It was an honor to attend GCUC Canada 2017 in Vancouver on the weekend of October 4-6th, 2017. We were excited to be a “Fresh-Pressed” Sponsor of what proved to be a gathering of excellence in community building and innovation within Coworking. Like all GCUC Unconferences, we had a unique, one-of-a-kind experience celebrating the unexpected and out of the box big ideas.
An Emphasis on Community
The day started with a warm-up session to get everyone out of their seats. There was a stretch with all of us acting out various spirit animals to raise the energy of the room. Afterward, GCUC Founder Liz Elam welcomed and thanked all of us for attending and helping grow GCUC to be the largest Coworking conference series in the world.
Regarding community, one of the first issues brought up was the need to increase mental health awareness, with a focus on suicide prevention and conducting outreach for fellow Coworkers. Especially in the wake of recent tragedies, it’s important to have a personal stake in the well-being as well as the success of others. This was the reasoning behind the launch of the hashtag #CheckYoMate, a call to action for all members and operators to find ways to better take care of one another.
The presentations continued with an emphasis on driving innovation within community building. The operators of 312 Main, Vancouver’s Centre for Social & Economic Innovation explained their project that involved converting an old 6 story police station into a Coworking facility. The first floor of this facility featured a washroom that was open to anyone wanting to come in off the streets, clean themselves up, and find new job opportunities. They went into detail about people who have done just that and have become employed members of the community.
The Coworking Coast-to-Coast was a series of interviews with various operators, one of which was Shannon Richards from The Two Twenty who is a client of ours, regarding finding new ways to achieve funding and make spaces more collaborative. The Modern Convening presentation featured Jocelyn MacDougall explaining how she built a community based on diversity and attracting niche groups to find a place where they can enjoy their work.
The Future of Work was another interesting presentation explaining free and cost-effective methods for finding resources for members including business tools, capital, as well as health insurance. Another great presentation came from Tony Bacigalupo who explained how one person really can make a difference when getting involved and reaching out. Bacigalupo illustrated the importance of choosing the quality passion and engagement over quantity of people.
Coworking Data & Trends
Carsten Foertsch from Deskmag presented on new statistics and insights based on community. Some of his findings
Some of his findings include:
- Strength of Leads That Come From Community
- Best and Worst Months for Enlisting New Members
- Main Sources for New Members in Coworking Spaces
- Reasons for Choosing Coworking Spaces
- Correlations Between Community and the Quality of Reviews to a Coworking Space
- Metrics on Member Interactions
- Insights into How Coworking Spaces are Used
We were very excited to take part in the conversation and witness firsthand the new innovations in Coworking and community. We are hoping to see more growth as the trend continues to evolve and redefine its horizons. We thank all of you for attending GCUC and stopping by our booth. We had an awesome time collaborating, listening, and showing off our spirit animals.
Couldn’t make GCUC, but wish to learn more about what WUN can do for Coworking and building community? Click the button below to contact us for a free demo.