THE GLOBAL CHANGE INITIATIVE = STIMULATE + INNOVATE + ACTIVATE

Words like “global change” sound good but what lasting results are possible? We’ll find out at The Global Change Initiative, which takes place at Toronto City Hall May 30 – Jun 1, 2014.

The Curator

Dev Ramsumair is leading the initiative. He has an impressive background and vast connections. For instance, here’s what Paul McCartney told him:

“I’m going to give you one piece of advice for the rest of your life: You need to go somewhere where there’s just wheat and trees and you’re going to be forced to create something that no one’s ever seen.” — Entrenomics interview

The Global Change Initiative looks like a result. I’m glad we won’t be meeting in wheat fields! Dev’s enthusiasm and energy are contagious.  He’s doing much of the work himself. Normally an event of this scale would require longer preparation and a larger team. 

We’ve yet to meet but have chatted on the phone. I got introduced by peer mentor Carol Roberts of Stellar By Choice Consulting. She’s a speaker. I got selected too. I’m talking about a win/win: how social justice (doing what’s ‘right’) boosts profits.

The Supporters

The supporters already announced are quite diverse.
Besides the City of Toronto, MaRS and the Centre for Social Innovation, there are surprises like UNESCO and Reddit. And the Avenue Q puppets. How is that range even possible?

The Format

As with many other events, you’ll find multiple speakers for variety. The difference is that they aren’t crunched into an exhausting single day. The Global Change Initiative takes place over three evenings and two days. That allows more time for mingling and thinking — and a greater commitment on the part of the delegates.

The Reach

How do you reach the people around the world who aren’t attending?

Many events have live tweeting. The Global Change Initiative has support from news sharing site reddit (“the front page of the Internet”). You may be familiar with the reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) where guests have included Peter Dinklage, Barack Obama and Harrison Ford.

I knew reddit was big but didn’t know the scale. According to Alexa, it’s the 60th most popular website in the world. In the last month, reddit had 114.9 million unique visitors  from 190 countries who viewed 5.4 billion pages (see current stats). I’ve opened an account.

The Vision

The goal of The Global Change Initiative isn’t just to create a stimulating event where life returns to normal by the time you get home. The goal is to create global change. When communities, businesses, institutions and governments collaborate, imagine the possibilities.

Links

• Reflections on The Global Change Initiative (new)
• website: globalchange.ca
• Reddit AMA: How a weird Internet thing became a mainstream delight (The Atlantic, Jan 2014)
• Two clever examples of golden marketing at a live event
• How not to organize an event
• Why bother seeing a speaker live?

PS There’s nothing wrong with local change either.