August 9th is quickly coming up, and flexible workspace operators are gearing up and getting ready to celebrate International Coworking Day.
From Brazil, to San Diego, to Kansas City, to Toronto, to Vancouver, to Stuttgart, and plenty of other corners of the world, coworking operators are promising anything from free coworking and unique events, all the way to setting a new world record.
Although the International Coworking Day is August 9th, various operators and coworking alliances are celebrating the entire week. In Brazil, over 200 coworking operators are all offering free workspace the entire week, closing big on Friday with events that go beyond the walls of the space and into the streets, Matias Vazquez, from Sharing EC and Coworking Day Brazil, tells us.
The San Diego Coworking Alliance is planning on doing something similar. Each day, specific coworking spaces in the area will be offering free workspace and events to curious souls and collaboration enthusiasts. In Stuttgart, Coworking0711 is planning on treating members and non-members to breakfast and then inviting people to cowork free for the day.
But this year, it’s Kansas City Coworking Alliance (KCCA) that’s taking the celebration up a notch (or quite a few notches to be honest).
Melissa Saubers, President of KC Coworking Alliance and Founder of Cowork Waldo, shared with Allwork that Kansas City is coming together to set a new world record for most number of people coworking in one space at the same time.
The event, as it warrants, has been long in the making and organizing. “In January, we had our annual retreat to plan out our year’s activities. We brainstormed together and decided that setting a world record would be a fun event that would help us raise awareness about coworking in Kansas City.”
So here’s how the event will roll.
A Day Of Coworking, Connecting, and Colliding
“We will start out with the weekly 1 Million Cups presentations, then get people checked in for setting the Global Coworking Record for the most people coworking in one place at one time. Afterwards we will have food trucks, games, music and other fun activities to help people connect.”
“Kansas City Missouri Mayor Sly James will even be there declaring this KC Coworking Day and acknowledging that we have set a Global Coworking Record. We also have some other surprises in store including a Google Hangout with Reading, England’s Grow Green Park coworking community.”
International coworking day started back in 2005 when Brad Neuberg established the first modern-day coworking space. August 9th commemorates the beginning of the new and future way to work, but “it also brings unity and community to our industry; as well as helps raise awareness about what coworking is and how it benefits our members and our local communities,” Saubers tells us.
“We hope our KC Coworking Day raises awareness about the coworking concept and all the options that Kansas City has. We want to highlight how well-connected Kansas City is and that we are supportive of our small businesses, startups, and independent workforce.”
KCCA has been marketing the event heavily through Facebook and Twitter, inviting everyone and anyone to join the cause and try coworking for a day.
“We want people to attend, even if they do not currently belong to a coworking space. I really see this day as a way to go really, really big and have a celebration that truly highlights the benefits of coworking: the connections that people make and the communities that are built along the way.”
Are you celebrating International Coworking Day? We would love to hear about what you have in store for August 9th.
P.S. if you’re in Kansas City and would like to participate in KCCA’s event, you can sign up here. And if you, like me, are a bit too far from Kansas City to join, you can follow the event via Twitter with the hashtags #KCCoworkingDay and #KCCoworking.
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