Trend forecasters, curators, architects, and more are coming together for the world’s first online design conference. Topic? The world after coronavirus.

There’s very little doubt that the current pandemic will change our civilization forever. From home offices to physical distancing and online deliveries, we are now experiencing the dawn of a new lifestyle.

“People don’t want to go back to how things were before coronavirus,” claims trend forecaster Li Edelkoort in a new manifesto for the post-pandemic world, in which she proposes the foundation of World Hope Forum. The leading expert on society’s ever-changing moods unveiled her message on April 15 during the first day of the Virtual Design Festival, a month-long program of online talks, lectures, movies, and product launches created by Dezeen.

The digital event, which will run until May 15, is constantly evolving as organizers add new speakers, interviews, and videos every day. The aim of the Virtual Design Festival is clear, however: To gather thinkers and doers who will shape the post-pandemic world and who will help us understand its new realities.

As of now, the line-up features world-renowned German designer Erik Spiekermann, Italian architect Fabio Novembre or avant-garde fashion designer Iris van Herpen. Resite, a Prague-based conference acting to improve the urban environment, will curate an exclusive selection of lectures from its 2019 conference, and celebrated Israeli designer Ron Arad will present a digital version of its LA exhibition.