The Federation of Damanhur in Italy is an eco-society based upon ethical and spiritual values, on social commitment, on volunteer work and solidarity. Its citizens apply these principles in order to realize their collective dream of a more sustainable and equitable world, built upon Peoples and Communities.

The Federation comprises many different settlements extending over 1,200 acres of Piedmont’s pristine Valchiusella valley, in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Damanhur has a population of around a thousand citizens, with embassies and supporters in Italy, Europe, Japan and the United States and collaborates with international organizations engaged in the social, civil and spiritual development of our planet.

Founded in 1975, the Federation has its own Constitution, a complementary currency system, businesses and services, a daily paper, art workshops, a research centre for medical and scientific applications, an open University, a school system (from nursery to middle school).

The Federation is well-known around the world not least for its Temples of Humankind, a unique work of art carved by hand inside a mountain and dedicated to universal spirituality.

In 2005 Damanhur was recognized with a United Nations Global Human Settlements Award for being a model for a sustainable future and in 2008 it was commended for exemplifying the principles of the Earth Charter.

Damanhur's presenters will show a short video of the Federation and the Temples of Humankind, answer questions and then guide the audience in a unique experiment of widening of their perceptions, using an extraordinary device, invented in Damanhur that translates the plant’s reactions and emotions into music. Plants can be trained to change the conductivity on their leaves to control a keyboard and modulate sounds. Indeed, plants react to human presence and can learn to interact consciously with us. Thanks to the ‘Music of the Plants’ device it is possible to understand what plants and trees are experiencing and communicate with them through thought, music and sounds. It is an amazing experience that widens and deepens of our understanding of what life is and how all beings are interconnected.