Providence & Beyond Program for 2009

Past Events

FREE April 30th Social - 4:00 to 6:00pm at 545 Pawtucket Ave- the new home of New Commons
We will share our new studio space and briefly preview the 2009 and 2010 program.  Food and refreshments will be served.  You are welcome to come without being a formal member.

May 14 and July 16 learning cafés - 8:30 am to 11:30am at 545 Pawtucket Ave
Robert Leaver will present some provocations for you to consider in café conversations.  These provocations will be drawn from other next economy practitioners as well as his writing.  The objective is to get us thinking about the essence of what has to be in place to evolve local and regional economies.

We will use a slightly different cafe format. It is modeled after what I experienced last June at the James Hillman symposium in Pittsburgh.  Instead of a movie, some slides will be shown with content you can confirm, challenge or add to.  All cafe tables work with the same material. Each round would have no more than few slides.  For the two upcoming cafés there would be 2 topical rounds:

May 14, 2009 Cafe: Was a success read our blog post from the event.

• What is the next local and regional economies/why they matter?

• What needs doing: a list of requisite innovative products and services to create the next economy?

July 16, 2009 Cafe:  Lots of conversation about what is the economy, read our blog post from the event.

• What composes a healthy ecosystem to unfold the next economy such as entrepreneurs, provocateurs, network leaders, and so on?
• What new tools will be used: self-employment or1099's, business cooperatives, shared resource units, sweat equity (more than cash is the norm)?

In each round all tables have 6 minutes to confirm, challenge or add to the content.  After each round, then there is an open discussion in the whole room. Read our blog post that recorded the conversation live

Learning Café with Social Entrepreneur Doug Hammond 

Thursday, November 19, 8:30 - 11:30 am, see our blog post on the cafe discussion.

Retrospective and Social

Thursday December 3, 4 - 6 pm

A look back in 2009 and forward to 2010 with a short movie by John Speck of what stands out in our thinking, linking and doing.  And of course we will have food, libations and hang out.

2010: John Abrams on Re-inventing Small Business

Thursday, January 21, 2010, 8:30 - 11:30 am Register here

John will talk about the role of business in shaping communities such as Martha's Vineyard and the emergence of business cooperatives as a step toward economic democracy.  This is John's new passion.

John is the CEO of South Mountain a design/build business cooperative on Martha's Vineyard and the author of: Companies We Keep: Employee Ownership and the Business of Community and Place.Click here to go to his blog