Archive for the 'San Francisco Events' Category

Design 4 Resilience: Thriving in an Uncertain World

Published on March 15, 2010 in Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Abundance League is proud to co-host Design 4 Resilience (D4R). Shareable is cohosting D4R because central to resilience is the idea that sharing and a focus on the common good allow communities to handle crisis well and rebound to new levels of capacity and well being. Note that there will be no March event. We’re focusing our energy on a larger D4R event on April 10th.

I hope you’ll join us!

REGISTER>>

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Have you ever wondered what qualities enable certain people, organizations or communities to thrive despite unexpected challenges?

D4R is a full-day exploration of resilience as a strategy for thriving in an uncertain world.  And a call to action to prepare for the crises and opportunities unfolding today.

D4R will empower you to explore resilience through a combination of presentations and workshops (in Open Space format).  As an Open Space participant, you’ll collaborate with innovators from the social enterprise, design thinking, transition town, network science, local economy, urban planning, green evangelical, open source, public media, and positive psychology communities to create a unique, cross-sector learning experience.

At D4R, you’ll:

  • Add resilience thinking to your strategy toolbox
  • Build relationships across sectors by learning with diverse participants
  • Take home valuable insights to apply in your life and work.

D4R is a must for those managing dramatic change in business and civil society, and are determined to thrive on the challenge.

D4R will be the first all-day event at Hub SoMa, a new co-working and events center for social enterprise located where the SF Chronicle’s presses used to be.  D4R will be the first in a series of events culminating in a D4R presence at SOCAP10.  This is your invitation to inaugurate the D4R community.

REGISTER>>

WHERE:  Hub SoMa, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco.  #D4R on Twitter.  Check the pre-event blogging and day-of livestream at http://shareable.net/tag/d4r

WHEN:  April 10th, 2010, 8:30-5:00

HOW:  Our speakers will talk about design thinking, resilience, and the commons in the morning to set the context. The afternoon will be Open Space.  You’re encouraged to facilitate a session on a topic of choice rethinking it from a resilience perspective.

If you’re interested in sponsoring D4R, please contact Neal Gorenflo, neal at shareable dot net.

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PROGRAM

8:30 WELCOME: Neal Gorenflo, Shareable.net

8:40   Resilience Thinking, Harald Katzmair, Ph.d, CEO of FAS.research

8:55   Resilience & the Commons, Neal Gorenflo, Shareable.net

9:10   Design Thinking, Stephanie Smith, founder, WeCommune.com

9:30 Q & A

10:00 Structured networking facilitated by Jerry Michalski of Sociate.com and our MC for the day

10:30 BREAK

11:30 OPEN SPACE INTRODUCTION, Jerry Michalski

All tracks are decided on by participants. You’re strongly encouraged to facilitate a track on a topic that you’re passionate about linking it to resilience. DELICIOUS BOX LUNCH PROVIDED to take into sessions.

12:30 – 1:20 Track 1

1:30   – 2:20 Track 2

2:30   – 3:20 Track 3

3:30 BREAK

4:00 RECONVENE ASSEMBLY FOR DISCUSSION, facilitated by Jerry Michalski

5:00 WRAP UP

5:30-7:00 CASH BAR RECEPTION (at a nearby restaurant, TBD)

REGISTER>>

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Hosts:

FAS.research, The Idea Hive, Sociate.com, Hub Soma, SOCAP10, Shareable.net

Sponsors:

The Green Arcade, Open Collaboration Encyclopedia, clear-bits, shapeshifters, Greater Good Science Center, The Sharing Solution, Independent Arts & Media

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February Event: Get Off…Line!

Published on February 12, 2010 in Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments

In our November event, we discussed how the social web can disempower if not used wisely. On February 24th, we’ll discuss how to use it to improve the quality of our offline lives. Three panelists will help seed the discussion. They’ve explored the interplay between the real and virtual deeply in both practice and thought, and have a passionate commitment to empowering others with the knowledge they’ve gained:

  • Stephanie Smith is a designer and social entrepreneur. Her most recent company WeCommune.com (private beta) facilitates on the ground resource sharing.

And fittingly, this will be a hybrid online / offline event. We’ll be livestreaming the event from the coworking innovation loft, PariSoma.com. We’ll have both online and offline participants. Expect hiccups, failures, and fun. It’ll be a great learning experience in content and form.

All the event details are on Shareable.net, our event partner: http://bit.ly/9bBjAD.

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January Abundance League: Real Places for Real Lives

Published on November 17, 2009 in Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments Tags: , .

There’s a swift invasion underway of our cafes, bars, restaurants, and public spaces all over America. In the last few years, you may have showed up to your favorite neighborhood hangout one morning to suddenly find there’s a flat screen behind the cash register broadcasting advertisements at you. Or you may have taken a date to what used to be a quiet, intimate bistro, only to find that every visible wall is now occupied by giant, blinding TV screens.

When did force-fed TV and “hot media” become de rigeur in our places of dining, conversation, and community? It’s now so commonplace that speaking up or complaining about it will earn you blank looks or confused reactions.

What can we do? Especially when the hospitality industry is barely holding on in a brutal economy, and will do anything to draw more customers?  Might there be another way?

The Real Places Campaign has a plan. Join Jen Burke Anderson and Neal Gorenflo as the Abundance League shares a plan to positively define what we need from our public places, and reward those who deliver.  Come learn about and help shape a grassroots experiment to create real places for real lives.

Event cohost: Shareable, an online magazine about sharing. Join Shareable’s Facebook page here to get ideas for creating a shareable world and chime in with your ideas.

MEETING:
When: WEDNESDAY, January 20th, 2010, 6:30-9:30pm
Where: Cafe Royale, 800 Post St.  San Francisco
(415) 441-4099

AGENDA:
6:30 – 7:00 Arrive – mingle, nosh
7:00 – 7:30 Member announcements lightening round: share your passions, needs & gifts quickly
7:30 – 8:00 Break – nosh, make connections based on announcements
8:00 – 9:15  Presentation and discussion
9:15 – 9:30  Clean up, clear out.

BRING
-Willingness to help others and receive help. Yourself, friends. Note: no potluck this time. Reasonably price fare available at the Cafe Royale.

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From Participation to Power: The Dark Side of Web 2.0 & What To Do About It

Published on October 20, 2009 in Abundance, Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments

On November 19th, pioneer social change strategist Harald Katzmair, Ph.D will lead us in an exploration of the media environment and cultural moment in which we live, and point the way to from mere participation to power.

Harald’s talk will begin with an exploration of the dark side of Web 2.0. How it can overload us with messages, shrink attention spans, erode focus, and thus disrupt our ability to find common ground and take common action. Through Web 2.0 we may be, as in the title of cultural critic Neil Postman’s influential book, amusing ourselves to death.

We must recognize that individual participation does not necessarily equate to power.  Power is the ability to act. And collective action is what enables citizens to be powerful politically.  Being hyperconnected can overload us and cripple our ability to act as individuals and groups at a time when we need to be really good at taking common action in order to avoid a climate disaster.

In Harald’s view, what’s needed to survive are new tools that can help us do just that. We have to go beyond mere individual participation to collective action. And realize that it’s not the size of your network that counts, but how it’s patterned to achieve a clear goal.

Harald will share cutting edge tools he’s developed to help groups set agendas, act collectively, and mobilize networks for change. What sets Harald’s approach apart is that it’s based on social network analysis and complexity theory, which are especially useful for modeling complex systems, harnessing collective intelligence, and identifying actions that have maximum impact with minimal blow back.

Harald is CEO and Founder of FAS.research, a pioneer in applying social network analysis and complexity theory to solving complex problems in multi-stakeholder environments.   His passion is helping people come together to solve “wicked” problems.   One of his current projects is helping tribal leaders in Jordan develop a water sharing system.  If Jordan does not succeed in this, they’ll run out of water in 20 years.

It should be an eye opening night. I hope you’ll join us.

Event cohost: Shareable Magazine.  Join Shareable’s Facebook page here to get ideas for creating a shareable world and chime in with your ideas.

MEETING:
When: Thursday, November 19th, 2009, 6:30-9:30pm
Where: Citizen Space , 425 Second St., #100, San Francisco

AGENDA:
6:30 – 7:00 Arrive – mingle, nosh
7:00 – 7:30 Member announcements lightening round: share your passions, needs & gifts quickly
7:30 – 8:00 Break – nosh, make connections based on announcements
8:00 – 9:15  Presentation and discussion
9:15 – 9:30  Clean up, take the discussion to the 21st Amendment

BRING
-Willingness to help others and receive help
-Healthy stuff for the potluck
-Yourself, friends

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The Sharing Solution

Published on September 29, 2009 in Abundance and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments

My friends Emily and Janelle, authors of The Sharing Solution, are giving a book talk in San Francisco tonight.  Janelle is know to break out in song during her talks, so don’t miss that.  Here’s the details:

Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow present The Sharing Solution
2251 Chestnut Street (Marina neighborhood), San Francisco, CA
www.booksinc.net
Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 7:30pm

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Beyond Awkward, September 2009 Abundance League Meeting Notes

Published on September 20, 2009 in San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Last week we had a World Cafe styled brainstorm to raise our collective romantic IQ. Love and relationships are private, yet so necessary to a great life. This gave our temporary mutual aid society around love and relationships a special energy, not to mention sparking lots of laughter. I commend those who came and shared their needs, fears, and ideas so openly. Everyone held space for the vulnerability that comes with love and relationships without taking it too seriously either. Below are the ideas that the group generated about dating and relationships in two 15 minute brainstorms.

Dating ideas:

-For those of you that hate dating, remember that dating is a skill. You can get better at it, which will make it more fun and increase the chances of finding a good mate.
-Don’t have sex out of relationship
-Or to put it another way, dating doesn’t necessarily mean having sex with different people, it can mean a nonsexual way to find someone to commit to
-Find and pursue your passions, this better the odds of finding someone who shares your passions
-Have no expectations, or to put in a Zen way, do not become attached to the outcome, be and act in the moment, this is one of the secrets of doing well in any field

Continue reading ‘Beyond Awkward, September 2009 Abundance League Meeting Notes’

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Meeting Reminder: Beyond Awkward – Dating & Relationship Strategies That Bring Joy & Confidence

Published on September 14, 2009 in Abundance and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments

Just wanted to remind you about our meeting this Thursday where we’ll share our knowledge about dating and relationships to raise our collective romantic IQ.  You want more love? Come and get it.  See meeting details here.

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September SF League Meeting: Beyond Awkward – Dating & Relationship Strategies that Bring Joy & Confidence

Published on August 29, 2009 in Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments

For our September meeting we’ll tap our collective intelligence using the World Cafe process to share ways to make dating and relationships more rewarding.

The idea for this event came out of a conversation with my friend Erica. Dating and romantic relationships are central to creating a great life, but for many people navigating the sea of love is daunting. Dating misfires and relationship meltdowns are the norm. There’s no way to make love pain free, but Erica and I thought that suffering could be reduced, and perhaps dramatically. The pitfalls we discussed included differences in expectations about dating and love relationships, a lack of frameworks for how to find a partner or nurture our most important relationships, a lack of awareness about what we actually need in a partner, and varying levels of interpersonal skill. There’s no question it’s complicated!

As Erica and I talked about the pitfalls, we began to see that many of them could be addressed. And what waited on the other side was something we all seek – more joy and confidence in our romantic lives. We also recognized that there’s a lot of wisdom out there, but it’s not evenly distributed.

So this is a call to all those who either seek wisdom or have wisdom to share. Let’s attempt to raise our collective relationship IQ in a focused burst of effort. In case there’s any question, this event is open to folks of all sexual orientations.

I hope to see you there for an experiment we’ll create together.

MEETING
When: Thursday, September 17th, 6:30-9:30pm
Where: Citizen Space , 425 Second St., #100, San Francisco

AGENDA
6:30 – 7:00 Arrive – mingle, nosh
7:00 – 7:30 Member announcements lightening round: share your passions, needs & gifts quickly
7:30 – 8:00 Break – nosh, make connections based on announcements
8:00 – 9:15 World Cafe on dating and relationships
9:15 – 9:30 Clean up, take the discussion to the 21st Amendment

BRING
-Willingness to help others and receive help
-Healthy stuff for the potluck
-Yourself, friends

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October Abundance League SF, Screening & Discussion of Re:Invention

Published on August 25, 2009 in Meetings+Events Calendar and San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The media constantly reports how the economy is hurting people, which can be disempowering. To offer a counterpoint and make space for healing, we need to tell new stories that shift the conversation to new possibilities. What if we saw the crisis as the crucible where deep alchemy happens? How would we evolve as a society if we faced the economic meltdown with courage to see the wisdom that is waiting on the other side?

Our guest facilitator for this month is dedicated to exploring these questions. Catherine Goerz is a filmmaker whose creative mission is to catalyze social change by documenting stories of people who have experienced crisis and transformation in this economy. Catherine’s journey into film making began when she lost her job 2008. Inspired by the idea that her layoff was an opportunity for positive transformation, she decided to document how other people were responding to the loss of homes, investments and work. After traveling cross-country for 4 weeks in a RV, attending the inauguration, and shooting interviews, she created a documentary short called “RE: Invention.”

Continue reading ‘October Abundance League SF, Screening & Discussion of Re:Invention’

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The Alternative Economy, Abundance League Notes August 2009

Published on August 21, 2009 in San Francisco Events by Neal Gorenflo. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Wow, pretty good turnout for August. Big thanks to Heather, Amy, and Rick for a virtual tour of the alternative economy in the Bay Area. Some of the highlights of our talk:

-The point of establishing different methods of exchange is so that our economic transactions better support what we value most – health, nature, good relationships, being involved in our communities, self-determination, and broadly shared opportunity, etc.. An economy and culture focused maniacally on profit, growth, and marketplace values marginalizes what we hold most dear.

-There are many options for structuring our economic life and that they can coexist. Buying and selling in a marketplace using a single currency is just one option. There’s barter, time banking, sharing, gifting, free markets, alternative currencies, and more. These can co-exist and complement each other in an ecosystem.

-For the designers out there, that levels of trust and the scale of the social system can be a guide as to which method of exchange is optimal. For friends, family or high trust communities, a gift economy or generalized reciprocity works well. For national and global trade, widely accepted currencies work well. At the city or regional scale, barter, time banks, and alternative currencies can work. Your design choices also depend on your social goals.

-That there’s a lot of activity in developing the alternative economy, but it’s early in the game. Much work is needed to strengthen the movement. It’s up to us to create what serves us best.

-That there are many opportunities for us to jump in. For instance, Heather, Rick, and Amy are hosting a Festival of Grassroots Economics in Oakland on September 26th at Humanist Hall, 390 27th near Broadway. They need volunteers. I hope you volunteer or at least attend. Here’s the link to the festival: http://www.jasecon.org

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The next meeting is September 17th. The topic is Beyond Awkward: Dating & Relationships Strategies That Bring Joy & Confidence. We’ll be sharing World Cafe style how to do better in dating and relationships.

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