Community is key
When people ask me what was it that made WeFestival such a success, the answer is the community. It is the people that attended first and foremost. Sure we had great panels that prompted interesting conversations with the hope that people left the event thinking differently because that is what events should do. What we did at the core was create community.
I continue to meet women or hear from women that attended one or several WeFestivals telling me that it was the best conference that they had ever been to and then note that they are still in touch with several people that they met there or that they found their business partner there or that they still do business with the people that they met there. The long tail of those events is something that continues to make me insanely happy.
I am looking at the landscape of female empowerment organizations that are attempting to give advice or help individuals grow in their careers. Or even the landscape of organizations and how they grow. These are all good things as it is great to be able to turn to something that can help make an impact but the long-term success is about community. Creating an interactive community, one that can be authentic and continue to be there for each other and have an ongoing conversation isn’t easy but if there is anything that I have learned from the WeFestival events is that community is key.
Comments (Archived):
A grass roots community is driven by self-powered motivation, and that’s something that is unstoppable.I know the feeling you are getting as I get similar feedback from the Token Summits I run where people tell me they met others and did business with them. Are you thinking about reviving WF?
Perhaps. We will see if the revival will happen.
If only community were scaleable.
I’m not sure it should be. It’s the intimacy of each community. You could be part of several of them. We need each of them for different reasons.
I could not agree more. Community is “community” precisely because it’s not scaleable. I believe strong community is the most critical part of improving the world, and helping more people find the right communities should be a massive focus. Just as zuckerberg says & changed his company’s mission, but I don’t happen to think it’s possible to build community through a screen. I was just saying “there is so so so much good that comes from community, but it’s so hard to create. Props to the work WeFestivals did”
I know it is challenging to put on a conference, but I loved the WeFestival! Great group of women and presenters. I am in touch with a few women from the last event, and it is fantastic to see their businesses grow.
And the community works….