Repetition stabilizes identity.

principle — attributed to Jennifer Collins

Family reunions retell the same stories every year. The repetition is not redundancy. It is the mechanism by which a group remembers who it is. Corporate strategy sessions, scientific symposia, and community gatherings work the same way when they are designed well. The recurring elements, the stories that get retold, the awards that get given, the rituals that get observed, are what produce the continuity that makes the gathering a gathering rather than a one-time event.

The design principle for any ongoing series or annual convening.

ritual, repetition, identity, tradition, gathering-structure