Unconference for Social Good
Chiang Mai
Thank you to all the volunteers and attendees that made the event an amazing success!
February 23rd, 2013
Connecting Travelers, IT experts and Business Professionals with Non-Profit Organizations in S.E. Asia.
Join like minded professionals in a day of idea sharing, networking and collaboration to seek more effective ways of helping the most disadvantaged in the world.
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand, MarbleArch
Background
Business has undergone a major transformation in the last two decades. The dream of a couple people working on a startup in a garage and reaching the world has become more viable than ever. A laptop and internet connection are often the only ingredients necessary to bring world changing technologies to market.
The ethos of the start up and programming cultures are starting to have a massive impact on the social good sector as well. However, the culture of sharing, collaboration and the focus on action over planning are not widespread yet.
Attend the Unconference for Social Good in Chiang Mai to push the conversation further.
What can we do now to help alleviate the social problems that still exist in the world?
Topics like lean start ups, agile business practices, bootstrapping, minimum viable products, crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, open source, A/B testing, social media marketing, networking and collaboration will be discussed in the context of making the world a better place.
What is an Unconference?
Unconferences invert the normal conference format by facilitating the creation of an agenda at the event. Participants form their own discussion groups rather than relying on pre-arranged speakers and scheduled breakout sessions.
Unconferences start with the premise that everyone attending has something to contribute and are structured to share that knowledge and talent. The result is a more dynamic and engaging event!
For more details on the Unconference format, we recommend the Wikipedia article on “Open Space Technology”.
Potential Topics and Themes
How can travelling professionals better find volunteer opportunities to put their technical skills to work?
Voluntourism is becoming an ugly word. Short-term travellers can often be more of a burden than they are worth to a local organization that doesn’t have the time to train and supervise an influx of visitors.
At the same time, there are highly skilled professionals that could add huge value to struggling organizations in areas ranging from photography to web development. The problem is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to find good organizations to contribute to. We can improve this situation.
How can we create a comprehensive database of non-profit organizations to better serve funders, and attract volunteers?
There are countless individuals and organizations doing really amazing things all over Asia. The problem is that it is very difficult to discover these organizations. A comprehensive directory of non-profits, with up-to-date listings of their immediate requirements will help to ensure that more social problems are addressed, more effectively.
With more collaboration and cooperation we can all achieve more.
Sharing ideas and best practices can help all organizations achieve more. The startup and IT communities, have a very open culture of sharing, open source technologies, collaboration, joint ventures and partnerships. The business world is learning to collaborate because it generates better results. The non-profit world has yet to embrace these new economy work processes.
How can the tens of millions of tourists and expanding business and digital nomad communities be better leveraged to solve pressing social issues?
Chiang Mai is the digital nomad capital of the world. Countless, IT, marketing, blogging and business professionals live here or travel through the region on a regular basis. Coordinated campaigns can raise more money for good causes and better utilize valuable skill sets to make social good initiatives more effective.
Why You Should Attend?
Connecting with motivated, intelligent and good people is valuable in and of itself. Meaningful conversations with people who are trying to make a difference in the world is what it means to be human.
Learn new ideas. No single person or organization has all the answers. Learn from the knowledge and experiences of others.
Collaboration. More can be accomplished collaboratively, than individually. Meet and connect with people that are on the front lines of serving the most disadvantaged in Asia. Non-profits can build relationships with marketing, business and IT experts that can make enormous contributions to their organizations.
Network. Rich connections with a broad spectrum of talented professionals is invaluable. Great people will be in the room. Get to know them.