Gathering in Interlaken: The Earth Elders - The Council of 13 - and the World’s Waters

Written by Masaaki Nagai, Guardian of the Kannagara and Executive Director of The Earth Elders

(Water Ceremony at a Glacial Lake in Interlaken in solidarity with Mapuche Guardian Camila Argel Cayun on Water Sanctity and Territorial Protection in Chile. Photography by Melanie Pyne).

Over the course of a week in Interlaken, Switzerland, The Earth Elders gathered in partnership with EarthRise, WisdomKeepers and Ecoversities for a great opportunity to bring the Council of 13 together. It was also a precious chance to gather the team, deepen relationships and give shared attention to the work ahead. A special shout out to Earth Elders Council Members, Rutendo Ngara and Pooven Moodley, for creating and convening this powerful gathering. 

(Rutendo Ngara and Pooven Moodley opening the gathering at Jungfrau Park, Interlaken. Photography by Melanie Pyne).

Set among mountains, glaciers and lakes, the meeting created space for reflection, dialogue and ceremony. Day trips to glaciers and lakes brought the gathering into direct relationship with the waters and landscapes surrounding Interlaken. Time outdoors complemented the Council’s discussions, grounding conversations about humanity’s future in the living Earth.

At the heart of the week was an exploration of the challenges presently facing humanity within our unfolding meta-crisis: the interconnected ecological, social, economic and spiritual crises affecting communities across the world. Gathering in person allowed the Council and team to sit with these challenges together, listen across perspectives and consider the responsibilities they place upon our shared work.

(The Earth Elders gathering in circle with over 140 Elders, Wisdom Keepers and change-makers. Photography by Melanie Pyne).

For a Council whose members carry different traditions and live across distant territories, time together is essential . A full week offered room for conversations to develop, for relationships to deepen and for collective reflection beyond the pressures of schedules and daily commitments. It allowed the people supporting the Council’s work to gather alongside the Elders and share in that process.

Throughout the week, a series of ceremonies accompanied these discussions. Most notably, ceremonies for the World’s Waters brought a shared focus to the gathering. Elders from all the participating groups were invited to bring waters from places around the world. These waters were mixed together and prayed over throughout the week.

(Opening Ceremony welcoming in th e elements and directions where The Earth Elders welcomed in the element of Air, photography by Melanie Pyne).

The bringing together of waters gave tangible expression to the connections between distant places and peoples. Each contribution carried a relationship with its place of origin; together, the waters became a focus for prayer, care and shared responsibility. Against the backdrop of Interlaken’s lakes and glaciers, the ceremonies invited sustained attention to water’s place in the life of the Earth. As Mindahi Bastida often says “water is a sacred element: water is life.”

The week held space for both the gravity of the challenges before us and the patient work of being together. Dialogue, journeys into the landscape and ceremony each contributed to a gathering rooted in relationship.

(Earth Elders, Mindahi Bastida and Imish Kuj, alongside Geraldine Patrick Encina accepting the baton for the next Earthrise Gathering, to be held in Mexico 2027. Photography by Melanie Pyne).

For The Earth Elders, Interlaken was a moment to renew the bonds that sustain the Council and its team, to the wider work and mission of the Earth Elders,  and to carry forward a shared commitment to the Earth, its waters and the generations to come. Next year's Gathering is set to take place in Mexico, homeland of Earth Elder Mindahi Bastida and Imish Kuj. For more information, ways to support or be involved email us at comms@theearthelders.org