In the days since the Future Midwest conference ended, I’ve been impressed with the continued use of the #FMW10 hashtag on twitter, following the conversations people are having about this awesome event and the things they experienced there. There is a consensus among attendees that this was a top-notch conference. The speaker lineup was outstanding, everyone seemingly left with pages and pages of notes, awesome ideas and made meaningful connections. As we’ve all come down from the high of those great two days, I think we’re now at the point of reflecting on what really took place in Royal Oak.
A group of passionate, innovative, creative and smart people got inspired together. After Dateline ran its story about the ruin of Detroit, twitter lit up about how the report missed the mark and failed to recognize positive stories like the fact that Future Midwest took place. Watch the official Future Midwest video, I think you’ll feel the sentiment behind the attendee’s passion to revive Detroit.
So now that we’ve made these connections, feel the fire to make change, how do we do it? Because this event took place in metro Detroit, and many of its attendees are members of that community, it’s easy to get caught up in a Detroit-focused mindset of change. I came over from Lansing. Many others made the trip from across the state, or even the state lines. Let’s not forget that this event was called Future Midwest, and let’s start to think on a broader scope of what we can do to improve the entire region. Here’s some food for thought:
- The Midwest is home (more or less) to the Great Lakes. It won’t be long before these are perhaps the country’s most precious resource. How can we better maximize our proximity?
- How do we get college students to stay in the region after graduation? Recent polls say most graduates plan to leave within 2 years of receiving a degree. How can the Midwest invest in these students to keep them around and utilize their talents and educations to better our businesses?
- We need to encourage entrepreneurship. Make the Midwest an attractive place to start and build businesses. How can we position the region as a hub to get an idea off the ground?
- Encourage our elected government officials to stop worrying so much about party vs. party and start thinking about what’s best for everyone. Every political system has its flaws, but how can we be the drivers of long-lasting positive changes focused on moving forward?
- Get healthy. Michigan and Ohio in particular regularly appear on the lists of America’s “fattest” states. How can we utilize our agricultural industry in the region for better health and food education for our children? If we lead the way on making a commitment to healthy lifestyles, could the rest of the nation be to follow?
These are just a few ideas running around in my head. I learned a lot at Future Midwest when it comes to integrating technology into business, but I also learned that when a passionate group of people get together and get inspired, they can become capable of big things.
TIME Magazine’s Detroit Blog ran a story in February, talking about the upcoming conference called Future Midwest. Take a minute to read it (and watch Henry Balanon‘s video at the bottom) and think about whether the conference lived up to this description and in what ways it exceeded or failed to meet your expectations.
What was your biggest takeaway from Future Midwest? What ideas do you have to improve the region and its future and how can you use what you learned or who you met at the conference to start making a difference? What are your hopes for next year’s conference?
I like and agree with fact that the Great Lakes region is currently this planet’s largest source of fresh, natural water… and that we as residents should focus more on conservation of this precious resource. Beyond preservation … ?
By: Dave Peckens on April 21, 2010
at 1:27 pm
Good stuff Becky – it really is important to make sure events like this don’t end up just becoming a bunch of people talking to themselves about what should be done. People have to take ideas and act upon them, that’s how you create positive change in a community.
I especially liked your fourth bullet point that talked about moving beyond the politics in order to get something accomplished. I was a speaker at a conference in Oklahoma City last week and they are making some amazing, positive improvements to that city. When I asked a colleague there about the changes and whether the mayor who has been championing a lot of them is a Republican or Democrat, he seemed surprised.
He said the mayor is a Republican, but noted that in Oklahoma City, that doesn’t really matter. He said the city has a good track record of not worrying about the politics and focusing more on the problem at hand. It was tough to admit to him that one of the issues we’re facing in Michigan is that politics often is the problem at hand. Hopefully, we’ll see some sensible people elected in November who can bring to Lansing some civility and a desire to achieve something because it’s a good idea regardless of which party proposed it.
Keep using the FMW10 hashtag, keep hounding people who were there about what they’ve accomplished so far, and never lose your desire to do more than just talk about what’s wrong.
By: Ari B. Adler on April 21, 2010
at 4:29 pm
[...] I’m Working On It (@beckyjohns) [...]
By: My thoughts on Future Midwest 2010 (#FMW10) « Salt and Light on April 21, 2010
at 7:20 pm
[...] quote my friend Becky Johns as a representative of her generation. Becky recently wrote an excellent blog post about Future Midwest — I especially liked the part where she asks, “Now [...]
By: How many Michiganders does it take to change a lightbulb? « Here Comes Later on April 25, 2010
at 3:18 pm