Solutions Twin Cities
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Will you launch your idea as a business or non-profit?
Non-Profit
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Solutions Twin Cities
Describe Your Idea
What is your idea? What makes it innovative? Why is it important?
Changemakers around the world share a common drive to make the world a better place, but many have nowhere to physically gather, share their ideas, or connect with others in their geographic community. Solutions Twin Cities was founded to create a multi-faceted platform in which local communities can support and foster innovation and positive change. We do this through storytelling - inviting changemakers to share their ideas at live events and then disseminating them globally through online social media. By making local ideas and the people behind them real to the communities they serve, we inspire the public to get involved in shaping their world.
Nothing online compares to what can happen when people meet face to face. The web has allowed for an unlimited diversity of minds and ideas to self organize into global communities and our events aim to create that same diversity, excitement, and conversation in a live setting. What makes our idea so innovative is that we are translating what's best about social interaction on the web into a live event and then completing the loop by posting new media back onto the web for other viewers to interact with.
Solutions Twin Cities events are a rapid-fire exchange of ideas consisting of short-format, media-rich presentations. Our events connect the public to a cross-section of cutting edge ideas and existing solutions from local changemakers. Our events inspire, educate, and entertain.
Not only is each event a live celebration of future-positive creativity, it is an opportunity to create lasting positive media around such work. Often, changemakers are so focused on their work, they haven't given much thought to how they would tell their story to the public. We provide the vital design and communication skills that help them tell their story in the most effective way possible. Each presentation is then filmed and produced for release on the web, becoming a catalyst for further exploration, this time with a global audience.
What will be the impact of your idea?
By highlighting local changemakers and connecting people to positive work being done in their own back yards, our events inspire people to take action and make a difference in their communities. By unearthing this kind of work, we are putting the abstract concept of changemaking into very concrete terms. Time and again we receive notes from attendees that they were inspired to rethink their connection to a more common good.
This connection making continues through online media created at each event. Though the content is locally focused, the ideas are applicable the world over. We have seen videos from just one event attract over 72,000 views online, showing that people everywhere are hungry for focused, positive media.
By acting as a public face for this kind of work, we are able to navigate traditional media (radio, TV, newspaper) and provide featured projects added exposure. After our first event a producer for Minnesota Public Radio's All Things Considered thanked us for giving him a handful of great leads to investigate. One presenter got a call from MPR that night and a multi-media segment was underway within the week.
Imagine the potential change in consciousness that could happen if great ideas are unearthed and made visible to local people and then shared globally. We hope that as the event spreads we will foster a globally connected community of changemakers that will continue to inspire as we have seen happen here in the Twin Cities.
This Entry is about (Issues)
People: We are looking for ideas from people who can make them happen.
Our passion for sharing stories of world-changing work is inspired by those around us and a need to share that inspiration with others. As co-directors, we both hold degrees in architecture from the University of Minnesota's College of Design and both work at architecture firms specializing in affordable and supportive housing. Before we founded Solutions Twin Cities we were long-time members of Architecture for Humanity: Minnesota, responding to needs both locally and abroad.
In 18 months we've been able to highlight over 70 unique projects through 6 major events, curated an exhibit on new forms of mapping, hosted a handful of creative social activities, and partnered with a variety of established institutions such as The Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Science Debate 2008, the Walker Art Center, and Intermedia Arts. Parallel to this we have archived each event for the web and are in the process of making it all accessible online.
The response from the media, our peers, and the public has been overwhelmingly positive. We've done this all without any major funding, relying instead on event specific partnerships and in-kind donations. Over time we have formed working relationships with a highly skilled pool of similarly-minded individuals in varied fields who all volunteer their time to the project. What we have accomplished in such a short time and with such limited resources is a testament to our dedication to building this into a thriving community resource.
How much will it cost to launch your idea?
In the past 18 months, we've become experts at doing a lot with very little. Given the resources provided by this grant we would be able to focus full time on creating programs and events that strengthen our growing community in the Twin Cities, developing our online media to make these ideas more accessible to a global audience, and begin exploring ways to bring this concept to cities around the world.
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