Over there (at Show Me The Change)

13 April 2010 0 By Viv McWaters

It’s been a bit quiet here for a few days because I’ve been a blogging tart! That’s right – I’ve been blogging elsewhere – at the Show Me The Change blog.

This Show Me The Change Conference that I’m involved in is an edgy experiment and I’m enjoying the challenge. We decided to stop complaining about the way traditional conferences are put together (with keynote speakers, panels, Q & A, and a lot of one-to-many set-ups) and try something different – to prototype another approach to bringing people together to explore important issues.

After all, that’s why we get together – not to find answers that we could google, but to bounce ideas off each other, to build on each other’s experiences, successes and failures, to experiment and to be bold. Especially when we’re talking about wicked problems, complexity and saving the planet! And to meet each other, to make friends, to build our networks, maybe even collaborate one day.

Show Me The Change is not a completely original concept – what’s original anyway? We’re building on our experiences (and the experiences of others) of bringing people together, of facilitating interaction, of building community and of enabling action.

I’m learning about my own insecurities, and that of others. I’m feeling what it’s like to be balancing on the edge, sometimes on tippy toes (hat tip to Christine Whitney Sanchez). I’m experiencing the doubt and the wonder, and the frustrations and the highs. And one thing I know for sure. I’d rather be doing this than something that’s completely safe and predictable. Who knows, maybe this will be the start of something?