From Calcutta to Buenos Aires, Buea to Trujillo, Brooklyn to Lagos, people are meeting in coffee shops, churches, office buildings, and homes to talk about how to make their communities better. It's beginning to sink in, sitting here in our office, that this new global network is taking its first steps today. Thank you all for doing this!
Our friends in tech-land have created an amazing wiki to support their meeting (with agendas, resources, videos, and a list of participants), and last week they had to find a new space for the meeting because more than 60 people had signed up for it. You guys rock!
As meetings are happening around the world, the first reports are starting to come in with people's thoughts and impressions. This came in from Kendra, who hosted a meeting in Brooklyn:
Meeting In New York This Week
"Our meeting tonight made me believe that change is possible and gave me a stronger sense of community than I have ever felt in the last 5 1/2 years I have lived in New York. I feel inspired, motivated, connected, and not as small and alone as before. Brave, even.
I know you must be thrilled with the impact of this initiative in terms of number of meetings, variety of countries participating, etc., but do you know what an absolutely essential and wonderful thing you have done beyond those specifics?
There are so many people who want to create change, who want to help, but need someone to say to them "Do it now." By whispering this voice of immediate action into the ears of everyone connected to the Idealist website, you've allowed us to turn and whisper into the ears of others, and on, and on. The network you've created simply by saying "Do it now" is a beautiful thing, and now that we've started, can we really in good conscience abandon all the hopeful things we're all discussing this week? We just can't; we have to create the change we talked about tonight.
Wasn't it Ghandi who said that we have to embody the change we wish to see in this world? By creating this initiative, you have done that, and passed it on to thousands of others.
I want offer my deepest gratitude to all of you at Idealist for saying "Do it now," for inspiring this worldwide conversation that I hope will turn into worldwide activity. What you have done is deceptively simple, but it's what many people have been needing for a long, long time. We thank you."
Kingsley Ukwaja writes from Sokoto, in northern Nigeria:
"Our meeting was great here in Sokoto and we had a great time. We had 33 people in attendance. All determined to change the world and their enviroment, with people interested in politics, social works, prisons and health (like me). I will send more comments soon!"
Matt on our staff just got off the phone, and emailed all of us this message:
"I just got off the phone with Arsen (and Vahan, and some other attendees), who is hosting the start-up meeting that's happening in Armenia today. It's taking place in the capital city, Yerevan, at the Education for Sustainable Development Foundation.
Arsen said that he had contacted this organization to see if he host hold the meeting in their space, and, not only did they say yes, but they helped him with outreach as well. I was passed around to several people who had just arrived at the meeting, and it was quite a diverse bunch. One attendee said that he wanted to "express his gratitude to Idealist for the great idea" to get local people together this way.
Think about it...right now, there is a group of people in Armenia (and other places, of course) representing civil society, the NGO community, higher education, and local businesses who have come together to talk about what they can do to make the world a better place! He said they'll be sending pictures and a summary/press release of what was discussed at their meeting."
The hosts from Paris, France, and Sokode, in Togo, just wrote to say that their meetings were great, and that they will be sending more comments and photos soon. Merci!
As stories and photos come in from all over the world, we are sitting here happy, moved, excited, and a bit stunned.
From a meeting in Lagos, Nigeria
Last night we had a meeting with over 200 people at the Wagner School in New York, and we left convinced that this is all possible: Working together we can make a big difference, and we can do it now.
Over the next few days we'll be sharing many more photos and stories here, and during the week of March 12-18 we'll do another set of meetings around the world. We hope you can join us!
In the midst of all this start-up meeting excitement, we've also been busy planning the Idealist Campus Conference, which is less than 6 weeks away! We're thrilled to announce that our keynote speakers and concert performers have been confirmed. The lineup for the all-conference opening at Navy Pier features:
Stephanie Nyombayire, Keynote Speaker
* Words of wisdom from Stephanie Nyombayire, a Swarthmore College student who represents the Genocide Intervention Network, as well as our very own Ami Dar.
* "Afro-Diasporic Groovalicious Funkadociousness" via artist-activists Soulfege.
And that's just the beginning of what promises to be an exhilarating weekend of cross-border, cross-issue connection. Want in? Register now, and visit our Play a Role page to learn about all the ways you can be involved, from co-facilitating a Cooperative Group discussion to leading a workshop on a topic you propose.
And be sure to stick around for the closing event at DePaul University's Merle Reskin Theatre, which will spotlight:
* Calls to action and stories of connection from Eboo Patel, Ashoka fellow and founder of the Chicago-area Interfaith Youth Core, and...
Social networks are a great way to connect people online and spread the word about something new, so we are building Idealist communities in both of these places.
If you're on MySpace, add us as a friend at Myspace.com/idealists. We also have a group blog there where Idealist staff members post about everything that's happening around the organization.
If you're on Facebook, join our "I am an Idealist" group as we try to build the largest Facebook group around creating a better world for everyone. 850 of us are already there!
And if you have the time, it would be great if you could post a bulletin about Idealist on MySpace, or invite your friends to join "I am an Idealist" on Facebook. Thank you!
In a newspaper article this week, Berit Mason talks about how he used Idealist to find a great volunteer opportunity:
ZAKYNTHOS ISLAND, Greece —Imagine summertime Greece on a gorgeous island — free accommodations with magnificent views, and one-on-one time with endangered sea turtles... I have a high regard for the environment and I adore animals. I also crave flying leaps into the unknown. Applying at www.idealist.org, I was soon accepted to volunteer for the Mediterranean Sea Turtle Association in Athens.... MORE
During the week of February 5-11, 300 people in 70 countries hosted a series of start-up meetings to help launch a global network of people who want to work with others for a better community and a better world.
A big meeting in New York
See these great photos from meetings in Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Singapore, Uganda, Uruguay, and the U.S.
The next series of meetings will take place during the week s of March 12-18 and April 23-29, and it would be great if you could participate. Learn more about this initiative, see what people are saying about it, and see if you can host or attend a meeting where you are. Thank you!
