Solutions Volume 1 Recap
Saturday, May 26, 2007
We are nothing if not timely. It's been over three weeks since Solutions Volume 1 and we are just now catching our breath long enough to recap and review the past 6 months. Before we get into that, we'd like to point you towards George Byron Griffiths' beautiful photographs from the night and also Jeremy Stratton's article "Saving the World - In Less Than 7 Minutes" - both offer a better perspective of what Volume 1 was all about then we could hope to crib together ourselves (though that won't stop us from trying!).
Over the past 6 months, and the entire process of putting Solutions Volume 1 together, we have gone through a tremendous learning curve. Every step of the way we had to teach ourselves, make decisions, and then troubleshoot. If we rewind to the day of the event, May 2nd, we had what will probably prove to be our biggest learning experience yet. Afternoon snags and a severe underestimation of time constraints meant that we didn't arrive at our own event until about 7pm - precisely as doors were officially opening to the public! Luckily, we had some amazing volunteers who obviously didn't need much help from us to get the Southern Theater in full party mode.
Shaky start averted, the rest of the night went off better then we could have hoped for. At 8pm we got things started by stammering wide eyed and speechless in front of the 250 people that showed up before passing the mic to our very capable emcee for the night, Jeff Gallo. All of the presenters handled the challenging format gracefully and with style. As we both know from experience, 6 minutes and 40 seconds is not a very long amount of time, even less so when you have something important to say. Many kept crib notes or even wrote their speeches out, timing them perfectly to the 20-second rhythm of the slides. While others relied on what we can only assume was hours of practice and preparation.
From one presentation to the next, we were at the edge of our seat (or pillow) and were constantly in awe of their great work, amazing dedication, and hopeful vision of the future on display. As the night progressed you could feel the energy of the crowd intensify; ideas were flowing, inspiration was heavy in the air, and as the final 6 minutes and 40 seconds wrapped up, it was time for connections to be made. The audience filtered down to the stage to meet with presenters and learn more about what they were doing. They exchanged ideas, gathered information, and continued the conversation with fellow audience members. Some people found it hard to put their thoughts into words without adequate time to digest what they had just seen - something we think we can address in Volume 2.
Yep, Volume 2. The name has always implied it, but through ticket sales, drink purchases, and generous donations we are happy to announce that Volume 2 is officially in the works. The fact that 250 of you attended our first event supports our claim that people in the Twin Cities and surrounding area are not only ready for change, but are ready to be engaged and actively participate in that change. We'd like to thank everybody that came out; we hope you had a great night. You made it a night we will never forget.
Over the past 6 months, and the entire process of putting Solutions Volume 1 together, we have gone through a tremendous learning curve. Every step of the way we had to teach ourselves, make decisions, and then troubleshoot. If we rewind to the day of the event, May 2nd, we had what will probably prove to be our biggest learning experience yet. Afternoon snags and a severe underestimation of time constraints meant that we didn't arrive at our own event until about 7pm - precisely as doors were officially opening to the public! Luckily, we had some amazing volunteers who obviously didn't need much help from us to get the Southern Theater in full party mode.
Shaky start averted, the rest of the night went off better then we could have hoped for. At 8pm we got things started by stammering wide eyed and speechless in front of the 250 people that showed up before passing the mic to our very capable emcee for the night, Jeff Gallo. All of the presenters handled the challenging format gracefully and with style. As we both know from experience, 6 minutes and 40 seconds is not a very long amount of time, even less so when you have something important to say. Many kept crib notes or even wrote their speeches out, timing them perfectly to the 20-second rhythm of the slides. While others relied on what we can only assume was hours of practice and preparation.
From one presentation to the next, we were at the edge of our seat (or pillow) and were constantly in awe of their great work, amazing dedication, and hopeful vision of the future on display. As the night progressed you could feel the energy of the crowd intensify; ideas were flowing, inspiration was heavy in the air, and as the final 6 minutes and 40 seconds wrapped up, it was time for connections to be made. The audience filtered down to the stage to meet with presenters and learn more about what they were doing. They exchanged ideas, gathered information, and continued the conversation with fellow audience members. Some people found it hard to put their thoughts into words without adequate time to digest what they had just seen - something we think we can address in Volume 2.
Yep, Volume 2. The name has always implied it, but through ticket sales, drink purchases, and generous donations we are happy to announce that Volume 2 is officially in the works. The fact that 250 of you attended our first event supports our claim that people in the Twin Cities and surrounding area are not only ready for change, but are ready to be engaged and actively participate in that change. We'd like to thank everybody that came out; we hope you had a great night. You made it a night we will never forget.
posted by Colin & Troy at
1:55 PM
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