Schedule for ALT

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We will send you a link in the morning to join the Zoom session for that day. Each session will have its own unique link. If you haven't received it, please check your SPAM folder. If you still haven't received it, please email us at altworklive@gmail.com. See you there!

September 1 / 6-8pm

Session 1:
Big picture thinking and doing

Welcome to ALT/work!
It begins by posing the question - why an alternative? Uh, yeah. The world’s pretty messed up right now. Why is it this way?
More importantly, it doesn’t have to be this way. We’ll begin this session by getting to know each other a bit - we’re better together, after all.
We’ll have lots of space for Q&A, discussion, sharing, learning, connecting and maybe even some music.

The speakers joining us for this session are:

Brett Scott

Brett wrote the book, ‘The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance - Hacking the Future of Money’. He’s an anthropologist and activist, money innovator and critic of the ‘cashless society.’ Check out his ‘Altered States of Monetary Consciousness.’

Jabo Butera

Jabo will share his amazing story. He came to the UK to rebuild his life, overcoming hardship again and again. He started his own successful business and now runs the Diversity Business Incubator, helping others to do the same.

Mary Valiakas

She’s a citizen of the world and aims to ‘reboot Greece’ with the Homeric Games, a sharing economy-based Olympics for innovation. ‘Humanity is at a crossroads’, she says. ‘Can we create a legacy that resonates through the ages?

September 2 / 6-8pm

Session 2:
Building Ourselves Up

What’s your superpower? We’re all human beings capable of doing amazing things if we follow our dreams and build up our skills.
And maybe support one another in the process too. We’ll spend a few minutes getting to know one another.

The speakers joining us for this session are:

Lyndon Forster

Lyndon asks, can we help people develop a sense of wellbeing through playing music, especially the hand pan? The answer is Pankind, the social enterprise he started last year to bring this lovely sound into the lives of children, elders and everyone in between. He's going to play, too!

Alana Bloom

How do we maximise our potential? Learning. So, she started up Enrol Yourself, which offers 6-month Learning Marathons. And she’s part of The Living Projects which is all about people learning land-based skills together. They taught themselves how to build a roundhouse and then built it!

Astrid Arnold

Astrid built the house she and her partner live in. With her own two hands. ‘Nuff said. But there’s more because she started up Touchwood South West teaching women carpentry and building skills so we can build places of our own, too.

Jordan Pierson

He’s Jordan in the Community and he’s started up a few things, all aimed at lifting others to help them reach their potential. He’s overcome some hurdles himself. Now, his little coffee shop is helping young people get some life skills and poised to lead the reinvention of his town’s oldest street.

September 3 / 6-8pm

Session 3:
Life is a Dance, or Maybe a Waffle, or a Wriggle

What is life but energy dancing through matter? OK, super philosophical. But we’re connected with everything - all living beings.
Dance, food, ethics - these things connect us, too. In this session, we’ll ponder these questions together a bit, then hear from our speakers.

The speakers joining us for this session are:

Dr Olivia Champion

She’s a scientist who raises worms for use as an ethical alternative to medical testing on mammals. How did she come up with the idea to build a business with larvae and ethically advance the progress of medical science?

Toby Gorniak MBE

Toby been transforming lives through hip hop and street dance for years, developing a meaningful livelihood and making Street Factory CIC a bright pulse of energy in the Plymouth cityscape. They’ve got an international reputation, too.

Matt Smith

The waffler in chief, Matt is developing a business built on Liege waffles, obvs, and connecting people who are otherwise isolated and lonely. There have been challenges, of course, but the Community Waffle House is making a real difference.

September 8 / 6-8pm

Session 4:
Doing the Right Thing

Just, equitable, fair, abundant opportunities for everyone to thrive and live with dignity - that’s a pretty good start on how things should be.
We know the world and our own species isn’t that - yet! So, what inspires us to get up off the couch
and make our vision for a better world a reality? This huge question starts us off.

The speakers joining us for this session are:

Fiona Rourke

An artist who lept into action, mobilising her colleagues and community to produce badly needed PPE for NHS health care workers. Her knowledge of textiles, 3-d and design were just what was needed in this crisis. What can we learn from her experience?

Maia Thomas

With incredible courage, Maia launched Black Live Matter in Exeter. Knowing there would be racists determined to cause trouble and threaten violence, it was the right thing to do. She was called and she answered. We can’t wait to hear more.

Joseph Rose

How does change happen? From the outside and the inside. Joseph Rose ran for office and was elected by a landslide and maybe the youngest councillor ever elected in South Hams. Now he's working for change from the inside AND on the outside as a supporter Fridays for the Future.

September 9 / 6-8pm

Session 5:
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step

Yes, but sometimes that step is into the vast unknown! How do you start something up, like where do you even begin? And what if you fail?
FFS, these are important questions, right? We’ll share our thoughts and discuss a bit amongst ourselves, then hear some real-world stories.
This session will inspire lots of questions about diving in and start up, so we’ll have lots of space for that, and getting connected with each other, too.
** We’re lining up a group of young entrepreneurs and a special guest. We’ll be announcing soon!
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The speaker joining us for this session is:

Friedel Fink

'Whoops! I just started a social enterprise!' So, that happened. Friedel became an accidental entrepreneur, founding Big Sis CIC to give girls the tools and support they need to have great relationships with themselves and others. A very cool story.

Sean White

What happens when you mix stand up paddleboarding, co-working cafe, the best coffee, tasty food, chill vibe, sustainability, right on the water in the Riviera? Super cool WeSup. Sean has cool story about it, too. Come check it out.

Johannes Moeller

Johannes started up EdVenture From, a huge undertaking to begin with. But the whole purpose of EdVenture was to try a new method for facilitating groups of young people to start cool new businesses. Like the Community Fridge and Share: LIbrary of Things, and the latest, an electric cargo bike company.

September 10 / 6-8pm

Session 6:
Party like it’s not 2020!

Every revolution worth having is a celebration, a fun celebration of life and living, a reLOVEution?
In any case, we’re going to have music, death, food, and music, the key ingredients for a life lived in celebration - not necessarily in that order!
This session will be one of our last chances to connect, speak our minds, ask questions, get connected with answers. But it won’t be the end . . .
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The speakers joining us for this session are:

Kate Rudman

Kate saw the community around her becoming more unequal and young people falling into traps of poverty and despair. Inspired by her love of radio she thought, what if? And with her co-founders started up Sound Communities, a social enterprise training young people in the radio arts - DJs, too - giving them a start. And some hope.

Sima Cutting

She’s a resilient, smart and adaptable woman, leading her localist and sustainable catering company into the hearts of every event organiser and wedding planner in South Devon. She made delicious food for the biggest parties in town and is loved by the community.

Rupert Callender

He’s the co-founder of the Green Funeral company, a music aficionado, cultural critic and an eloquent philosopher of death. And he’s pals with KLF, working with them on the Pyramid of Death. He will have amazing things to say, sending us off to whatever is next.

Guest DJs

we’ll have some guest DJs doing some remote mixing.

Have your say

ALT/overtime

ALT/overtime is an extra 30 minutes to carry on discussion, hear from additional presenters, ‘open mic’, networking, etc. Some sessions will be fizzy, emotional, heady, so this is a chance to let things go where they might need to go. Want to present something here? DM us on our Instagram @altwork.live

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Register for the online event

Speaker Schedule