By Helena Hornby, Head of Campaigns, Social Media, and Internal Communications, Staffordshire County Council
I love a bit of organised chaos. That’s what an unconference feels like to me. A whirlwind of activity with people sharing brilliant ideas for sessions, splitting off to discuss the juicy topics they really want to, then coming away fired up and fizzing with ideas.
Like Marty and Doc planning how to get back to the future from 1955 with a bolt of lightning!
Let me rewind a moment before I go off at 88 miles an hour.
Unconference. What is that? For the uninitiated, an unconference, or open space technology, is a way for people to create and manage their own agenda of sessions around a central theme.
What’s great about this kind of event is that the content is totally driven by the people in the room. Anyone can suggest a topic and lead the session, so it’s what’s relevant to real communicators, at that very moment. And it can lead to an eclectic mix of subjects.
It’s an opportunity for open discussions and collaborative problem solving. Want to get others’ thoughts on your internal comms strategy? Pitch a session. Team of one looking to workshop ideas for a campaign with other comms pros? Pitch a session. Fancy chatting about WhatsApp as a channel? Pitch a session!
I’ve been to a fair few unconferences, and I have always enjoyed the experience. Although I’ve never known what will come up on the day, I enjoy hearing people’s ideas for sessions, usually have an idea of my own to pitch, and definitely come away with useful insights I can apply to my work. Plus, it’s great for networking; I always come away with new connections that continue long after the conference ends.
If you think it sounds up your street, then why not come along to this year’s LGcomms Academy in Wigan this October. I’m on the planning group of the executive committee, and when it was suggested that we add an unconference element, I jumped at the chance to organise it.
This theme of this year’s academy is ‘back to the future’ (now it makes sense!) and the agenda has the potential to be one of our best ever with some inspiring speakers and workshops lined up for delegates.
The committee love putting together the conference agenda, but this is the first time we’ve ever handed over part of the event to you – our comms colleagues – to shape yourselves. Just like Doc Brown’s ingenious flux capacitor was the key to time travel, you are at the essential component to help propel us into the future of communications!
If you fancy jumping in your DeLorean (or train) to Wigan, then grab your ticket before 31 July to take advantage of our early bird rate.
Book your ticket to LGComms Academy 2024
Helena Hornby is Head of Campaigns, Social Media, and Internal Communications at Staffordshire County Council. She’s a former Future Leader, and a member of the LGComms Executive Committee. She’d quite like to travel back to 1955, or even 1885.