Welcome back to the new year, its 2023, a year full of anticipation and excitement for what lies ahead. How do we get past that yearly discussion and division around 26th of January that clouds the start to every year. What does it mean to us all?

As we approach World Social Justice Day in February, how do we come together as individuals, organisations and as a nation to achieve social justice for everyone?

At SECNA we know its important to understand, respect and all play our part in supporting people from all walks of life to be able to come together and achieve social justice in Australia. That’s why we are here, to support amazing social enterprises doing just that every day.

Come along to our February 2nd meetup to hear from a great panel as they explore how we can really make a difference and come together as a collective to achieve social justice in Australia and hear what they are doing to achieve this.

Our meetups are about having fun and enjoying each other’s company while sharing and learning from each other. We start with about 45 minutes of networking before getting into the content. It's a way to make new friends, stay connected with old friends, and the focus is on bringing the community and ecosystem together.

We also want social enterprises attending to share some exciting things happening in your organisations this year and in particular discuss how we can help you achieve these great things.

Our first Meetup of the year starts at 6.00pm in person at Canva in Surry Hills and includes drinks and snacks. We welcome people to join us online and that will kick start at 6.45pm.

Speakers

Greg Hodgkinson - Founder of First Innovators

Tirrania Suhood - Founder of InCollaboration

Tirrania is the founder of InCollaboration, which joins with others to strengthen collective wisdom and capacity for local resilience and systems change. She is also the lead catalyst and convenor of Sydney Commons Lab, part of a global commons movement to strengthen community agency and ways of operating that support caring for each other and our Earth.

Her current work has been informed by the many years that she led a small community organisation in Western Sydney, tackling social issues. Her ability to see patterns and recognise context enabled her to engage people and networks to take on big picture systemic challenges while working to strengthen the local.

Mel Flanagan - Founder of Nook Studios, Social justice advocate / designer / storyteller

Mel is a transparency, social justice, environmental, and open government advocate - with a background in storytelling and film making. She is the founder of Nook Studios, a Sydney based research, content, and design company.

Nook designs revolutionary content, information services, and collaboration tools to bring complex data, concepts, legislation, and decision-making processes to life in an engaging way for community audiences.

Mel and the Nook crew are dedicated to improving public access to the information, making civic technology and data meaningful so people can participate in issues that impact them. Nook works with governments, international NGOs, civil society and First Nations community organisations.

Mel is on the steering committee of Publish What You Pay Australia, a global movement of over 1000 organisations who work across natural resources, extractive industries (mining, oil, and gas) and energy transition transparency.

MakingOpen.org is Nook's project to support and connect global social justice and open movements using visual design and stories.

Sponsors

Thanks to Canva Space for their generous support as the venue and refreshments sponsor.

Proudly supported by City of Sydney.

About SECNA Meetups

SECNA’s purpose is to nurture a healthy and connected social enterprise sector in NSW and the ACT… and beyond, including everyone in and around the ecosystem.

A connected and engaged social enterprise community is key to increasing awareness, understanding, and advocacy - while building strong partnerships and collaboration. This will help us progress to our shared vision of a world where we collaborate to ensure all people, places, and our planet thrive.

That’s what SECNA Meetups are all about. A regular way for us to meet, make new friends, stay connected with old friends, and bring the community and ecosystem together. Having fun and enjoying each other’s company while sharing and learning from each other. Exchanging ideas, celebrating the wins, and learning from the fails. In the spirit of collaboration.

Our meetups aren’t just for current SECNA members. We welcome everyone in and around the social enterprise ecosystem… and even those who are just curious to see what it’s all about. We come together valuing and including our diversity.

We meet on the first Thursday of the month and the focus is on convening and holding space for connection in a fun and friendly way. We also have talks, panels, and interactive sessions on a range of topics related to social enterprise. Most of our meetups are hybrid and provide connection beyond Sydney and Canberra to other metro, rural, and regional locations across NSW and the ACT.

We’d love to hear from you if you’re keen to speak, there’s a topic you’d like covered, or if there’s someone you’d like to hear from. There are also sponsor/partnership opportunities available.

Thanks!

SECNA Meetups Organising Team