JCI EMT 2027 · 6–9 May · Reykjavík, Iceland · 64°N
The frontier has changed. The courage hasn’t.
When
6–9 May 2027
Hosted by
JCI Reykjavík
Base camp
Miðgarður Hotel
Register until
1 March 2027
EMT 2027 in Reykjavík, Iceland
From May 6th to May 9th, 2027, JCI Reykjavík will host the annual highlight of the world’s largest JCI twinning agreement. Be sure to purchase your ticket early to secure your spot. We look forward to seeing you at the edge of the world in Reykjavík, Iceland.
Theme
For centuries, explorers came to Iceland because it sat at the edge of the known world. They arrived in longships and small wooden boats, carrying little more than nerve and a sense that something worth finding lay just beyond the next horizon.
The map is filled in now. The horizons have shifted but the work of exploration hasn’t gone away. It’s moved inward: into the businesses we build, the communities we lead, the ideas we test, the lives we try to live with purpose. Today’s frontier is rarely a coastline. More often it’s a conversation, a decision, a leap of faith.
The New Explorers brings the JCI EMT family to Reykjavík for four days at the edge of the world, to share what we’re discovering, push each other forward, and remember that the courage it takes to step into the unknown is the same as it ever was.
Austurvöllur
Skólavörðustígur
Route 1
Host city
Reykjavík is the northernmost capital in the world, sitting at 64°N on a peninsula of black lava and green moss, closer to Greenland than to mainland Europe. It’s also one of the smallest capitals you’ll ever visit. A walkable city of colourful rooftops and low skyline, wrapped around a working harbour and looking out at Mount Esja across the bay.
For a thousand years this was the far edge of the map. Today it’s a creative capital that punches spectacularly above its weight: designers and musicians, world-class restaurants tucked into old fishermen’s houses, bookshops that stay open late. Steam rises from the pavements in winter and geothermal pools are where the city gathers, argues, and unwinds. Half an hour out, you can walk on a lava field. An hour out, stand at a waterfall or eat lamb at a farm that’s been in the same family since the Middle Ages. The wild is never far away.
Early May is one of the best times to be here. The days are long; the light is soft and unreal, and the city is coming alive for summer. Expect cool weather and evenings that never quite go dark.
64°N
Latitude
<05:00
Sunrise
22:00+
Sunset
5–12°C
Early May
Conference accommodation
by Center Hotels, our home for the weekend
Miðgarður sits at the top of Laugavegur, Reykjavík’s main street, right beside the Hlemmur transport hub and food hall. From the front door you can walk into the heart of the city in fifteen minutes, reach Hallgrímskirkja in ten, and step onto a bus to the countryside in a few minutes. For a four-day conference where nobody wants to spend the weekend in taxis, it’s about as central as central gets.
The hotel itself is a modern, eco-certified four-star with 170 rooms, opened in 2015 and quietly one of the better-run places in the city. The spa is the standout, open every day of the year. Icelanders take their bathing seriously, and after a day of theme sessions and sightseeing there is no better way to reset. If you’re lucky and the sky cooperates, you might catch the last of the aurora from the open-air tub.
Program · schedule overview
06
First Landfall
15:00Arrival & check-in
19:00Home hospitality with members & alumni
22:30After drinks at Miðgarður Hotel
07
Ready or Not
07:00–09:00Breakfast
08:30Presidents meeting
09:30Walk to City Hall (approx. 25 min)
10:00Opening ceremony
12:00Lunch
13:00–16:00Workshop
19:00–01:00GAP Party including dinner
08
Here be Leaders
07:00–09:00Breakfast
10:00–12:00Wake the Guardians of Iceland
12:00Lunch
13:00–16:00Activities
18:30–01:00Gala dinner & JCI Reykjavík 60th Birthday party
09
Go Forth and Lead
07:00–10:00Breakfast
10:00Closing ceremony
13:00Optional trip to a lagoon (costs extra)
* Early draft, schedule is subject to change.
Optional pre-tour · three days before EMT
Every expedition sends scouts ahead. Join a small crew of fellow explorers for three days on the road, see the territory first, and arrive at the conference already knowing who you’d trust with the map.
Day 1
We start at Þingvellir, where two continents are slowly pulling apart and Iceland’s parliament first met over a thousand years ago. It’s a fitting first stop for a group of people gathering to shape what comes next. Then comes the Golden Circle: Strokkur, which erupts every few minutes whether you’re ready or not, and Gullfoss, which is loud enough to stop any conversation. Then we head south to our base near Vík.
Day 2
We head east along the South Coast, past moss-covered lava fields, raw mountains and the edge of Europe’s largest glacier, to Jökulsárlón. Icebergs that broke off a glacier drift slowly out to sea. Across the road at Diamond Beach, the ice ends up on black sand, polished like glass. It’s a long day on the road, and the best one.
Day 3
Morning on Reynisfjara, with basalt columns, sea stacks and Atlantic waves that demand respect. Then two waterfalls: Skógafoss, which you can stand right in front of, and Seljalandsfoss, which you can walk behind. We’re back in Reykjavík by mid-afternoon, a little windswept and with a few stories to tell, ready for First Landfall.
Base camp · Vík
We stay both nights at the same hotel near Vík. Nobody packs up every morning, the evenings are long, and there’s time for the conversations that don’t happen in a conference hall.
€900
Estimated per person: private bus, guide, hotel with breakfast and entrance fees. Other meals and drinks not included.
15
Explorers needed for the pre-tour to run.
Separate
Sign-ups for the pre-tour are separate from conference sign-ups.
Order your EMT 2027 ticket
15 Feb 2027Registration closes for the conference hotel. Rooms can’t be guaranteed after that.
1 Mar 2027Last day to pay. The no-hotel ticket may still be available, depending on capacity.
Shared room
€630
Single room
€950
Without hotel
€390
The main offer price includes a shared room, not a single room. Read the terms of registration and cancellation.