“Leading the Future for Peace”
A unique retreat on the stunning Clos de Gaye estate in south west France, in the foothills of the Pyrénées, on the border with Spain….
For all who care about the future peace of our world
The experience of a lifetime
In a year that has had many of us on our knees with fear about the future of our planet, a regenerative and restorative retreat, bringing together children, young people, and families, from all over the world, to take part in an extraordinary 5 days of theatre and music-making, workshops, seminars, performances and day trips, for the retreat of a lifetime in south west France.
Summer Camp for Peace
Summer Camp for Peace
Led by guest artists Laurie Rubin and Jenny Taira, you will come together with others from around the world to explore ideas of peace and global harmony, overcoming conflict and bullying, empathy and understanding ‘the other’, and how to build more tolerant societies, instilling in young people the values of cooperation, empathy, understanding, and giving adults the tools to foster these skills in young people, as well as in themselves.
Both young people and adults have found Laurie and Jenny’s work to be profoundly inspiring, enlivening, and self affirming. These two artists not only lead participants through powerful workshops that engage hearts, minds, and spirits, but also lead by their own example, sharing authentic stories from their own lives and inspiring participants of all ages to play full out in their own lives
Laurie and Jenny centre young people in their work as they are our future leaders who have the power to effect social change. They instill in young people the importance of our diverse history, acceptance across varying life experiences, and the need for equitable representation and treatment of all people. This is the pathway to building a more peaceful world.
Laurie Rubin
Mezzo-soprano, author, and educator Laurie Rubin performs music in a vast array of genres, and believes that no matter what time period it is written in, music lives and breathes in real time. In 2012 following the publication of her memoir and CD, both entitled, “Do You Dream in Color,” Laurie embarked on a dynamic concert and book tour in which she weaved programs of concerts and stories from her own life to numerous venues, including the 92nd Street Y in New York, and the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. She premiered the work, “Do You Dream in Color” which she co-wrote with composer Bruce Adolphe at the International Human Rights Festival in Lucerne, and again with the LA Chamber Orchestra. She performed the role of Elle in Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine” and Penelope in Monteverdi’s “The Return of Ulysses” with the Greenwich Music Festival,” Karen in Gordon Beeferman’s “The Rat Land” with New York City Opera, the witch/voice in Lisa Bielawa’s episodic opera, “Vireo," on KCET’s Artbound, and Mycelia in Paola Prestini’s opera “Sensorium Ex” to be workshopped at the Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera Orchestra this December. Laurie lives in Hawaii with her wife and collaborator Jenny and their three children where they run a performing arts program, Ohana Arts, serving youth ages 6-18. She and Jenny co-wrote, “Peace On Your Wings,” a musical based on the true story of 12 year old Hiroshima atomic bomb victim, Sadako Sasaki and her thousand paper cranes, comprised of an all-youth cast which has toured the islands of Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York, and Northern California, and has just returned from Hiroshima in August 2020 to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Jenny Taira
Jenny Taira is an award winning clarinetist, pianist, and arts educator. She is one of the co-founders of Ohana Arts, a performing arts program and youth theater company, now in its 14th season, which aims to cultivate peace and an international family in the pacific through the universal language of the arts. Jenny served as composer, co-bookwriter, orchestrator, and arranger on the groundbreaking new musical, “Peace On Your Wings,” based on the true story of 12 year old atomic bomb victim Sadako Sasaki and her thousand paper cranes which has toured ten cities in the US and Japan. Jenny has music directed over 20 shows and has served as conductor for the Ohana Arts pit orchestra for the past 14 years.
This retreat will include excerpts from Peace on your Wings, a groundbreaking production on the story of the atomic bomb, as a cautionary tale of the dangers of global conflict.
Watch a powerful video that Laurie and Jenny made on bullying from one of their past projects with young people.
Five Days of Magic
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Setting the Stage
Arrival in Pau and transfer to Clos de Gaye
Introduction to The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, Clos de Gaye, and our lead artists, Laurie Rubin and Jenny Taira
Dinner in the gardens at Clos de Gaye
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The World As We Would Like It To Be
‘Frozen Picture’ Workshop exploring the nature of conflict and the skills needed to build more peaceful societies
Picnic and Afternoon walk through the mountains
Evening performance from Laurie and Jennie
Post-performance discussion
Dinner
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But How Do We Get There?
Description goes here -
Peace on our Wings
Transfer to the Basque coast
Morning discussion on the beach on what it would take to build a roadmap for peace lead by young people
Lunch discussion on building new narratives for change
Afternoon walk through St Jean de Luz
Boat trip to San Sebastian
Dinner
Transfer back to Pau
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Leading The Future
‘Understanding The Other’ - Workshop with Laurie and Jenny
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When the show ends, what begins?
Morning trip to the Chateau de Pau
Lunch on building new narratives for change at Palais Beaumont
Workshop and discussion with Laurie and Jenny
Plan of action
Dinner
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Until The Next Time....
Au revoir!
You and your family will leave inspired, connected, with precious memories of magical experiences, and clear ideas of next steps that you can take as a family to build a better world
What you and your child will get
COLLABORATE with a diverse cohort that values partnership, respect, and empathy.
RESPOND to the needs of the group knowing their own needs will also be met.
ENGAGE in a process that enhances critical and creative thinking.
AWAKEN and share the unique artistic qualities inherent in each of us.
TRANSFORM challenges into opportunities with joy and hope.
EMPOWER themselves and each other knowing what they do impacts the world.
A unique experience, unlike any other, the extraordinary beauty of south west France, overlooking the Pyrénées, on the border with Spain, with tremendously talented artists, eager to share their talents with you and your family to enable you to leave inspired and invigorated
Make it
Our retreats bring together exceptional people from all over the world - corporate, government and civil society leaders, academics, artists and cultural leaders - all those with a desire to bring about positive impact in our world.
By bringing together such a diverse mix of people, your own networks will expand in truly global ways and opportunities for collaboration on large-scale issues across the world will unfold.
Each summit takes place against the backdrop of some of the most beautiful corners of south west France
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The Pic du Midi d’Ossau
Evening picnic on the Plateau de Benou
Stunning views from Clos de Gaye
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Soothing effect of the ocean
Dramatic waves
Award-winning cuisine
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Culture
Heritage
History
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Elegance
Sophistication
Refinement
Clos de Gaye
Extraordinary experiences where the world comes together for impact
New collection.
Immersing yourself in nature, accommodation will be provided either on the Clos de Gaye estate, in a nearby chateau or, for those who like a more adventurous experience, in our ‘stargazer’ bell tents, with ‘glamping’ style toilets and showers. All food and activities will be provided onsite in multiple beautiful locations across the Clos de Gaye estate.
When the show ends, what begins?
These retreats ask the big questions. We seek to use our ability to come together to take our responsibility as leaders to be custodians of the future and to listen and learn to the young people and what it is that they need for a more peaceful and harmonious world.
Each retreat has a storyteller, someone who accompanies us on the journey, to listen, learn and reflect on what is discussed and to work together with the whole group for an action plan that ensures we deliver concrete and tangible outcomes that are accountable to all those not in the room, to build a better world for all.
All retreats and high-impact summits are lead by Caroline Watson, visionary founder of The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, and the Global Arts Impact Agenda. An award-winning entrepreneur using the arts to effect large-scale social change, Caroline is also a masterful hostess and creator of extraordinary experiences.
Caroline Watson, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, Harvard, Yale, INSEAD, Oxford
Getting Here
From your home to Clos de Gaye
In keeping with our vision to have a positive impact on the world, all retreats start and end at Gare Montparnasse in Paris, so you can use train travel to ‘set the scene’ on your extraordinary journey and reduce your carbon footprint. We also kindly ask all international visitors to offset the carbon from their plane travel to Paris through a reputable carbon-offsetting scheme.
Dates
18th to 22nd August 2025
Come together with some of the world’s foremost leaders to take part in transformative discussions, performances and experiences that will change the world.
Price
Individual 10,000 euros plus sales tax (20%) per individual
15,000 for a couple
25,000 for 2 adults and up to 3 children
The retreat can also be paid for through our US-based 501 (c) 3 as a charitable donation
Included:
All workshops, talks, dinners, and performances
Your Accommodation on the Clos de Gaye estate or a similar property nearby
All your meals, including eating out
Your day trips to the Pyrénées, the Basque coast and Spain
Year-long group coaching and additional learning content for the 12 months surrounding the retreat experience
We also offer additional one-to-one coaching options to accompany your journey and enable you to work on targeted issues in your leadership journey, as desire
As a socially-entrepreneurial for-profit company, The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership uses all profits from our summits and retreats to support low-income and marginalised communities to also take part in extraordinary experiences at Clos de Gaye and elsewhere in the world, so your participation in this retreat also enables others to benefit from the life-transforming effects of our programmes.
Ready to take the next step?
