Little actions that changed my world in 2007

As I sorted my papers for my 2007 tax declaration, yesterday, I thought about writing this article to review the last year by looking at those little things each month that changed my world in 2007:

January
I read the bestseller “We call it work” (http://wirnennenesarbeit.de) about the digital Bohème in Berlin where I see a lot of similarities with the work style that I adapted after leaving Greenpeace International in October 2006. The authors organize a festival in Berlin later on in the summer that runs from 9pm to 5am (http://9to5.wirnennenesarbeit.de/?page_id=20).

February
The AIESEC/tt30 conference IMAGINE (www.aiesec.de/imagine) takes place for the third time. We decide to have a follow-up meeting in Second Life (http://imagineblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/23/second-life-optimists-gathering/) and delegates sign up for 52 weeks to host the new community blog (http://imagineblog.wordpress.com) that will give room to three current and future generations of IMAGINE delegates to reflect, ask questions, and to imagine.

March
I have my first meeting with Arjen from Engage! (http://www.engagency.nl) to start a chaordic coaching process (http://imagineblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/chaordic-coaching-iii/). In the get-to-know session, I decide to leave the Netherlands in order to go back to Germany to work on social change projects in my home-country.

April
After a very long time, we have a Pioneers of Change (http://pioneersofchange.net/aboutus) meeting in Germany again. Mark invites us to Munich for an OpenSpace to Discover the Q (http://discover-the-q.pbwiki.com).

May
In the fifth year, I meet with my AIESEC in Germany national executive board team from 2002-03. Every year on the same week-end, we meet again for 4 days. I am a bit frustrated that people changed since we have been working together and idealistic values and visions to change the world are not of everyone’s daily work life anymore.

June
I move from Amsterdam to Hamburg and then to Berlin. My new flatmate is a comedian (http://www.mimeart.de) and we have quite interesting and funny conversations about social issues in our kitchen. We have met through an online forum that matches free rooms in rented flats to people.

July
No summer holidays for me but 3 very boring start-up workshops with the chamber of commerce instead. I decide that I am not doing my tax declaration on my own but will invest some money to pay a tax advisor to do it for me.

August
I start getting involved with self in Berlin (http://www.self-germany.de). A network for people in the fourth sector – building bridges between the NGO and the private sector. For people who are social pioneers who want to do good, make money, and life their personal values through work.

September
I have started the We Are What We Do weekly phone meetings in August and due to that get to do Action 04 (http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/actiontracker/action.php?action=4) on a week-end by attending a First Aid course.

October
I attend the Young SIETAR congress (http://www.youngsietar.org) in a former concentration camp near Berlin. I am invited to host a World Café on “Resolving the Past – Creating the Future” (http://imagineblog.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/resolving-the-past-%e2%80%93-creating-the-future).

November
I see the Chancellor Angela Merkel speak at the conference for sustainability in Berlin (http://www.nachhaltigkeitsrat.de/topical/events/2007/27-11_01/index.html). The public is invited for a dialogue on the government’s sustainability strategy. People can send their comments on the policy paper to the government. Furthermore the BILD tabloid newspaper and Friends of the Earth (FoE) speak in a forum about the historic partnership in Germany between BILD, Greenpeace, WWF, and FoE to tackle climate change in Germany.

December
The preparation for the big selfHUB (http://thehubberlin.blogspot.com) opening days is in full swing. I have just finished the We Are What We Do Pecha Kucha presentation today (http://selfhubaktionstage.pbwiki.com/Pecha-Kucha) and I can’t wait until next week when everybody is back from their Christmas holidays!.