Not only are “The Locals” hometown citizens of a city or a neighborhood, they can also be “citizens” of corporate communities, too. This is why, sometimes- and at the right times- a municipal-style citizen participation process can help bring a private company community together and help uncover their goals and aspirations. On July 26, 2015, the Designing Local team designed, administered, and executed a major citizen participation process for a convention of 10,000 Thirty-One Gifts consultants that was held on July 26 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Thirty-One Gifts’ mission centers around empowering women. Called consultants, the women come from a wide variety of backgrounds and circumstances. Thirty-One employed Designing Local to find out more about the stories of the consultants from all over the world. The goal: to find out why each woman’s individual journey becomes the collective story of Thirty-One Gifts.
Participation processes often use high-tech tools to gather and reveal information (and we use them too), but sometimes the process is more visceral, meaningful, and beautiful when old fashioned materials are used- especially at a big convention.
The colors of Thiry-One (especially pink!) prominently represented the spirit of the event.
(Photo credits for the two above by Abby Walters)
One-third of the participants were asked to describe the “essence of who they were,” another third wrote about the “essence of who they are,” and the rest shared the essence of who they want to be. The short answers were submitted in the early morning during the registration to become thousands of powerful stories on display for everyone to see before the morning session was finished. They continued to be viewable throughout the two-day long convention.
“The Book” – The Final Result
The information gathered during the convention is currently being made into a digital book that will be shared with the 100,000 consultants of Thirty-One Gifts. Because the women of Thirty-One are interested in learning about each other’s struggles and aspirations, and, because the owners and leaders of the company care about the women’s stories, the upcoming digital book represents the culture of the company.
The process that was executed and art created by Designing Local was not only personal but purposeful to help our ladies see themselves in a new light! It was a beautiful approach to express their heart and goals as if Pinterest came to life in an impactful way. – Cindy Monroe, Founder and CEO.
Alongside a wide variety of public sector clients, Designing Local will be engaging “citizens.” The questions will be different and the situations will be, too, but finding out what makes local communities of every stripe tick is one of our greatest passions.
Contact Principal Amanda Golden at Amanda@designinglocal.com for more information on how Designing Local can make your conventions and large meetings memorable and meaningful.