems to our inner kaleidoscopes if we don’t want to get stuck in our worldviews.

    Using Concopia Cards with friends will encourage your circle to break the normal patterns and share insights that might strike chords you would have never imagined.

    Using them with strangers allow you to skip the smalltalk – you might find yourself talking enthusiastically to someone for hours without knowing any of the usual basics like where they live or what they do for a living.

  • Reenchantment

    Literally: The desire to rediscover a sense of wonder, magic and mystery that counters the idea of disenchantment that Max Weber popularized to describe modern society.

    Concopially: The extra enchanted mile we always wish to walk to make sure the ideas we come up with are not only great solutions but also contribute to a more bountiful world. The many challenges of our time – be it the climate crisis, wars, or inflation – all call for an ability to rethink the world. However - many of the important questions are answered too quickly with a solution that simply cuts down or speed things up.

    But what if we truly explored the potentials for making the world a more abundant place - and our lives even more worth living.

    Concopian thinking calls for solutions that are not only great solutions for the challenges ahead –they are thrilling in their own right. This is also why we’ve designed Concopia Cards the way we have – adding a touch of magic to the very serious and important discussions that are called for in our times.

  • Serendipity

    Literally: Stumbling upon something valuable or delightful unexpectedly.

    Concopially: Great conversations and contemplations are often characterized by numerous sparks of serendipity. The surprise when the person we’re talking to utters something we’ve never heard of or the internal revelations that make you scramble frantically for somewhere to write it down. This can certainly happen spontaneously out of the blue. But the chances of an epiphany are greatly enhanced if you bring rich Copia to the table and if you allow outside triggers to collide with your inner thoughts.

    In that respect Concopia Cards are almost like a guardian angel that lends serendipity a helping hand. Drawing a card and having to respond it without consulting others or looking up an answer you have to draw on your own Copia to bring stories, insights or relevant knowledge to the conversation. The encyclopedic inspiration on the back of a card brings something new the table that your thoughts can build upon, which enhances insight and presence since most of the things that are spoken have never been conceived of or formulated like that before.