NEWS

Authentic Communities Summit coming to Asheville

Caitlin Byrd
cbyrd@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE – After attending conference after conference where they saw participants leave with some inspiration, a few networking connections and not much else, Emily Breedlove and Cortina Caldwell decided to organize an event that would prompt innovation in local economies instead of simply talking about it.

"You have to have a plan of action, otherwise this powerful experience is forgotten and becomes a distant memory," said Breedlove, who is also the president of Small Town Ventures, the consulting and training company she founded last year in Bryson City.

Over a few cups of coffee last fall, Breedlove and Caldwell started brainstorming ideas for what would become the Authentic Communities Summit, which will be held next week at New Mountain AVL in downtown Asheville from March 24-27.

"This event isn't just about coming together and celebrating authenticity," Breedlove said. "It's about creating a space where we can show up, invite others to participate and help improve the economy based on what all of our own priorities are. It's based on celebrating our heritage, where we come from, what we stand for and collectively moving forward."

With a schedule packed with 30 workshops, five keynotes and one pre-summit symposium and networking reception, the Authentic Communities Summit looks to give participants the tools they need to strengthen the go-local economy in Western North Carolina on their own terms and in their own ways.

"I want every person to walk away more activated to move strategies forward and to do so with collective effort," said Caldwell, who founded Visit & Venture, a business that helps local economies grow through tourism by fostering community partnerships. "This is not a conference that you leave and can just shelf the material. The impact will be felt long-term because we designed the experience that way."

Attendees for the multi-day event can choose to participate in one of five different cluster tracks offered: local foods, entrepreneurship, innovation and technology, sustainable living and, lastly, arts, cultural heritage and creative capital.

Every cluster track will explore slightly different themes during the conference. For example, the sustainable living track will discuss how to catalyze resources, area organizations and local demand to cultivate healthy, sustainable and responsible communities. Compare that to the focus of the entrepreneurship track, which will discuss how to foster an engaging, effective and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem to support local business growth throughout all stages of development.

"The Authentic Communities Summit is built with the intention of engaging changemakers from all walks of life who are committed to taking targeted action in order to positively impact the good of all," Caldwell said.

So far, the innovation and technology cluster track has received the most interest from those who have already signed up for the event.

"That's becoming our showcase track, which we didn't initially expect," Breedlove said. "One of the most prominent sessions for that track is on financing innovation, and navigating the path of things like intellectual property law and prototyping. We tried to really focus on topics based on what these unique entrepreneurs, inventors and innovators need."

Caldwell said including the innovation and technology cluster was a no-brainer when the duo decided on the five different tracks.

"In 'The Startup Guide' by Ryan Allis, he indicates that by the end of 2015 society will be in the Innovation Age — a time when 50 percent of the population will have access to the internet. Therefore, it goes without saying that we must be prepared to maintain daily living amidst the inevitable impact of technology," she said, noting one of the topics will explore how to find a work and life balance with technology. "This is a different approach than traditional tech conferences because we are focusing on the impact on the individual, business, organization and community rather than newest releases in technology, software and digital devices."

Though the cluster tracks guide participants through exploring different themes, they are not necessarily confined to them. When signing up for the event, people can deviate from their cluster workshops indicate which session they would rather attend instead during a specified time slot.

This kind of flexibility can be found in other aspects of the event as well, said Breedlove. For individuals who cannot attend the entire conference for the $115 ticket price, single-day tickets are available for $85.

And for people who cannot afford to take off work, the pre-summit symposium and reception event starts at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24 and that ticket price is $45. Patricia Michell, the assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Commerce, will be one of the speakers for the economic symposium event, along with Milenko Matanovic, the founder and executive director of the Pomegranate Center, and Carol Peppe Heweitt, the founder of Slow Money NC.

"When you're having an event in Asheville but you're talking about Western North Carolina, you have got to prioritize and talk about things going on in rural communities as well. This can't just be about Asheville," Breedlove said. "We really wanted to make sure, especially with the symposium event, that it is grounded in the future of our economy."

So far, demand has been steady and relatively high for the overall conference, the pair said. Caldwell said she expects the Authentic Communities Summit to be a sell-out event.

Though the word "authenticity" doesn't get thrown around too much in the business world, but Caldwell argues that it should be seriously discussed.

Citing 2008 data from the Authentic Brand Index, which studied how the authenticity of 110 brands translated into commercial value in Australia, Caldwell noted that the stronger the authenticity of a brand, the more likely consumers were to become advocates for the brand.

"The Authentic Communities Summit is our answer to the call for more intentional ways of doing business and creating community. Globally, we are in the midst of a paradigm shift from the mindset of achievement by competition to one of impact by collaboration," Caldwell said. "People are tired of conventional sales pitches from businesses and empty promises of change from community leaders. People are ready for a radical shift in which the foundation of an individualistic and collective society can exist harmoniously."

She continued, "My greatest hope is that this event can be a small step toward big change for our attendees."

Breedlove said she hopes this event will create ripple-effects for people who live and work in Western North Carolina's economy by fostering the kind of authentic, innovative collaboration that can benefit the region as whole.

"How we move through this world is defined by what we do, and what we do is defined by who we are and what we stand for. Being authentic is permission to fully acknowledge and embrace what we stand for, and I think at the end of the day, that's all that we've got," she said.

For more information about the Authentic Communities Summit or to register for the event, visit www.exploreyourauthenticity.com.