Existential aim

The existential aim is what the organizers envision that the participants to experience during the conference. It is projecting what the internal mood of the individuals will be as they participate in the event. It is also an initial attempt to anticipate the spirit of the event. Is the mood intended to be reflective, joyful or decisive ? Are the participants to experience themselves as a part of a great movement of people, or to experience their will to make a personal sacrifice for a cause ? Are the participants to experience a new understanding of material being presented ? Whatever the intent of the programme, a self-conscious decision in this arena does not limit the participants' experience but allows the organizers to operate out of a decision that can be changed. < The existential aim is also orienting the journey of the participants, or the internal experience of the event. This description may be as refined as a session-by-session analysis of the programme or as simple as anticipating shifts in mood during blocks of sessions.

The existential aim is a tool. The spirit of the programme and the social environment of the programme are both based on this understanding. The setting of the event, the decor and even the type of meals are informed by the existential aim. It is also a self-conscious guide for testing how the conference is going in the midst of the event. This description of the journey helps the organizers to decide the timing of events. An understanding of shifts in mood might determine which speaker or topic is introduced before another. The danger of not having an existential aim self-consciously described is that the mood of the conference may be turned over to the most dominant or charismatic personality.