True Friends, Not Followers

True Friends, Not Followers

An Outdoor Community Gathering on Friendship and Modern Loneliness

By Monika Jiang

Date and time

Sunday, May 12 · 4 - 7pm CEST

Location

Dehesa de la Villa

Carretera de la Dehesa de la Villa 28035 Madrid Spain

Refund Policy

Contact the organizer to request a refund.

Agenda

4:00 PM

Welcome at Meeting Point

Details will be communicated directly.

4:15 PM

Open the Circle

Monika

Why we are here (and out here, in nature)

4:20 PM

Arrive Together

Séverine

A brief moment to take a breath and fully land with your mind and body.

4:30 PM

True Friends, Not Followers

Monika

A talk and conversation on modern loneliness, the state of friendship, and how we come closer together again.

5:00 PM

Break

Snacks, drinks, and music

5:10 PM

Connect With Another

Monika & Séverine

Explore ways to connect with yourself and others playfully, followed by a 1:1 partner-based practice on self-reflection and active listening.

5:35 PM

Reflecting Together

How was this experience for you?

5:50 PM

Closing the Circle

What is left to say?

6:00 PM

Listen Together

Rom

A musical performance

6:30 PM

Close

About this event

  • 3 hours

Modern loneliness masks as “I have a thousand followers but no one to feed my cat,” as psychotherapist Esther Perel put it.

In today's interconnected yet isolating world, cultivating meaningful connections has never been more crucial, especially given the latest trends in declining friendships, social media influencers, and AI companions.

What makes true friendship for you?

Join us for our first-ever outdoor gathering amid trees and birds!

What to expect

  • Gain insights into loneliness as a personal, collective, and political crisis—and the possibility of a friendship-centered life!
  • Learn how to connect more meaningfully through self-reflection and active listening
  • Explore embodied connection, guided by yoga teacher and facilitator Séverine Han
  • Tap into your senses and sensations with a live performance by sound artist Rom
  • Meet new people while spending time under the sky and sun

And, of course, you may attend solo or bring a friend along!

Please note that this event is donation-based—with 15 EUR per person, we’ll be able to cover the costs of the event. Anything on top to support fellow participants with fewer resources and our work at Sharing Our Loneliness is greatly appreciated. Decide what is possible for you and how much an experience like this is worth for you.

Any questions, please email: hello@monikajiang.org

Nos vemos! 💛

Monika & friends

Sharing Our Loneliness | Instagram | LinkedIn

Tags

Organized by

Monika Jiang

In a world where we’ve isolated ourselves from one another, I’m exploring loneliness as a uniquely shared experience that paradoxically holds the potential to draw us closer together again—despite our differences.

I’m a writer, curator, and community builder, driven by amor mundi, a love for the world as it is, with all its beauty and darkness.

In bringing conversations and community to life, I seek to make realities known, more faces seen, and more voices heard. Read more on Sharing Our Loneliness, visit my website, and follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Previously, I helped build the global community of the House of Beautiful Business and worked for clients including BCG, Google, Porsche, Salesforce, and others.

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