Before After

October 14-15, 2021
Chicago and online

At its roots, the word pandemic means “all people”—an outbreak of disease that affects everyone across the globe. COVID-19 received its official pandemic status from the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, but for many people, it took weeks, even months to feel the tangible and now lasting effects of the virus. Though a global crisis that affected all people, the pandemic was also an individual experience that varied based on location, occupation, circumstances and identity.

The FUTURE FORUM: Before After brough together German and American scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs to tell their stories of change. The COVID-19 crisis upended nearly every industry and reshaped our lives and relationships. As we negotiate the new normal, hear the stories of the precise moment just before after, the tipping point at which change was decisively in motion and one’s only reaction was to evolve or adapt.