In our hometown
It’s always great – but just a little nerve-wracking – to be asked to draw a subject close to our hearts, or close to home. And the #Winchbiz business unconference in Winchester managed to be both.
The event was the first unconference to be hosted by Winchester City Council and was all about doing business in England’s one-time capital; which just happens to be where Matthew Buck, one of Drawnalism’s directors lives and works.
Fortunately, the full-day meeting in the city’s imposing mock-gothic Guildhall went off well. The 150 attendees were welcomed by Councillor Robert Humby, the portfolio holder for business partnerships. Spotting Drawnalism at work, he joked that he didn’t want to be caricatured. But with a new economic plan to write, he was open to ideas “however whacky.”
This was key as the unconference themes were making the city a premier place to do business. Unconferences are particularly good at delivering the opportunity to be 'Not Business as Usual'.
© Winchester City Council
As Drawnalist Royston Robertson helped the organisers with the all-important session grid; livebloggers Adam Tinworth and Lyn Whitfield got busy working out which sessions to cover for the liveblog at winchbiz.org.
Once the unconference sessions got underway, traffic and parking inevitably emerged as hot topics. This was no surprise to the local team; or to Adam, who had been caught at the “notorious junction 3” of the M3 as he tried to get to the event.
The cost of housing, the loss of small shops, and the lack of space for start-ups and ‘solopreneurs’ also came up. Yet the attendees had lots of good and positive ideas for making the most of “WInchesterness” and activating local businesses to support each other. A design festival and a business festival were mooted. More ambitious sessions tackled youth, diversity, green issues and geolocation.
By the end of the day, Drawnalist Alex Hughes had created a ‘big board’ of themes that ran almost the length of the Guildhall, and Matt and Royston had captured the In the Moment insight from the sessions.
You can see them all here. Drawnalism will be looking out for that economic plan with interest.
Edited: 10th July 2018
We were delighted to see the Drawnalism In the Moment having a very obvious life after the event in this wonderful timelapse video