Communities are essential for healthy life and work

Communities are at the heart of any movement, social transformation or organizational transformation. In this time of pandemic, communities have responded with new projects, research, and initiatives to help people and organisations understand, manage and survive change.

There’s a growing awareness of the importance of social connections, a sense of belonging, mutual trust, collaboration, leadership and change. In these times of uncertainty and turbulence, communities need to be mobilized to respond to the crisis.

How can we mobilize communities into action?

Community building is akin to alchemy - great transformations can happen when we put crucial pillars and elements together. Designing communities for change begins with understanding who we are serving, defining the change we want to see, and exploring the different strategies on how to commit to this change.

The next Community Builders’ Summit 2020 on October 8 will tackle the theme: Community Builders as Agents of Change.

We will focus on how we, as community builders, can promote transformation and respond to the pressing needs of our communities, particularly during this time of global pandemic.

Margaret J. Wheatley wrote:

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about."

Let’s discover this process together!

Event details

In this day-long virtual workshop event, we provide spaces to explore how we can evolve our community activities from transactional into building shared transformative agency. To do this, we need to start from who, from ourselves - our roles and presence as community builders.

Community Builders' Summit is a Ghost Company project, in cooperation with our friends at Howspace, the AI-powered digital collaboration platform. The event is facilitated by Lana Kristine Jelenjev and Miikka Leinonen.

Watch preview videos from speakers, participants and hosts >

Your speakers and hosts

• Kai Isand, Head Organiser, The Global Hack
• Christine Lai, Community Activator, ESHIP/Kauffman Foundation
• Matthew Bellringer, Founder, Meaningbit
• Tamas David-Barrett, Research Director, Centro de Investigacion en Complejidad Social
• Dr. Carlos Saba, co-founder, The Happy Start Up School
• Simone Vincenzi, co-founder, GTex
• Liisi Org, Startup Community Development Manager, Startup Estonia
• Jussi Tapio, co-founder, Ghost
• Lana Kristine Jelenjev, Learning Experience Designer, Dream See Do
• Miikka Leinonen, Community Innovation Advisor, Ghost Company

Who should attend?

• Community builders
• Community leaders
• Visionaries
• Founders
• Community managers
• HR managers/leaders
• NGO leaders
• Professionals who believe in the power of communities.

Who is this event NOT for?

This event is not intended for individuals or organizations looking for strategies to monetize their communities. It is not geared for community managers that only have profit as the measure of success for their communities.

What will I learn?

• A deeper understanding of yourself and your role as community builder.
• A deeper appreciation of your presence and your impact as change agent in your community.
• A basic understanding of the foundations for community building - who, why and how.
• Shift in mindset from transactional to transformational community building

Event programme, October 8, 2020

Morning programme

Theme: Strengthening community leadership: You as the Leader in your community

• 10:00-10:15 Introduction
• 10:15-10:35 Keynote speaker: Kai Isand, Head Organiser, The Global Hack
• 10:35-11:30 Workshop 1: It all starts with you!
• 11:30-11:35 Break
• 11:35-12:35 Panel Discussion: Best Practices of Community Leadership - Liisi Org, Startup Estonia, Dr. Carlos Saba, The Happy Startup Community, and Simone Vinzenci, GTex Community
• 12:35-12:55 Keynote speaker: Matthew Bellringer, Founder, Meaningbit
• 12:55-13:00 Recap
• Lunch - Open Lounge

Afternoon programme

Theme: Engaging your community for change

• 14:00-14:20 Introduction
• 14:20-14:50 Keynote speaker : Tamas David-Barrett, Research Director- Centro de Investigacion en Complejidad Social
• 14:50-15:50 Workshop 2: From Transactional to Transformational Communities
• 15:50-16:00 Break
• 16:00-16:30 Small Group Discussions: Best Practices on Community Engagement
• 16:30-16:50 Keynote speaker: Christine Lai, Community Activator- ESHIP/Kauffman Foundation
• 16:50-17:00 Recap
• Backstage - Open lounge

Community Builders Summit 2020 is a Ghost Company project using the web browser-based Howspace and Zoom platforms.

For more information about Ghost Company, our events and our terms and conditions, please see ghostcompany.fi or contact us at sales@ghostcompany.fi