Decoding the path to 2 0 2 2
Celebrating the path from here to there. Together.
A vision for the Unilever HR Year End Party 🥳
A century ago, the world was emerging from all kinds of craziness
… WWI, the Spanish Flu, just to name a few of the dramas. Then humanity entered the roaring 1920s …
Out of the darkness of death and despair emerged jazz, films, cars, quantum physics, telephones, radio, and awakening to a new era and a very different way of living.
People haven’t really looked back since. Until now.
Where is our future headed? Where are we going? Who are we?
We already know the future will be very different than our past. If COVID was not enough to demonstrate that, then there is AI, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, mining asteroids, colonizing space, climate shift, hybrid working, the Metaverse … and so much more here and on the way.
Yet, stepping into the great unknown does not have to be scary or depressing. We all have a superpower to help us lean into it. 2022 holds some special secrets that might help see that more clearly. 2+0+2+2 = 6.
What does 6 mean?
In numerology, 6 stands for the double sided coin of sacrifice and love. In the Grand Arcana of the Tarot, it is the card of The Lovers. In the Tree of Life, 6 represents beauty and the heart. In the yogic tradition, it represents the six pointed star in our Anahata, heart chakra. All of these point out that our heart will be the best compass we have to navigate the upcoming year.
The heart is our guide for unlearning our way forward in the world.
It does not ‘think’ in dualistic terms, but rather senses other solutions to our challenges when it is open. The trick is in turning down the volume of our minds and tuning into the vibration within our heart. We must self-remember that love and compassion are the most powerful sensations we can all have as human beings. Of course, that is easier said than done, as it only happens when we are truly ready to surrender into it, open to serving each other, and giving our love meaningful projects to shine through.
By tuning into our hearts, we can hear the voice of our values and what we deeply believe in, and find the courage to care and let our deepest talents blossom.
Yes, 2022 will be the year of ongoing endings and beginnings, solving old issues, healing past wounds, and realizing our connection to eternity - none of which is easy. Yet, going through all that will cultivate the heartfelt creative gifts we have been building up inside over the past year. It is time to finally let us share them with the world.
Get out of your 🧠 and into your heart ❤️
Our intention for Unilever’s Year end 2021 party is to help everyone Get out of their Heads and into their Hearts. We believe this is a great way to prepare for life in any year, but especially one like 2022 that is literally compelling us to do it. The Love Mafia is always ready and willing to play the ❤️card, but this seems like an opportunity that we simply can’t refuse.
We have understood the following headline details from your brief so far.
a hybrid gathering on December 17
online + IRL in the city
+/- 55 participants from HR
party centric celebration (not too educational :)
English language content
Our focus is on offering fun and engaging activities that help take you all out of your heads, out of logic and analytical thinking, and into heart based approaches that feel good and offer solid wisdom and guidance as well.
Below are some of our initial content ideas. Please note, we need your help to get this right. We are open to all suggestions and, for now, simply hope that we can get your creative juices flowing!
‘The fact that we question the Tarot as to whether it be a method or a doctrine shows the limitation of our 'three dimensional mind', which is unable to rise above the world of form and contra-positions or to free itself from thesis and antithesis! …
The Tarot contains and expresses any doctrine to be found in our consciousness, and in this sense it has definiteness. It represents Nature in all the richness of its infinite possibilities, and there is in it as in Nature, not one but all potential meanings. And these meanings are fluent and ever-changing, so the Tarot cannot be specifically this or that, for it ever moves and yet is ever the same’
Proposed Theme
Your Personal Trump Card | The ‘Grand Arcana’ of the Tarot
The Tarot have been around for millennia, and possibly even represent some of the core teachings of Hermes Trismegistus / Thoth going all the way back to ancient Egypt. The Grand Arcana represent the 22 steps that are core to the process of creation; that is, anything that manifests from nothing to something. This pretty well covers it all, from our life, to our work, to the stages that our ideas must pass through as they attempt to become realities. While it is easy to write off the Tarot as occultist nonsense, there is actually a deep wisdom - a codex of creative processes - that is built into it. We do not need to become fortune tellers to benefit from that. The knowledge is useful in our daily life, personally and at work.
Interestingly, each one of us is instinctively drawn to a card - which calls us as it is reflective of our place in the world as we choose it. It has something to tell us.
In terms of theming the celebration, we would start with an experience having everyone contemplate on…
Which card naturally attracts you? (this selection would be done online, through a survey we will create where the cards can be seen as image files).
What does it represent? Where are you on your journey? A link to online resources will give detailed descriptions on this that are interesting for the participant…
The character of the card you select will be your avatar for the day. Instead of getting dressed up in a costume, we will prepare screen avatars that can be used to show who the person is. People can augment their costume/appearance with things they have at home that are appropriate for the card they have chosen. This will make the celebration less wasteful and possibly more creative.
Content Suggestions
Below are content suggestions that harmonize with the overall theme we are imagining for your celebration. We do not propose doing all the activities, but rather aim to offer you a selection of experiences that could make this extra special, uplifting, and joyful. Please note: this is a starting point - not an exhaustive menu.
We’re truly looking forward to ending this year with you on the right note, and to starting fresh with new perspectives and full(er) hearts :)
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1.5 hour workshop with internationally celebrated Cosmic Navigator Gahl Sasson
This is a fun and insightful session that is truly engaging for participants, offering fresh perspectives onto the actual nature of Tarot and how we can apply the underlying concepts meaningfully as a tool in our lives.
1 hour introduction to Tarot and its relevance for our lives.
As a teaser, Gahl will also provide a 15 min insight into 2022 and what kind of energies it has in store through the lens of numerology, astrology, Kaballah (tree of life), etc, clarifying the relevance of the #6 and what it means in its many forms.
15 minutes Q&A
Gahl is usually based in Los Angeles, but will be in Istanbul on the 17th. So, the session could be IRL or online.
Budget Guide: 1,500 EUR
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Where words fail, music speaks. Jurgis Did is many things, but most importantly he is a human that uses his many talents to connect with other humans.
30-45 min interactive online session
Budget Guide: 2,000 EUR
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Our bodies are the most powerful instrument. But most of us don’t know how to free our minds to activate our rhythmic, melodical, and harmonious instincts. Ozgur Atanur is a music therapist, and his Open Mind Triggering Workshop With Body Music is an amazing way to move from our minds to our hearts - and get our pulses flowing.
25-30 min
Budget Guide: 200 EUR
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Chakradance is an active meditation that uses live music, sound waves, and guided narrative to open up the chakras and dance your way into bliss. It is a fun and disarming way to get people moving and tuning into themselves.
This can be done IRL or online, hosted by Elif Hurdogan & Phil Goelhead.
30-45 min
Budget Guide: 300 EUR (online)
IRL (TBD)
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Many people think of culinary culture when they hear the word Epicurean, but it is actually a prototype for the balanced life. Where hedonism is known for its excess, and stoicism for its discipline, the Epicurean way seeks balance and joyful participation in life’s great beauty. In this short and interactive talk Ray Rizzo will share wisdom and humor to loosen up our bodies, minds and appetite for life’s abundance. Thought provoking and inspirational, this session will encourage all participants to develop their improvisational reflexes to create more joy in life.
Budget Guide: 500 EUR
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Lesli Karavil is an actress, director, breathwork therapist, and stand up comedian, and multidisciplinary human being.
With our collective briefing, Lesli will use her range of skills to find humor, joy, and knee-slapping laughter in the journey of life we’re on in a IRL session.
This will be a tailor made experience to Unilever’s unfolding story of NOW, and aim to provide a comical pressure release-valve to help release the tension that we all have.
Budget Guide: TBD
for a view on Lesli’s style, click this link.
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For the IRL portion of the event, we can supply live musicians and DJs with various moods and tastes depending on the chosen venue(s). From intimate solo performers to a 3 piece ‘Jam Session’ band.
Potential musicians include: Markus Lehto, Ray Rizzo, Monika Bulanda, Özgur Atanur, Volkan Önol, Selen Beytekin
We can also created custom made Unilever play lists around the chosen theme, which could created a standardized musical experience for all IRL experiences (assuming more than 1 location where live music would be difficult).
Budget Guide: TBD
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Any proper celebration needs heartfelt toasting. We will invite each participant to offer a max 1 minute toast to the group, expressing their sincere intention for upcoming year, what they are ready to leave behind from this one, and what their Tarot card choice meant to them. This is an easy opportunity for everyone to speak, be present, and offer something straight from their heart. This can be done online, and possibly be continued into the IRL sessions (if applicable) as a way to encourage deeper connection.
Facilitated by Eda & Markus
Budget Guide: Included in Curation
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Joint Idea will curate the content and coordinate the flow of the day. For the online portion of the event, we propose a custom made website using Zoom integration OR an online event platform such as Hopin or Airmeet. We will set up the online presence and run the backstage, and prepare the invitations, graphic design, etc, for the event.
For the IRL portion, Joint Idea will curate the content and will help the Unilever team coordinate the dialogue with the selected venue, catering.
Content Curation: 2,000 EUR
Online Platform Setup: 2,000 EUR (does not include the Hopin or Airmeet event fee, which is payable directly).
IRL curation and coordination: 500 EUR
IRL Hosting and Facilitating (assuming 1 space), hosted by Eda Carmikli & Markus Lehto: 500 EUR
Note: All Budget Guides are subject to change and presented here for initial draft purposes only.
IRL and Venues
We believe that multiple venues across the city will be very complex to manage effectively not only in terms of space management, but also in terms of the consistency of the experience for participants. In the case this path is chosen, we propose neighborhood ambassadors from within Unilever to nominate places within their neighborhoods that they themselves can endorse, therefore giving a higher rate of success and personality.
A single IRL venue experience would be more suitable in our view, and our general suggestions would be places that can offer dedicated indoor space with easy access to outdoor areas. Some venues to consider are (click links to visit):
La Scarpetta (Etiler) | Life Park (Bahçeköy) | Tuhafier (Levent Sanayi)
As a rough guide, we propose budget min F&B budget of 40-50,000 TL to be able to ‘close’ a venue for the exclusive use of Unilever for the event.
Alternatively, a House Party / Loft Party / After Party concept could be created in a private home / villa / loft, etc, that would satisfy Unilever’s distancing & safety requirements. This should be well located to ensure it is accessible. We do not have any suggestions at this stage for such a location, but would be pleased to contribute if this is the chosen direction.