Tag Archives: social change

Designing for a Thrivable Society: Workshop with Jean Russell

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Designing society is a radically different procedure than designing a car. A car is mechanistic and causal. People together aren’t reducible to parts that can be directed. Instead, we encourage, nudge, and sway people and groups by motivating them to shared outcomes.

Together, let’s explore some recent brain science to better understand how human minds work. From there, we explore the layers of network organisms involved in societies. We discuss polycentricity in practice.

Best practices work in simple systems where results are known and repeatable. In complex self-organizing systems, such as society as a whole, we strive for good practices and sometimes the most we can do is emergent practice. We test and iterate. We make prototypes.

Our afternoon sessions focus on generating and testing community building prototypes. Importantly, we need feedback on our actions to see what works, thus we will explore the design of metrics.

Finally, we will explore how games can create the whole spectrum of necessary dynamics – from engendering a sense of fun and play, to providing direction and purpose and finally, giving feedback for improving our societal designs.

Audience:

- social entrepreneurs

- progressive/social businesses (beyond CSR)

- government

- community leaders

Key Benefits:

- summary of crucial breakthroughts in how humans operate and insights into social dynamics

- accessible information for navigating uncertainty

- methods for increasing engagement and collaboration

- introduction to control/guide/nurture model for action and metrics for ROI

 

Gathering ’11: To Build Better Futures

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“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ~ R. Buckminster Fuller

**Please note that we’ve now added an additional (optional) day at Hub Melbourne for concept development and implementation planning. Taking inspiration and ideas and turning them in to action.**

You can register for the optional Gathering 11 Workshop on Day Three here (limited spaces).

Gathering ’11: To Build Better Futures brings together leading thinkers, change-makers and collaborators from across Australia and around the world for three days to explore what’s possible, and develop ideas on how we can best solve today’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

The Big Questions

We’re coming together to ask:

How might we tap into the potential of emerging technologies, networks, and systems to co-create a thrivable new world?

Where are the opportunities – and what do we need – to build pathways toward a new economy, a cleaner environment, resilient communities, and a happier planet?

What can we all do to build better futures?

Why you should join us at Gathering ’11

If you’re wanting to live a life, or start a business, or bring people together in ways that make a real difference, than you should join us at Gathering ‘11.

We’ve created a program to support the emergence of radical innovation and creativity with the intention to inspire implementable ideas that can effect real change and build foundations for better futures. Come to Gathering ‘11 to learn how you can do things like:

  • Bring your community together to address climate change and ensure low-carbon, secure energy futures.
  • Start your own enterprise that has a positive social impact and helps those in need.
  • Build your own business that thrives from providing goods and services with real meaning.
  • Develop your own systems that enable a shift in the way that people buy, consume and lessen their impact on our precious planet.
  • Organisations that connect people who want help with people that need it.
  • Design your own online platform for open participation to facilitate creative problem solving for today’s big challenges.
  • Make a living and a difference by being creative and sharing your passion.

Featured participants

For the inaugural Gathering we have an outstanding lineup of featured participants from across the not-for-profit, corporate, community, academic and government sectors including:  

  • John Hagel: co-chair Deloitte Center for the Edge (USA) and co-author of The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion
  • Michel Bauwens: Belgian technologist, theorist and researcher on culture and business innovation and founder of the Peer to Peer Foundation (Thailand).
  • Adam Bandt: the Federal Member of Parliament for Melbourne, and first Australian Greens MP to be elected to the House of Representatives (Melbourne).
  • Venessa Miemis: futurist, digital ethnographer and writer at Forbes.  Blogger at Emergent by Design, founder of Open Foresight and producer of The Future of Money (USA).
  • Pete Williams: social web revolutionary and CEO of Deloitte Digital. Helped rebuild Flowerdale after the 2009 Victorian bushfires and is #hannahsdad (Melbourne).
  • Kate Carruthers: Marketer, technologist, educator, blogger. Co-Chief Changemaker at Social Innovation Sydney (Sydney).
  • Christine Egger: champion of social innitiatives and former Co-Director of Social Actions (USA).
  • Stephen Johnson: Social Enterprise Evangelist and Community Catalyst. Head of Social at Community Engine (Melbourne).
  • Nick Allardice: Australian Country Director Change.org, co-founder Live Below the Line and former General Manager Oaktree Foundation (Melbourne).
  • Jean Russell: collaboration catalyst and founder of thrivable.org and thrivable.net (USA).
  • Kristin Alford: Futurist and communicator at Bridge8. Exploring the role of science & technology, in innovation, economic development, social change and sustainability (Adelaide).
  • Tim Longhurst: Futurist, speaker, minimalist and activist (Sydney).
  • Ehon Chan: Researcher, teacher and change agent. Co-founder News Unlimited and YESBrisbane, Board Member at PlanBig (Melbourne).

The Program

An innovative program using the World Café process, Open Space Technology and drawing from the methodology of Improv, Presencing and Theory U, our intention is to provide a space and experience that supports the emergence of socially innovative and transformative ideas, and is a platform for their development in to implementable projects and enterprises.

Gathering ’11 Day One: Experiencing & Noticing

Saturday 11 June – Abbotsford Convent

  • World Cafe Session 1
  • Keynote Presentation from John Hagel
  • World Cafe Session 2
  • Lightning Talks with Michel Bauwens, Pete Williams, Jean Russell, Donnie Maclurcan, Adam Bandt
  • Open Space Participant Led Session 1
  • Lightning Talks with Tim Longhurst, Venessa Miemis, Kristin Alford, Ash Donaldson, Kerry Graham
  • Open Space Participant Led Session 2

Gathering ’11 Day Two: Envisioning & Ideating

Sunday 12 June – Abbotsford Convent

  • Lightning Talks with Kate Carruthers, Marigo Raftopolous, Ehon Chan, Nick Allardice, Benny Callaghan
  • Envisioning & Designing Pathways to Better Futures
  • The Art of Collaboration & Cocreation
  • Cocreating Foundations for Better Futures
  • Big Ideas: The Pitch

Gathering ’11 *Optional* Day Three: Concept Development & Implementation Planning Workshop (FREE)

Monday 13 June – Hub Melbourne

  • Developing Concepts & Plans for Implementation from Gathering ’11 Day Two
  • Big Plans: The Pitch

*Please register for the free optional workshop here.

At Gathering ‘11 we will share insights, explore thoughts, develop ideas and lay down the foundations to build better futures for all, together. Join us. 

Check out Gathering ’11 online here

Please follow us on twitter and join our facebook page for some great content, discussions andannouncements coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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**Please note that we’ve now added an additional day at Hub Melbourne for concept development and implementation planning. Taking inspiration and ideas and turning them in to action.**

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ~ Bucky Fuller

Gathering ’11: To Build Better Futures brings together leading thinkers, change-makers and collaborators from across Australia and around the world for three days to explore what’s possible, and develop ideas on how we can best solve today’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

The Big Questions

We’re coming together to ask:

How might we tap into the potential of emerging technologies, networks, and systems to co-create a thrivable new world?

Where are the opportunities – and what do we need – to build pathways toward a new economy, a cleaner environment, resilient communities, and a happier planet?

What can we all do to build better futures?

Why you should join us at Gathering ’11

If you’re wanting to live a life, or start a business, or bring people together in ways that make a real difference, than you should join us at Gathering ‘11.

We’ve created a program to support the emergence of radical innovation and creativity with the intention to inspire implementable ideas that can effect real change and build foundations for better futures. Come to Gathering ‘11 to learn how you can do things like:

  • Bring your community together to address climate change and ensure low-carbon, secure energy futures.
  • Start your own enterprise that has a positive social impact and helps those in need.
  • Build your own business that thrives from providing goods and services with real meaning.
  • Develop your own systems that enable a shift in the way that people buy, consume and lessen their impact on our precious planet.
  • Organisations that connect people who want help with people that need it.
  • Design your own online platform for open participation to facilitate creative problem solving for today’s big challenges.
  • Make a living and a difference by being creative and sharing your passion.

Featured participants

For the inaugural Gathering we have an outstanding lineup of featured participants from across the not-for-profit, corporate, community, academic and government sectors including:  

  • John Hagel: co-chair Deloitte Center for the Edge (USA) and co-author of The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion
  • Michel Bauwens: Belgian technologist, theorist and researcher on culture and business innovation and founder of the Peer to Peer Foundation (Thailand).
  • Adam Bandt: the Federal Member of Parliament for Melbourne, and first Australian Greens MP to be elected to the House of Representatives (Melbourne).
  • Venessa Miemis: futurist, digital ethnographer and writer at Forbes.  Blogger at Emergent by Design, founder of Open Foresight and producer of The Future of Money (USA).
  • Pete Williams: social web revolutionary and CEO of Deloitte Digital. Helped rebuild Flowerdale after the 2009 Victorian bushfires and is #hannahsdad (Melbourne).
  • Kate Carruthers: Marketer, technologist, educator, blogger. Co-Chief Changemaker at Social Innovation Sydney (Sydney).
  • Christine Egger: champion of social innitiatives and former Co-Director of Social Actions (USA).
  • Stephen Johnson: Social Enterprise Evangelist and Community Catalyst. Head of Social at Community Engine (Melbourne).
  • Nick Allardice: Australian Country Director Change.org, co-founder Live Below the Line and former General Manager Oaktree Foundation (Melbourne).
  • Jean Russell: collaboration catalyst and founder of thrivable.org and thrivable.net (USA).
  • Kristin Alford: Futurist and communicator at Bridge8. Exploring the role of science & technology, in innovation, economic development, social change and sustainability (Adelaide).
  • Tim Longhurst: Futurist, speaker, minimalist and activist (Sydney).
  • Ehon Chan: Researcher, teacher and change agent. Co-founder News Unlimited and YESBrisbane, Board Member at PlanBig (Melbourne).

The Program

An innovative program using the World Café process, Open Space Technology and drawing from the methodology of Improv, Presencing and Theory U, our intention is to provide a space and experience that supports the emergence of socially innovative and transformative ideas, and is a platform for their development in to implementable projects and enterprises.

Gathering ’11 Day One: Experiencing & Noticing

Saturday 11 June – Abbotsford Convent

  • World Cafe Session 1
  • Keynote Presentation from John Hagel
  • World Cafe Session 2
  • Lightning Talks with Michel Bauwens, Pete Williams, Jean Russell, Donnie Maclurcan, Adam Bandt
  • Open Space Participant Led Session 1
  • Lightning Talks with Tim Longhurst, Venessa Miemis, Kristin Alford, Ash Donaldson, Kerry Graham
  • Open Space Participant Led Session 2

Gathering ’11 Day Two: Envisioning & Ideating

Sunday 12 June – Abbotsford Convent

  • Lightning Talks with Kate Carruthers, Marigo Raftopolous, Ehon Chan, Nick Allardice, Benny Callaghan
  • Envisioning & Designing Pathways to Better Futures
  • The Art of Collaboration & Cocreation
  • Cocreating Foundations for Better Futures
  • Big Ideas: The Pitch

Gathering ’11 Day Three: Concept Development & Implementation Planning Workshop

Monday 13 June – Hub Melbourne

  • Developing Concepts & Plans for Implementation from Gathering ’11 Day Two
  • Big Plans: The Pitch

At Gathering ‘11 we will share insights, explore thoughts, develop ideas and lay down the foundations to build better futures for all, together. Join us. 

Check out Gathering ’11 online here

Please follow us on twitter and join our facebook page for some great content, discussions andannouncements coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Want a better future? Here’s how we can start building it.

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Something needs to change. It’s clear that industrial age institutions and systems aren’t the answer to today’s complex social and environmental issues.

Albert Einstein once said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” So how do we come up with real solutions to the big issues facing all of us?

It’s time to change our approach.

It’s time to build new institutions and develop new systems. It’s time to move from industrial age leadership to 21st century buildership. It’s time to stop saying they need to do this or they need to fix that. It’s time for us to come together and take action – after all, there is no they, we are the they.

So how might we address local and global societal problems? How might we come up with solutions that are wholistic, sustainable and have real impact?

How might we be the change we wish to see in the world?

By bringing together diverse community members, socially innovative thinkers and progressive leaders in the not-for-profit, corporate, social, government and academic sectors.

By coming together to explore challenges, identify opportunities, envision pathways, and lay down foundations for real solutions to today’s pressing social and environmental issues.

By gathering together to cocreate pathways to better futures for all, and implementing plans for action.

Register for Gathering ’11

At Gathering ’11 you will:

  • experience new approaches to idea generation and problem solving;
  • learn how to engage and mobilise your friends, your community and your organisation around a cause;
  • discover models for business that are having a positive social impact and thriving in challenging economic times;
  • find out how you can use technology and social media to make a real difference;
  • hear how small moves, smartly made, can set big things in motion; and
  • develop ideas and cocreate opportunities for world-changing projects and game-changing enterprises.

Why you should join us…

If you’re wanting to live a life, or start a business, or bring people together in ways that make a real difference, than you should join us at Gathering ‘11.

We’ve created a program to support the emergence of radical innovation and creativity with the intention to inspire implementable ideas that can effect real change and build foundations for better futures. Come to Gathering ‘11 to learn how you can do things like:

  • Bring your community together to address climate change and ensure low-carbon, secure energy futures.
  • Start your own enterprise that has a positive social impact and helps those in need.
  • Build your own business that thrives from providing goods and services with real meaning.
  • Develop your own systems that enable a shift in the way that people buy, consume and lessen their impact on our precious planet.
  • Help your organisation shift from being just a service provider, to one that connects people who want help with people that need it.
  • Design your own online platform for open participation to facilitate creative problem solving for today’s big challenges.
  • Make a living and a difference by being creative and sharing your passion.

Join us at Gathering ’11 to share, learn, grow and build. Come plant the seeds for a community of practice with other visionaries, though-leaders and change-makers from across Australia and around the world – taking steps toward better futures for all, together.

Join featured participants including: John Hagel, Michel Bauwens, Pete Williams, Venessa Miemis, Kate Carruthers, Stephen Johnson, Jean Russell, Kristin Alford, Tim Longhurst, Christine Egger, Benny Callaghan and Ehon Chan, for an immersive weekend of presentations, participant led discussions and generative processes.

Every revolution begins from the bottom up. Fed up with the status quo? Tired of the 20th century? Then don’t just talk about it. Reject it and refuse it. Build a better 21st century instead. Real change doesn’t begin with governments, presidents, or prime ministers. It begins with each of us. ~ Umair Haque

Where does change come from? You, me, we.

Join us for the inaugural Gathering in Melbourne 11-13 June to build better futures.