Treetown Tech LLC’s Post

The biggest societal issues of today are demanding new levels of collaboration and innovation, especially in the rural communities across the Midwest. While there is much passion to improve the many challenges facing our communities, it remains difficult to create sustainable change when working alone. So how can we transform these shared problems into shared opportunities? At #kinect we have found that when passion and will become interwoven with relationships, connections, and a shared vision, the ‘impossible’ becomes POSSIBLE.

A story from our lab by founder Wouter Smeets: Are you working in your zone of genius? It’s that place where purpose, passion and excellence meet, fuelling life with energy and inspiration. My purpose is to help people live inspired lives, with deep curiosity and care for the world around us. I’m passionate about exploring ideas, bringing them to life and helping others do the same. When I help people find more meaning in life, I find more meaning too. It’s why I started Life-Centric Work Lab. Bringing people together to explore and implement ideas around work that will enrich our lives and the world around us. It leverages my strengths: exploring ideas, innovation and inspiration. There are potential pitfalls too. Being an introvert, I often need to recharge alone with a lot of time and space to reflect on my ideas. Acting as a community manager handling the day-to-day operations in our lab would be a huge drain of my energy. That's why I approach building Life-Centric Work Lab less as a community, and more as an innovation hub. My focus is to provide likeminded changemakers with what they need to explore ideas and run experiments together. From the beginning, I try to cultivate a space where members feel invited, encouraged and trusted to build the lab with me. I want to help members tap into their zone of genius, while keeping all lines from leading to me. Of course, not everything goes as intended. There’s a lot of trial and error. But I'm very grateful for the developments of the past week. Founding members Ana Amaral and Richard De La Rosa became the guardians of our Celebrations and Conversations space, taking the lead in helping these parts of the lab flourish and grow. I’m excited to see how these spaces will develop! Carlos Cole designed and facilitated a wonderful workshop on Essentialism: exploring an approach to work that creates more value in every aspect of life with less work. I can't wait to explore and co-create more around the topic of Essentialism in our lab! For now, I leave you with two questions to reflect on: 1) What is your zone of genius? 2) What are doing and not doing to navigate to your zone of genius? PS: interested in exploring ideas that enrich life with us? > send a DM to Wouter Smeets

October marks Microsoft's annual #GIVE month, emphasizing empowerment through technology. I'm privileged to serve on the Board of Directors for Urban Arts Partnership in NYC, an organization steadfast in the belief that a quality education shouldn't depend on a child’s zip code, bridging educational gaps with arts and technology for underrepresented students. The impact is tangible: $16M in scholarships earned, a diverse talent pipeline for leading media and tech industries, and 93% of teachers endorsing the engaging computer science curriculum. Furthermore, with 92% students of color and 90% from low-income households, we're fostering a new, diverse generation of tech-savvy creators, significantly impacting the tech and creative sectors. The synergy between Microsoft's mission and Urban Arts' endeavors is inspiring, both aiming to cultivate a generation of empowered creators. I invite you to discover Urban Arts Partnership's transformative work and consider supporting the mission. Your involvement can significantly amplify the reach, fostering a richer educational landscape for countless students. https://lnkd.in/em3VjPCE

We talk a lot about echo chambers. A 'see dissimilar posts' feature is coming to X, which will directly encourage users to seek diverse perspectives rather than always highlighting similar ones based on their platform behaviours and engagement. https://lnkd.in/eSiPgJ4S

Looking for collaborative, inspired, community learning to honor and celebrate the upcoming Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday? Check out these experiences https://lnkd.in/g7uAEGmJ led by HandsOn Twin Cities and sponsored by General Mills, Target, The Woke Coach, LLC, and REM5 STUDIOS for Good. As a multi-year, MLK-week 1 City. 2 Realities facilitator, I highly recommend the accessible, free, eye-opening "1 City. 2 Realities." -https://lnkd.in/gER_RnhS, the world's first truly virtual exhibition space highlighting racial inequalities in our nation and community. Minneapolis has long thrived on the reputation of being one of the "Best Places To Live" in the country, while at the same time, has one of the largest racial inequality gaps in the nation. Through photos, videos, audio clips, and data visualizations, this virtual exhibition highlights this reality to help us get past "Minnesota Nice" and into the place where we can address the systemic inequality in our community head-on. You will use an avatar and roam freely to consume content, engage socially, and emotionally connect. You can also meet with friends and colleagues in the space to navigate together. Registrants who sign up before January 11 will receive instructions and access to the virtual reality exhibit on Friday, January 12 at 9 am to explore the exhibit at your leisure until Sunday, January 21. If you register between January 13 - January 19 you will receive your link the following week. This virtual exhibition can be accessed by anyone with a computer and internet from their own home or workplace. If you're interested in this experience for a group or your team, please contact Tori Hansen at tori@handsontwincities.org. #leadership #learninganddevelopment #socialimpact #socialconnectedness #twincities

❓What if art was defined by the way people came together to make the “impossible,” possible? ❓What if the creation of a personal invitation became an art form to solve complex challenges? Kinect M1 celebrates the “Artistry of the Human Dynamic” to Build Communities+ of the Future©️. Click the link below ⬇️ to learn about navigating the art of human relationships with #kinectm1. ** 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘶𝘴 @https://lnkd.in/gCfUHk-y

The personal invitation matters. The way people come together matters. The space in which they gather matters. What will they do together? What for? Why should they be there? What will it matter? To see, to acknowledge, and to recognize another for the piece to the puzzle they hold is the first step. The challenge in the work comes in the need to develop new mental models of HOW people work together. It’s one of the biggest challenges facing communtities, organizations, and countries today. It takes an artform to build interdependency and thriving conditions so that all have the opportunity to succeed. #kinectm1

"It's an entire community that needs to stand up and say, okay what can I do to help participate." 🙋 In our eighth episode of #InTheStudio with 325 we're joined by Samuel Rowser the Executive Director of On Point for College. Tune in below to hear our conversation about On Point's work in the community, the importance of education, and passionate community building! 🙌 https://lnkd.in/eUSJ6iU3

As James Baldwin said, "The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through the vast forest so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place." Before IDEAS xLab’s formal inception as an organization, this belief inspired the creation of an art exhibition program - IDEAS 40203 (International Dialogue and Engagement Art Space + zip code) - by artist and Culture Futurist™ ✨Theo Edmonds and Brooklyn-based Residency Unlimited in 2012. The program connected Kentucky, New York, and international artists through quarterly exhibits, while also providing hybrid programming for artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs to intentionally engage each other in co-creating a search of shared connections and futures. Originally located in the Old Louisville Chamber of Commerce, IDEAS 40203 embarked to expand the role of artists in society – as catalytic forces whose creativity and artistic practices could unleash new realities, realize new forms of value, and spur collaboration across sectors. This included artists outside the organization, and inside. Since its launch, IDEAS xLab has been led and run by artists from different backgrounds and disciplines. Read more in IDEAS xLab's 10 Year Anniversary Report: https://ideasxlab.com/home #artists #catalyticforces #jamesbaldwin #ideasxlab #creativity #collaboration #report

📢Calling all changemakers, good troublemakers, and innovators in Greater Boston: If you want to join a dynamic multi-racial, cross-class, intergenerational community of peers, apply to GenUnity's Fall Fellowship programs! Too rarely do we find space to connect across difference on the issues that matter most - to foster collaboration between those experiencing local issues (e.g., housing insecurity) and those working to tackle it. GenUnity is creating that space, and we invite you to join us! Our fall programs will deep dive into the housing crisis and health inequities driving Boston's 23-year life expectancy gap. You'll gain a deeper understanding of why problems persist and build the relationships and capacity to drive change. See the links in the comments to apply by May 24th, nominate a friend, or sign up for our newsletter! #greaterboston #civicleadership #community