ABOUT

Hosted by and for emerging leaders, the Minnesota Rising 2010 Un/Conference asks, “Why wait to make your mark on Minnesota?” The Un/Conference will engage emerging leaders across the Twin Cities in an energizing day of learning, skill-building, and relationship-building with their peers.

Why should you be there? Why wait?!?!

WHO

Minnesota Rising is the network of emerging leaders in Minnesota. Made up of organizations and individuals targeting the emerging leader demographic and focused on leadership development and community-building, Minnesota Rising purports that the current rising generation has the passion, opportunity, and responsibility for continuing to make Minnesota a national leader. Launched in Spring 2009 as an online platform, Minnesota Rising has engaged 20+ emerging leader groups in the Twin Cities in its coordinating forum and collaborative efforts.

WHAT

Slated for Fall 2010, the Minnesota Rising Un/Conference will engage 100+ emerging leaders across the Twin Cities in an energizing day of learning, skills-building, and relationship-building with their peers. Organized by and for emerging leaders, the Un/Conference will provide opportunities for emerging leader groups to host workshops, for emerging leaders to highlight their talents and knowledge in a fast-paced show-and-tell style format, and for emerging leaders to dialogue about critical issues facing Minnesota in a World Café layout. The daylong event will feature an inspiring keynote speaker, leadership workshops, and an organizational fair for emerging leader organizations to raise their profiles. The unconference format, which contends that the best conversations at conferences happens in the hallways between sessions, allows for flexibility of breakout sessions offered, a low barrier to entry for an emerging demographic, and an event design in line with the latest trends in innovation and technology.

WHY

Much has been made of the Millennial generation; the most positive facets focus on the potential for it to be the next greatest civic generation and revel in its rise as Minnesota and the globe begin to face myriad issues. The question is, for this engaged and energized generation, why wait? Why wait until some appointed time at which society deems it appropriate for us to assume the mantle of leadership, when in fact, we are already aware of the issues facing us and that will continue to be exacerbated before we fully come to power? Instead, emerging leaders have begun to organize themselves in the areas of philanthropy, business leadership, nonprofit, environment, and much more. Given the intersections of many of these groups around engaging the emerging leader demographic with a focus on leadership development, there is cause to organize these organizations and other Minnesota emerging leaders. Minnesota Rising believes that accelerating the relationship-building and visioning processes for this generation increases its potential to realize a shared vision for the Minnesota it hopes to shape and develop through personal, professional, and civic contributions. With shared principles or a common agenda, emerging leaders and their groups can work to achieve a healthy, active, and thriving community.