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Making an event like 2gether work
As the dust settles on SHINE - the unconference for social entrepreneurs we at germination co-produced 4 weeks ago, we straight into managing the production side of the 2gether festival. I’m really excited about the event, knowing as I do that this idea has been developing bit by bit in Steve Moore’s head for the past year or so. My job is to help Steve and the team to make it a reality by creating the right environment for 2gether to be a properly rewarding experience for participants. Coming fresh from SHINE I’m encouraged by how people will respond in collaborative and co-creating ways when given the tools. Since I’ve known him, I’ve been talking to Steve about how you do this effectively at real events as well as online.
I’m really happy with the venue we’ve chosen, as it sprinkles a certain magic. The Rochelle School in Shoreditch, East London, is based in the Boundary Estate, one of the oldest areas of social housing in London and which managed to escape the war-time bombing which that part of East London suffered very directly from. The School is now a workspace to a community of artists and designers, and has a great feel of creativity and calm. It’s like a haven in the midst of the city, perfect for the festival feel we are trying to create. I’m imagining July sunshine streaming into the courtyard and onto the roof terrace as people find their way into the secret garden over the two days of the event. Though of course, like any good festival, there may well be rain to contend with.
On the programme side, we’re now getting lots of suggestions from people about who they would like to see speak, sessions they want to host, and ideas they would like to see discussed. Gone are the days of traditional debates and conference formats where you plan your programme with a good 12 weeks to go - it’s much more exciting to enable people to participate and create an events like this where people can dictate (and then create) what they want it to be. The job then becomes about creating an infrastructure rather than dictating content. And it’s more of a bare knuckle ride because you’re never quite sure what will happen.
More soon on how it’s developing.
Jess
Producer, Germination
Tags: Discussion
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[...] Making an event like 2gether work As the dust settles on SHINE - the unconference for social entrepreneurs we at germination co-produced 4 weeks ago, we straight into managing the production side of the 2gether festival. I’m really excited about the event, … [...]