48forward 48forward The line on which Europe thinks.
48°08′ N · 11°34′ E — MUNICH · 8–9 JUNE 2027
For ten years we built stages. In 2027 we are opening the doors of an entire street instead.
Follow the line
There is a line no one can see — and yet an astonishing amount of what makes Europe was written on it. The 48th parallel is, without anyone ever calling it that, the line on which Europe thinks, argues and governs itself.
On 8 and 9 June 2027 we are giving this line a meeting place for the first time. Not one hall, but the rooms of an entire street. Many places instead of one stage. No podium.
The journey along the 48th parallel
48.86° N
Where the salons of the Enlightenment convened.
48.58° N
Where the European Parliament debates today.
48.21° N
Where psychoanalysis was invented in the coffeehouse and modernity was fought into being.
48.15° N
Where the line crosses the Danube.
48.14° N
Where everything gathers on a single latitude in June 2027.
Almost every conference in the world is built vertically: the lights dim, a spotlight finds the stage, someone steps up to the lectern. One person speaks above, the others listen below. A stage creates a gradient — it separates those who may speak from those who are meant to listen.
A parallel is the exact opposite. It is what geographers call a line of latitude: a line that knows no above and no below, no beginning, no centre, no elevated point. It will be played out along a street in the middle of Munich, in the places that line it — debates next to masterclasses, workshops next to encounters. Permeable, equal, at eye level.
The street is the parallel, made walkable.
1
Street full of rooms
800
Curated participants
2
Days in June 2027
0
Distance. No gradient.
What the line talks about
PARALLEL 48 gathers the questions that will occupy Europe for decades to come — negotiated not on the asphalt, but in the places that line the street: rooms for debates, masterclasses and workshops. The street between them belongs to encounters in the open air.
How does Europe stay governable — and who gets a say?
What machines can do — and what they should be allowed to.
Not a forecast, but an agreement to meet.
How a society changes without breaking apart.
A coordinate as a name
Our umbrella brand is called 48forward — and the city where it all began really does sit on the 48th parallel. A company number becomes a place. A coordinate claims nothing; it merely designates. What it means must be filled in by the people who meet on it. We are making a start.
And yes: a horizontal has no climax. It is an attempt, and attempts can fail. But after ten years in which our stages worked, the bigger, shinier version of them would have been the comfortable decision. We are making the other one.
Munich · 8–9 June 2027
Those who stand on the line first will stand on the street first. Sign up — we will be in touch as soon as registration opens.
Sign upPARALLEL 48 is being built with partners who want to help construct the horizontal — as a venue, a format or a supporter. Write to us; we like thinking together.
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