Nexus 2000 (May 5-7, South San Francisco) is the first of an ongoing series of conferences on emotional intelligence. Educational, community, business, youth, and other leaders will convene to share perspectives, tools, and momentum for transforming and inspiring communities to build emotional intelligence. Nexus 2000 explores three critical themes: Emotional Fitness, Learning and Teaching EQ, and EQ In Organizations.

Around the world there is a groundswell recognizing the power and importance of emotional intelligence. Leaders and educators are seeking mechanisms to build inclusive communities of whole and healthy individuals.

Education with emotional intelligence (EQ) means teaching how to appropriately recognize, express, harness, transform, and act on emotions fused with cognitive skills. Teaching emotional intelligence also means learning and living it. These affective skills are developed in a context of relationships and communities where people actively work to model EQ skills.

Nexus is a pivotal conference because participants will develop plans to apply the lessons of the conference supported through an electronic forum in the following year. Participants will leave with tools, alliances, models, and inspiration to implement emotional intelligence. The conference will model an exemplary environment for learning and teaching emotional intelligence. It will be hands-on, learner-centered, and engaging; it will foster community working toward an authentic purpose.

Through the Nexus of leaders from many sectors of the community and the spectrum of resources, practices, and programs to support emotional development, participants will build a future with emotional intelligence.

Purpose:

To share a broad spectrum of expertise, resources, and solutions for building safe, whole, and healthy learning communities with emotional intelligence. Participants will...

• see a range of approaches to building respect, responsibility, and resiliency from counseling, emotional literacy, EQ, to holistic programs.
  
• experience practical tools and strategies to implement in schools, organizations, and communities.
  
  
• share successful implementation of EQ programs.
  
  
• investigate resources and materials for building emotional intelligence.
  
  
• build alliances and support networks with others doing related work.

Audience:

1,000 educators and leaders from around the world. The audience will include teachers, parents, parent educators, youth, community organizations, media, political, social, religious, and business leaders. Nexus will bring together change-makers ready to use their own emotions to revitalize the environment in which our children grow. These include people publishing books, producing TV programming, setting policy, implementing programs, and the rich network of people committed to children.

Over 100,000 people will learn about the conference through mailings and the Nexus web site.