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Speed Networking at the Manhattan WCO Center
17/06/2008
.jpg) With the goal of strengthening the relationships among its users, the Manhattan WCO Center hosted “Speed Networking” on June 14. This event brought together both new and regular users of the Open Center who are passionate about the WCO Center movement and the idea of sharing their work within a community space.
The event began with presentations by various groups with diverse backgrounds-including filmmakers, dance groups, cultural website creators, a Shiatsu practitioner, a woman’s organization, an online magazine, and a laughter yoga instructor- who were all eager to share their work with the group. Through PowerPoint presentations, video presentations, demonstrations and performances the participants explained their work and current projects to the audience. The appreciation for the Open Center was felt as the presenters elaborated on their work that is accomplished regularly at the space. One of the ideas behind the Center is to create a forum for intercultural exchange and this event provided the perfect opportunity to do so as it enabled users from different genres to meet each other.
The presentation part of the event ended with an inspiring sitar performance by sitar maestro Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain Khan followed by a Laughter Yoga demonstration with L.G. Kimmel. Everyone present participated, and laughed their way through a variety of exercises, leaving them inspired for Speed Networking.
During Speed Networking, modeled after Speed Dating, the participants had four minutes to speak with each other and were able to talk to everyone present at the event. The excitement and interest was felt by all as pairs frequently kept talking past the time limit. The exchange of upcoming projects and ideas created lasting relationships and an interest in each other’s work. The event left the participants full of ideas for potential collaborations and thrilled to have taken part in the evening’s activities. |
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