About Us 

The Meaningful Discussions Project is operated by The Meaningful Events Association which is a registered not-for-profit society in BC, Canada. The purpose of The Meaningful Events Association is to initiate face-to-face social events which are life-enriching and meaningful. The Meaningful Discussions Project was founded by Glen Brauer. Our team includes local hosts for each of our Meetup groups located in cities around the world. We are proud to be working with Meetup in order to turn our vision into a reality.  

 

Our Background 

  • 2012 - our first group was established in Toronto, Canada
  • 2013 - many more groups were established in cities around the world under the groups: Philosophy Dinners and Psychology Dinners
  • 2013-2016 - hundreds of events have taken place in cities around the world with feedback collected and analyzed from members
  • 2016 - PD groups merge into The Meaningful Discussions Project with a refined structure and mission.
  • 2020 - After the pandemic hit, we started building our own platform to host our events called Buddytree
  • 2022 - We are now starting to expand our project into churches, schools and community centres

 

 
Glen Brauer 
Founder & International Coordinator 
Calopia GlenBrauer.com

How are we different from other discussion groups?

1. Structure. Most other discussion groups have a free-form structure where everyone is seated at a long table or in one large group. Our events have multiple groups of 5-7 people with one facilitator at each table.
[View our structure]

2. Preparation Time. Most other discussion groups will provide a very brief outline of the topic. In contrast, we spend a lot of time creating topic packages which include Food For Thought videos and discussion notes.

3. Intention. Most discussion groups put more emphasis on the topic being discussed but not on actually creating a meaningful experience. In contrast, creating meaningful experiences is our primary focus and our mission.