Safety On The EDGE comes to Savannah
Four days of hard questions and better answers about risk — set among the moss-draped squares of America's most walkable, most storied, most surprising city.
MAY 11-12 | SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, USA
Why Savannah
A city built on a plan - and famous for breaking the mould
Laid out in 1733 around a grid of public squares, Savannah is one of the great deliberate designs in urban history: 22 leafy squares survive today, each a small forest of live oaks and Spanish moss ringed by antebellum mansions and ironwork balconies.
It is a city that rewards walking — the entire Historic District, one of the largest in the United States, unfolds at street level between the forum’s sessions. Hotels, venues, restaurants and the riverfront all sit within a pleasant stroll under the oaks.
For a forum devoted to thinking differently about risk, there is no better backdrop: a city that planned for order, then built its character on charm, eccentricity and a healthy disregard for convention.
Beyond The Sessions
What delegates will find outside the forum doors
LANDMARK
Forsyth Park
Thirty acres of green anchored by the famous 1858 cast-iron fountain — Savannah’s postcard image, a ten-minute stroll through the squares from the forum district.
WATERFRONT
River Street
Cobblestones, converted cotton warehouses, riverboats and dockside taverns along the Savannah River — the natural home of the forum’s evening conversations.
HERITAGE
The Historic District & its 22 squares
Oglethorpe’s 1733 grid survives intact — a chessboard of shaded squares, house museums, galleries and Gothic-Revival landmarks like the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.
ATMOSPHERE
Bonaventure Cemetery
The hauntingly beautiful riverside cemetery made famous by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil – sculpture, moss and Southern Gothic mood in equal measure.
TABLE
Lowcountry cuisine
Shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, pralines and James Beard-recognised kitchens – from soul-food institutions to some of the South’s most inventive dining rooms.
COAST
Tybee Island
Savannah’s beach town, about 30 minutes east: wide Atlantic sands, fresh seafood shacks and Georgia’s oldest and tallest lighthouse – an easy pre- or post-forum escape.
Only In Savannah
Home of the World Famous Savannah Bananas
Savannah is the birthplace of the sporting phenomenon that reinvented baseball. The Savannah Bananas play “Banana Ball” — a fast, rule-bending, dance-filled version of the game — from Historic Grayson Stadium, selling out ballparks across America and reaching a global audience of millions.
A team that questioned every convention of a century-old game and built something people love: for a forum that challenges the orthodoxies of safety, the Bananas are practically the house metaphor. If the schedule aligns, catching Banana Ball in its home city is an experience no delegate will forget.
SOTE 2027 Forum Excursions
Bookend your week on the edge with the best of the Georgia coast — a guided morning among the squares of America's largest National Historic Landmark District, and a farewell with your feet in the Atlantic at Tybee Island.
PRE-CONFERENCE · WELCOME TO SAVANNAH
Historic District Trolley Tour
Tuesday, May 11
9:00 – 11:00am (departs The DeSoto)
Step aboard a climate-controlled trolley with our Director for a two-hour introduction to Savannah’s storied Historic District — cobblestones, live oaks, Spanish moss and all.
- Three guided walking stops with your own Savannah tour guide
- Refreshment and restroom stop along the route
- Returns to The DeSoto in time for Forum registration
$65 per person
minimum 20 guests
POST-CONFERENCE · THE PERFECT SEND-OFF
Tybee Island Beach Escape
Friday, May 14 or Saturday, May 15
9:30 AM – 2:45 PM (departs The DeSoto)
Trade the plenary hall for the Atlantic. An open-air trolley departs The DeSoto for the 20-minute ride to North Beach, Tybee Island, where your spot in the sand is already set up and waiting.
- Beach umbrella with two chairs and shared side table for every pair of guests
- Tented comfort station – water, ice, wet naps and amenities on hand all day
- $25 meal gift card for North Beach Grill – dine in, on the patio bar, or take it to-go
- Complimentary guide travels with the group