Nära Summer Festival 2026
Be more you.
Bring yourself more.
Into connection with others.
And into the world.
Join us for our 5th Anniversary Festival
Not a festival to escape from the world.
But to step into it.
Nära has ever since the start been about supporting people to grow more of who they already are. To meet yourself and others at greater depth. And to bring that into your life and into the world.
We want to stay in our core practices that have been our foundation from the beginning.
Make the practices relevantas part of our own life and the state of the world. Bringing that aliveness into our lives,our relationships, and into the world.
This summer, we're celebrating our 5th anniversary by bringing together everything that makes the Nära Festivals special.
We've cherry-picked the best from our previous years: quality workshops led by experienced facilitators, co-created celebration that emerges from what we all want to bring, and more space for landing in connection together during the weekend. And a heartful integration space on the last day.
What's Included
- 20+ workshops with a fantastic team of skilled facilitators
- A bed in a twin room, dorm or bring your tent/van
- 3 vegetarian/vegan meals per day + snacks
- Sauna and morning practices
- Co-created celebration weekend
- Lot's of oppertunities to make new connections
The Five-Day Journey
Designed for depth, celebration, and integration
Arrival & Opening
Check-in from lunch onwards. At 4 PM, we gather for the opening ceremony. It's a time to land in the context of the days we're about to explore together. To meet new people and to start form some new connections and perhaps revisit some cherished previous ones.
Workshop days to go deep
These days are filled by quality workshops of relational presence, and embodiment practices. Sound journeys and deep dance sessions. Choose from a menu of 20+ workshops by skilled faciliators.
Explore the previous programmeCo-Created Celebration
We launch our workshopped selves into the weekend by co creating a whole day of celebration. Be it festive, be it cosy, be it unpretentious, be it full of differents flavours by all of you. The Magical Villa opens up to more spaces and oppertunities to connect with each other.
Integration & Harvest
In the last day we're exiting through facilitated space for landing, grounding and integrating.
Team and Facilitators
A stellar team with years of experience in embodiment, relational practices and creative work. Each bringing their passions and gifts in service to the overarching theme of the festival.
Festival Organisers
Michaela Nielsen
Transformative wizard with roots in medicine wheel and authentic relating world since almost two decades.
Read moreMichaela Nielsen
Michaela has been in the Circling and Authentic Relating world for close to two decades. She organised the Danish Authentic Relating Festivals from 2016 to 2020 — an early inspiration for the Nära Summer Festival. Her navigation lies in the elements — earth, fire, water, air and ether. In love with the biochemistry of our beings, she works as a Vega test therapist and is the sideshow vegan chef on Circling leadership trainings. Since she could climb towards the sky, she has questioned what we are — seeking answers through practices, plant medicines and relational arts. Life's roughness taught her the most. Green peas, not painkillers. Her current studies in dance therapy bring it all together. What she wishes to bring to the world: finding our innermost nature and becoming safe in our environment while unfolding it — playing the edges where we grow, with care and dare. Leaning back into trust that who we are, all inclusive, is exactly what we are here to offer. Messy parts too. A big believer that when we allow ourselves to be whole, something shines from our soul — linking us together on transformational pathways to joyful freedom and peace.
Fredrik Gynnhammar
Therapist, trainer and consultant passionate about embodiment, leadership and relational practices.
Read moreFredrik Gynnhammar
Fredrik is a long-time facilitator of relational and embodiment workshops. He's passionate about exploring the depths of human existence and what brings about development and health. Believing that playfulness and contact with our innocence and younger parts are central to health, zest for life, and the ability to handle life's challenges in a creative and elegant way. He loves dancing and works with bringing embodiment and relational practices into contexts where they matter deeply - with leaders and organizations through Embodied Relational Leadership, a framework he co-created, and with psychologists and psychotherapists, training them in coming home into their bodies and including the body more as a subject in therapy. Fredrik is one of the initiators of Nära and have been co-organising previous year's festivals.
Benjamin Raki
Psychiatrist and facilitator of relational mindfulness, embodiment and emotional intelligence practices.
Read moreBenjamin Raki
Benjamin Raki is a psychiatrist and facilitator working to unite the wisdom of biology, psychology and spirituality into one cohesive model for human flourishing. He sees emotional intelligence as one of our most underdeveloped capacities — especially relevant in the age of AI. Drawing from clinical psychiatry, Circling, authentic relating, shadow work, tantric practices and Vipassana meditation, he creates spaces where scientific understanding and lived experience support each other — weaving modern psychological insight with age-old practices of awareness and presence. He regularly leads workshops in relational mindfulness, authentic relating and emotional intelligence — from psychiatric congresses to festivals and community spaces. His intention across all settings is the same: to make deep relational work accessible, practical and embodied.
Elin Gabriella
Theatre pedagogue influenced by clown work, psychodrama and forum play.
Read moreElin Gabriella
Elin Gabriella is a theatre pedagogue whose work draws from polarity, feminine and masculine communication, clown work, psychodrama and forum play. She is fascinated by unlocking interpersonal and stuck energies — finding playful ways to move through patterns that keep us from meeting each other fully. Her facilitation blends creative expression with embodied exploration, always grounded in a deep trust in the power of simple play, dance and spontaneity. She brings a rare combination of theatrical boldness and relational warmth to every space she holds.
Daniel Kaplan
Biologist and sex-educator exploring liminal spaces of relationality.
Read moreDaniel Kaplan
Daniel Kaplan is a biologist and sex-educator exploring liminal spaces of relationality at the intersection of meditative practice, truth-based relating and biology. Informed by a polyvagal perspective and inspired by Embodied Intimacy, the Wheel of Consent and Non-violent Communication, he brings curiosity and care to the edges where vulnerability and connection meet. Daniel holds over ten years of experiential inquiry in relational work, alongside pedagogic work in primary schools and social sustainability projects in Malmö. In recent years he has leaned increasingly into embodied relationality as his primary form of practice.
Ida Helmers
Somatic guide, group field weaver and relational enthusiast.
Read moreIda Helmers
Ida Helmers is a somatic guide, group field weaver and relational enthusiast. She supports individuals, couples and groups in getting to know their nervous system, embodying more authenticity and creating deeply fulfilling relationships. Over the past five years she has developed her own workshops under the name Somatic Relating, drawing from somatic experiencing, trauma healing, embodiment, relational shadow work and Circling. She is driven by a deep curiosity for human relating and is particularly fascinated by the potency of connective conflict — seeing relationships as a path for mutual growth, healing and evolution.
Sujan Varma
Multidisciplinary creative and facilitator of sensuality, consent and community connection.
Read moreSujan Varma
Sujan Varma is a multidisciplinary creative and facilitator whose work spans music, photography, fashion design and scenography. Drawn to the intersection of creativity and human connection, Sujan brings aesthetic vision, spiritual groundedness and relational warmth to every space held. The facilitation work centres on sensuality, consent, saunagus and creative expression — always in service of community building and self-discovery. At Nära, Sujan brings a colourful scenographic aesthetic, playful music-driven energy and a workshop designed to invite people into more authentic connection.
More facilitators will be announced in the coming months.
Choose Your Ticket
All tickets include workshops, accommodation, and meals
Discounts for nära patreon members will be offered on regular tickets
Four ticket tiers • Three accommodation types each
Tent/Camper
Tent/Camper
Tent/Camper
Tent/Camper
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL & ITS PRACTICES
NÄRA is a Swedish word meaning near or close, as in near to our hearts or being close together. At the same time it means to nourish, as in nourishing ourselves and our connections.
NÄRA is also the name of a community and physical venue in central Malmö, that has been experimenting with ways of involving and inspiring more people into practices of relational awareness and growth. Where facilitators offers diverse workshops and morning practices.
This festival stems from a longing to provide more opportunities for people to connect around authentic practices, circling and embodiment. As the local and Scandinavian communities involved with this are growing, we want to celebrate, combining deep processing with the ease and joy of just being in togetherness. We hope this festival will support further development of these communities and bring valuable and inspiring experiences for everyone participating.
Authentic Relating is an umbrella term covering both a movement and set of practices that facilitate an honest and heartful way of exploring communication and connection beyond social masks and norms.
Relational Precensing is an organic authentic relating practice based on a few principles that support you in being more in touch with your own truth and at the same time staying in connection to others. It’s organic in the sense that the group’s aliveness and experience of relatedness direct the unfolding of the process, rather than imposing any specific structure.
Embodiment suggests that as human beings, our bodily existence is at the core of who we are. Through our body, we are in a direct relationship with all other bodies and the world. Ways of exploring embodiment can be meditation, dancing, martial art, playing music – any activity where you’re experientially in touch with your direct sensory experience of being alive right at this present moment.
NÄRA, both the festival and the community based in Malmö, are inspired by the longing to contribute to a more beautiful and peaceful world, and support people’s ability to co-operate and relate well together. It builds on the idea that we humans are fantastic beings with enormous gifts and capacity to connect and love, AND that many of us need to practice using this capacity. Patterns of self resistance, trauma, and disconnection to ourselves and others and the world make it harder for us to stay attuned to our gifts and act from this place of love. Our deeper mission is to inspire the exploration of how we can connect more, communicate bravely and with aliveness, stay grounded, stay curious, be responsible and whole beings, and cultivate deeply loving relationships to ourselves, each other and nature. At NÄRA, and through our practices, we want to work at core level of our global challenges; the ability to be whole together, and believe the larger-scale changes we are hoping for will follow naturally as humans feel more connected and understanding of each other.
Food, venue & accomodation
Venue & Accommodation
The venue for the festival is a conference facility in Sunnanå, located just outside of Malmö. It has several big spaces for workshops, a beautiful main hall with big glass windows towards the garden where the twin acacia trees stand, overlooking the festival in their full majesty. Connected to the main hall is a hang out room, that also houses a little gym and a sauna. There is a big outdoor lawn area for different activities such as playing football, relaxing, eating, and the brave might try exploring the narrow paths into the small forest next to it. Maybe you’re lucky enough to find some ripe blackberries hidden among the bushes?
There are different accommodation options:
Twin Room
Rooms with two beds and space for personal items and clothes.
Dormitory
Indoor accomodation in shared room with 4-5 mattresses.
Tent/Camper
Bring your own tent/camper and sleeping equipment and you get a spot in our beautiful garden.
Food & Drink
The food that is included with the ticket will be served three times a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) with occasional snacks, tea and coffee in between. The food is mainly vegan, with some vegetarian alternatives.
The festival is alcohol & drug free.
Ready to Join?
Step into five days of quality embodiment and relational connection practices paired with a broad oppertunitiy to form new connection. Newcomers are warmly welcome, as are our community members.