BCC seeking entrepreneurial young people for youth week stalls

Youth Week should be a reasonable event for Brisbane this year as we’re hosting the National Launch, the State launch at Ideas Festival and having a local event (after all the launches!).

I would have loved to have been able to link to the National Launch details, but the national site is down… will update when it comes through. But I’m ahead of the State Government website – they haven’t even linked to their own event yet!

Brisbane City Council seems to realise the launch end of the week is quite well covered and is going to run an event at the tail end. Here’s the details:

Loud in the Library
Featuring: Youth Arts Showcase and Enterprise Market Day

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
FOR MARKET STALLS

Date: Saturday 4 April
Time: 11am – 3pm
Venue: Reddacliffe Place (at the top of Queen Street)

The Youth Arts Showcase will include performances by young people (12-25) in theatre, dance, and music, as well as a flea market where young designers, artists, and producers can sell their crafts and wares to the general public.

The event is open to individual young artists and to youth services in Brisbane that work creatively with young people to have the opportunity to showcase their work, sell their wares, and promote themselves.

Market stalls are available for young people under 26 with art, crafts, and other goods to sell. Stalls are also available to community services and youth arts organisations who would like to promote their service, run outdoor workshops, sign up new members, or sell merchandise related to a group performance on the day.

How to apply
1. Grab an application form by emailing kerry.o’connor@brisbane.qld.gov.au or james.douglas@brisbane.qld.gov.au.
2. Email to kerry.o’connor@brisbane.qld.gov.au or fax to 34030186. Applications are due Friday 20th February 2009.
3. If you have any questions phone 34030136 and talk to James or Kerry

“Bizness Babes” in Brisbane

Here’s something that’s cropped up in Brisbane for any ladies that may be interested in staring their own business… interest free loans catches my eye…

Reason for mentioning it here is Speakout are a great Brisbane-based profit-for-purpose, I ran an event at their city venue late last year and they were very helpful.

“Brisbane City Council, Wise Foundation and Speakout are launching Bizness Babes – a fantastic, flexible and engaging program for young women under 30 to look at starting their own business. Its a free program with childcare and transport assistance as well as access to no interest loans to get the business off the ground. The program is flexible with mentors and support workers able to work with women at their home, at coffee shops etc. You don’t need an existing business idea, just a passion for being your own boss.

We’d love to have you chat with anyone you think would be interested and encourage them to contact us for a chat.

Program starts Feb 23rd and people need to register their interest by 19th Feb… so get cracking.

Let me know if you have any questions (and yes there’ll be a program for guys in the near future).

Email Bridget.garay@footstepsenterprises.com.au for more info.”

Starting stuff

As it hits February people seem to be moving from the “What will we do this year” to the “Let’s start doing it” mode of thinking.

Today I’ve facilitated discussions about starting a uni news website (what a uni paper would be, minus the cost of printing!) and written a factsheet on how to fundraise for Reach Out. One of the reasons I started this blog was to highlight how to start things and then the next step of course being how to sustain them.

What are some of the best resources you’ve discovered for starting something new? I’m trying to keep a list of resources on my links down the side, would love to hear from your experiences what has helped you.

Oooh and of course, I’d also love to know what projects you’ve got on the go in 2009! I’m a very curious cat in that sense…

Sarah x

… now Social Entrepreneurship

I’ve been having a number of debates about “What is Social Entrepreneurship” lately and have decided the easiest way to express what I’m talking about is to showcase it online. This year I’ll be working with Volunteering Queensland to set up on online hub for Social Entrepreneurship in Australia. I’ll also be involved in conducting both online and offline conversations on the topic, including running a session on Social Entrepreneurship at the Ideas Festival, with the aim being to run a conference at the end of the year.

Thanks to a conversation around the streets of Paddington with Eddie Harran at Digital for Good and Mike Boyd, I’ve had a good strong push to track this process as it unfolds. So consider this an invitation to join me

Starting with Shoes…

It has come to my attention I need a blog and after deliberating for a good couple of years (Blogger or WordPress? What name? What header? Will this end up like the diaries you start in January, stop using in February and pick up again mid-October?) here it is.

Today I had a meeting with Hannah Suarez and we chatted for about an hour and a half at Southbank. I think it’s pretty damn cool that I can just Facebook message someone and ask them to meet up just because I think we should meet and they’re happy to oblige. It feels almost like a blind date, more like blind networking I guess. I’ve been bumping into a number of people over the past few weeks whose presence I’ve known online or by reputation of the things they’ve created or events they’ve run.

I’m enjoying the ease with which the interweb is allowing us to facilitate networking and social opportunities between offline and online worlds – meet in person, catch up over emails, wall-to-wall Facebook posts read what they’re doing right now on Twitter so the next time you meet that person you know them better and feel your up-to-date with their happenings. The bonds are strengthened even though you don’t have as much contact time with these people.

I think that’s kind of cool.

So back to shoes – I’m starting a shoe podcast, I love shoes so it makes sense. Taking my inspiration from Top Gear, Wine Library and the footpaths of Brisbane, keep watching this space for the yet-to-be-named, soon-to-be-awesome, Sarah’s shoe podcast.