Wiring the Social Economy is an all day event organized to bring diverse professional groups together to create shared understanding of goals and challenges and to discover possibilities for collaborations.

We’re inviting all community economic development practitioners, social enterprise operators and supporters, community organizations, and members of the social media and technology communities to join us Dec 4th in the heart of Vancouver. Each of these professional groups has organizations, events, and conferences to offer support within their communities. The challenge is the low level of social capital between the groups. The goal of Wiring the Social Economy is to cross-pollinate ideas on challenges, solutions, and best practices between these communities of practice.

Wiring the Social Economy is a project initiated by Steve Williams. Steve works with SAP‘s Corporate Social Responsibility team for Global Technology Donations at the intersection of sustainability, CSR, non-profit and social enterprise, and community economic development. The conference intends to build on themes developed during the recent Vancouver ChangeCamp, namely: How can we help government become more open and responsive to citizens? How can we as citizens organize to get better outcomes ourselves?

We believe that by working together within the principles of community economic development – equity, diversity, collaboration, participation – we collectively have the potential to generate, and accelerate, sustainable community development.

Keynote Speakers:

Carol Madsen
Carol is the Program Manager at Pathways Information Centre in the Four Corners Community Economic and Business Development Building in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, and an instructor at the  SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development. Carol is a passionate speaker and a deep believer in CED principles – she is active on several community boards including the Canadian CED Network, Network of East Vancouver Community Organizations and the Network of Innercity Community Services Society.

Tim Beachy
Tim is the CEO of United Community Services Co-op, a co-operative dedicated to supporting community-based organizations in BC to collaborate where there is public good from their joint action. Tim has over 30 years of experience working with community and non-profit organizations, and believes deeply in co-operative action and preserving the “delicate ecology” of a diverse and thriving community. His hope is that the non-profit sector continues to work in increasingly innovative ways by using technology to enhance face-to-face relationships, and that the non-profit sector recognizes the clout it holds.

Irwin Oostindie
Irwin, the Executive Director of W2, is a Dutch/Canadian artist and administrator doing cultural planning, cultural infrastructure development, and support for a media arts cluster in Vancouver’s inner-city. He is well-versed in social enterprise, having contributed to the building of a coffee house in W2 that trains and employs local residents. Irwin is notable for making great use of technology to connect, encourage, and champion local arts and culture.