The second Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference took place last Thursday, January 21st. Though as one of the co-organizers I’m hardly an objective observer, I must say Beyond 2020 it turned out pretty awesome. To paraphrase the head of the Olympic Committee, it was the best Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference of all time.
Consider: smooth proceedings, inspiring and empowering conversations, action pledges, good food/beer/wine, 30% higher attendance and 150% more sessions… As an organizer, what more can you wish for in an event like this one? We look forward to bringing Beyond 2020 to Portland and elsewhere every calendar quarter. We’ll also be working on bringing the Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference to other communities around the U.S. and elsewhere (email me if you’d like more information or hold the event in your city).
Unconferences are a you-had-to-be-there experience. Indeed, this was the first open space experience for many participants. Judging by the feedback, a very enjoyable one and definitely not the last. As one first-time unconference participant said:Â “The best unconference I’ve ever been to!”
Feedback
Sample testimonials about the event:
- “I enjoyed the un-conference. It was a positive and smart group of people with thoughtful ideas.”
- “Thank you for an amazing thought-provoking event last night.”
- “Thanks for putting on the conference last night. I thought it was an excellent way to get people together and share ideas and then to see what can be implemented. I made several new and wonderful contacts there. I will look forward to the next conference!”
Feel free to reach out to any of the participants to hear about their experience first-hand.
Sessions
The following sessions were held at the Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference. Each session title links to its own wiki entry with notes, if available (if you were there, please help improve the notes by editing):
Challenges large companies face when shifting toward sustainability, by Suzy Mattay- Eco-value versus profit, by Kristin Cleveland
- Framing sustainability as an adaptive change, by Beatrice Benne
- How to engage in change in industries of independent contractors, by David Todd
- How to stimulate business to business activity in a sustainable local economy, by Robyn Shanti
- Incentives for choosing active forms of transportation, by Evan Ross
- Innovative cities: Building the municipal eco-system to support sustainable solutions, by Anna Raksany
- Making the business case to “straight” businesses, by Brian Setzler
- “Preaching to the choir” is the problem, engagement is the solution, by Douglas Tsoi
- Sharing Portland’s sustainable business practices: Crowdsourced book project, by Peter Korchnak
Sponsors
The following organizations made the event possible:
- Rose City Mortgage Specialists (Renee Spears and others)Â - co-organizer
- Semiosis Communications (yours truly) – co-organizer
- Beam Development – graciously hosted Beyond 2020 at the beautiful Olympic Mills Commerce Center
- CreateTheGoodLife.org (Beth Meredith and Eric Storm) – “held the space” and guided the proceedings
The following organizations helped promote the event:
- Green Posting
- ReDirect Guide
- Sustainable Business Network of Portland
- VOIS – Voice for Oregon Innovation and Sustainability
Thank you!
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Update 1/28/10: Video from the agenda-setting part of the 1/21/10 Beyond 2020 Sustainability Unconference. Recorded by Ericka Heidrick and her Flip.
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