Recently Hub Manager Rosalie went to Scotland to represent the FuseBox in the latest workshop as part of the European Creative Hub Network (ECHN). A project designed to bring hub leaders from across Europe together to build relationships and exchange practical tools with each other. Here she writes about what she learned:
The topic of the workshop in Edinburgh was all around Future Proofing and offering ways you can set your mind set for not only survival of your work but also to allow for positive change and progress. I wanted to share my learnings, as these methods of embracing uncertainty can be applied to anyone thinking about the sustainability of their endeavours and not just in a creative hub context.
Future Proofing in Edinburgh
So, how do we protect the things we work so hard to build? How do we make time in our busy lives to think about the future and where we want to be? Is it crucial to future proof with your team/collaborators? We tackled all these initial questions in a group conversation and it was clear that setting time to think about the future can demonstrate that pinpointing a specific challenge can provide a catalyst for pretty nifty innovation. At times, it can motivate a community response and also let you spot (and give time to counteract) potential threats on the horizon.
Some helpful takeaways from the session was the importance of making the act of future proofing a collaborative activity to ensure a diverse range of perspectives. I discovered that I was struggling with finding time in my everyday schedule to spend any time thinking about the future and was encouraged by others to try and automate the daily issues as much as possible to allow time and space to be more strategic at work.
Why not gather your peers around you and ask each other the following questions to get started with thinking about preparing for the future. I think you'll be surprised by how many interesting challenges and ideas manifest!
-Where do you want to be?
-Most importantly, Why?
-Can I help you get to this goal?
-What are the possible obstacles?
Pooling ideas together
If you have any questions, stories or further ideas about planning for the future, we would love to from you! Tweet us at @fuseboxbtn or drop an email to Rosalie@wiredsussex.com
On a final note, on top of the workshops in Scotland, we heard from some seriously interesting minds including a talk on artificial intelligence from Chris Speed from the Edinburgh Design and Informatics team, Stacey Hunter who created Local Heroes a project to celebrate local designers and Chris Hellawell who built the first UK tool library. I urge you to check all these people out as they’re doing awesome things.
A big thank you to our hosts: Summerhall, Creative Edinburgh, Creative Dundee, European Creative Hubs Network and the British Council.
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A little more context (If you’re interested…)
The FuseBox is a space in Brighton designed to bring together people with bold creative and digital dreams and we identify ourselves as a Creative Hub. If it’s a term you’re unfamiliar with, Creative Hubs are defined as drivers for local innovation: supporting creative, cultural and social growth by offering a platform for (usually) small companies, makers and artists to work, test ideas and collaborate together.
Creative Hubs exist all over the world, taking many different shapes and forms. With the growing popularity of these spaces, a project called the European Creative Hubs Network created by the British Council has launched in order to document the positive impact of these spaces and a way for creative hub leaders to share learnings with each other.
If you run a Creative Hub and would like to find out more about the European Creative Hub Network, check out their website here.
Get in touch
The FuseBox is a hub in Brighton run by and home to independent membership organisation Wired Sussex for digital innovators, tech visionaries and creative technologists. We provide innovators with access to spaces, facilities, opportunities and expertise. We currently house the Brighton Immersive Lab and a 5G testbed.
You can read more on our website here www.thefuseboxbrighton.com Or drop us an email Rosalie@wiredsussex.com We would love to hear from you.