An Invitation to Speak at Open Vancouver

At most training events I’ve attended, the speakers are the outside experts. They’re flown in and paid the big bucks to share their expertise about a given subject, then fly off to another. They're often from a totally different context than my own. That’s okay–we’ve all gained and learned a great deal from this training model, both as listeners and as speakers. I’ve been both the learner and the presenter, and there’s wisdom to gain and share from this model. But I've wondered if we can do things differently.

Open Vancouver is different. We want to be...well...open.

So, here is my formal invitation to you:

You’re cordially invited to be a speaker at Open Vancouver.

The Open Vancouver organizing team (Matt Wilks, Clay Imoo, and myself, plus the guys from The Youth Cartel) would love to see a diverse and unique blend of local voices share about what they’re seeing, experiencing, and learning in youth ministry in the Vancouver, BC area. We’re looking less for a 90-minute lecture/workshop and more like a 20-30 minute TED-talk or focused training presentation, following by a session of Q&A. Open is all about conversation and dialogue. So if you have a story to tell, a rant to scream, a new concept or experiment you’ve wanted to try, an observation about culture, or a theological insight into the world of young people, you’re invited to step up to the microphone. (Even if you're not from BC, you're still invited to Open Vancvouer. Matt is from Calgary, and he's showing up.)

We’re just asking potential speakers to fill out a short form outlining what they’d like to share. We’re trying to gather as many speakers as possible by July 1, so get your proposal in!

I know, I know–it feels weird to propose yourself to speak at an event. That’s okay. Sign up anyway. Remember, I just invited you! Depending on the amount of proposals our team receives, you may not speak at this Open event this year. We’d still just love to hear from you. You have a voice. Use it. (Maybe sign up your awesome youth ministry friend who would never sign up themselves. Okay, not really. But…maybe.)

So would you please do two things?

First, prayerfully consider making a proposal to be a speaker. What idea / story / concept / experiment / rant / wisdom would you like to share?

Second, invite your youth ministry friends to Open Vancouver on Saturday, September 27. Seriously, tell everyone you know. We don’t exactly have a marketing budget for this sort of thing; we’re relying on word of mouth and the power of the Internets. Registration will open soon, we’d love to see you there!