Event Updates

An open letter to 2010 Web of Change attendees:

Thank you for joining us in September at the 10th Web of Change. We deeply value the time and investment you made to attend. As anchors of the conference -- the people who produced it -- we want to share with you our reflections about this unique year, and get your thoughts on where we are going from here.

At the conference, and afterward on the listserv, we’ve talked a lot about innovation, taking risks and challenging each other and our sector to be better. In that same spirit, WOC 2010 was very much an innovation, and we get that not all of it worked as we had anticipated. This is what we want to explore with you.

In the next few days, 105 members of the Web of Change community will all start journeys to Cortes Island for Web of Change 10:10.

We come from far and near. We come as campaigners, organizers, practitioners, technologists, facilitators and artists. We come to build the connections that will nurture the self reflection, ideas and collaborations required for us to make the transformational change we seek in our world.

If you are unable to attend this year's conference, please stay connected with the conversations we are having through the thought bomb series -- a series of reflections written by this year's hosts and anchors. Also follow #webofchange and look out for onsite responses to the discussions on the blog.

As we enjoy the last week of "official" summer, the warm weather continues to hold on the west coast, which bodes well for enjoying long lunches on the ocean-side deck at Web of Change in a month.

You may have heard some cool buzz about WOC this year. Like the distributed leadership model with 8 new people co-managing as anchors. Or how they and our 2010 hosts are producing "thought bombs" to share their big questions for the year. Or maybe that we have so much momentum, 10 years on, that we sold out in July (though the wait list is still open!).

Web of Change has quickly filled up with nearly 100 super smart and engaged leaders working at the intersection of technology and social change. 

While we have nearly hit capacity, we are still taking names for our waitlist. To get on the waitlist, please call Hollyhock at 1-800-933-6339. We will contact waitlisted registrants as soon as space becomes available.

Jocelyn Harmon
Director of Business Development, Care2

Idea: Race and Ethnicity Matter Online
It's no secret that we are undergoing a huge demographic shift in the United States.  The Census Bureau estimates that by 2042 (some have revised the estimate to 2050), we will be a "majority-minority" nation.  In fact, in four states - California, New Mexico, Texas and Hawaii - people of color already comprise a majority of the population. 

• What does this mean for us as online community organizers, fundraisers and public policy advocates?
• How will and should our outreach efforts be shaped by the nation’s changing demographics?
• How do we make an economic as well as ethical case for diversity?
• What strategies and tactics can we employ to create more inclusive communities online so that we can realize the "democratizing power" of the Internet?

Shayna Englin
Principal, Englin Consulting

Idea - Better Accountability for Advocacy

We're doing ever-more creative advocacy campaigns that utilize innovative tactics to engage activists in novel ways, but it's not clear that our campaigns are resulting in the change we're trying to make in the world.  How can we make our advocacy campaigns more accountable for real outcomes?

The conversations that happen at Web of Change and the real-world outcomes from those conversations are rooted in big ideas that members of our community -- WOC hosts -- are exploring right now.

Meet three of our hosts and find out what they'll be talking about at Web of Change 10:10.