Black Elephant

The Project Disconnect has become the great plague of our age. We are disconnected from ourselves (increasingly lonely and suicidal), from each other (socially and politically polarised), and from so-called nature (as if the planet were dying, not us). Today's social medias do not provide deep connection. In fact they often do the opposite: fostering FOMO, lack of self-worth, political polarisation (othering), intolerance, anxiety, depression, anger and loneliness. Technology allows us to talk to each other wherever we are in the world, and yet we have never felt so disconnected from one another. In response to this growing divide, during the covid lockdown, we set up online meetings on Zoom to bring together very different people who had not met before. As soon as lockdown was over, we met in person, for dinners, picnics or walks, and called those meetings parades. Typically, when people who don’t understand (not to say distrust or outright despise) each are brought together, the focus will be on what they think. However, building on the experience of survivors of trauma, we now know that this approach tends to be pointless. To connect with one another at a deeper level, we need to focus on what we feel and allow ourselves to get vulnerable. At Black Elephant, we believe that by getting to know each other, for real, we will be able to find together the solutions we need to face the great challenges of our time. Black Elephant is the first social network worthy of the name. Black Elephant is an experiential social network based on vulnerability, bringing very different people together and forges genuine connection between them through the sharing of intimacy and vulnerability. It’s a social network that makes people feel better and improves their mental health. You too can come join a parade ! Join us, support us and sign up! Why "Black Elephant" ? A black elephant is a highly predictable event visible to all, yet addressed by none. Unlike the black swan - the forerunning sign of a crisis that is very difficult to predict - the black elephant confronts us with our responsibilities and forces us to find answers and anticipate solutions to an existential crisis of humanity that is already before our eyes and for which we must invent a new way of relating in order to overcome it. At the peak of the Covid crisis, we came to realize that Humanity had never been so connected, and yet so isolated . The pandemic brought forth a revelation: one of an atomized society and of a humanity exhausted by its race to virtual fame. "The fundamental intuition is that we must learn to connect in depth at a time when solitude is exploding like never before," says Felix Marquardt, Black Elephant's founder and chairman. In January 2022, 9.5 million French people (i.e. 19% of the population) suffer from chronic loneliness, i.e. they always or often feel alone (Ifop). Despite the lifting of health restrictions, one third of the population in industrialised countries experience loneliness, and one in 12 people experiences loneliness at a problematic level (NIH). The 4 pillars of Black Elephant Openness to the Other Vulnerability & identification as the most effective conduit for deeper connection Focusing on what we feel, not what we think A vision of diversity that is neither normative nor cosmetic Black Elephant so far 2000+ users from 30 different countries 26 hosts 20+ parades a week Testimonials "Black Elephant is a meeting of minds, hearts, and perhaps souls. In any case, it is an experience of rehumanization in a dehumanizing world, where everything seems to divide us. Showing only the most polished version of oneself on social networks is becoming a real collective disease! These networks lock us in boxes, while Black Elephant takes us out of them, and that is very promising." "Exposing my vulnerability publicly has saved my life. It was the scariest and most meaningful thing I've done in my life. " "Social network seems to me too restrictive a definition of Black Elephant," she nuances. It's more of a collective experience, a landing machine too." "Black Elephant is a feel tank, a creature that seeks to reconnect individuals with their common humanity. Black Elephant presents Meta + Physics Beyond the physical and virtual parades, Black Elephant launched in 2023 a new project : a seminar in the form of a six-month "journey", which kicked off at Sciences Po in Paris on January 30th, with distinguished guests such as the philosophers Corine Pelluchon and Mohamed Amer Meziane. Five monthly virtual meetings in small subgroups followed. Called "Meta + Physics", the journey will culminate in an in-person gathering from June 7 to 11 on the island of Patmos, Greece. "Major international summits, such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, bring together opinion leaders on subjects they have little control over. In order to face the great civilizational predicaments of our age, we need to create conversations that involve people from all walks of life, not just experts." Abdramane Diabaté, CEO of Black Elephant. All our donors get a "founding member" badge on Black Elephant platform.