It’ll be my first Australian Champs Retreat and I’m looking forward to it!
I was lucky enough to attend two international events in 2019 to immerse myself in the global B Corp scene, travelling to Los Angeles and Amsterdam. They were both beyond incredible and I’m definitely got my eye on Mexico in 2021!
I’m bringing two staff members, who will you be coming with? What are you hoping to get out of the event?
G’day! Yep, I’ll be there… looking forward to catching up
Yes I’m excited to be going! While I don’t work for a BCorp - I work for a new Centre at Griffith University (The Yunus Centre) dedicated to all things ‘Impact Economy’ of which BCorp is a part. My boss Alex is on BLab’s board and I’ll be coming with him.
I’m excited - in 2017 I was part of the volunteer crew for the first BCorp ANZ leadership development day and the vibe was awesome. So uplifting to be around ppl on your wavelength (and not have to explain what or why it’s important!!)
Looking forward to seeing you Athanasia. Your new role sounds interesting - I’m keen to hear more!
Be sure to let us know if/when Earthbound is happening again. Will it be in Byron again?
Yes yes it is! (hopefully!) Luke has been in conversation with various potential sponsors and we need to get cracking because we want it to be bigger and better than last time. Possibly in Byron but keeping options open… Look forward to catching you up on what The Yunus Centre is doing.
Yes I’ll be there, travelling solo, representing Forward Thinking Design 
We’ll be there! Looking forward to meeting super interesting people and learning about their businesses!
I will be there with a grand total of 4 other people from 4 Pines, 3 of us are new to 4 Pines and it will be our first time at the event.
Super looking forward to the diversity and inclusion workshop on the last day!!
Hey I wanted to use this group for a quick check, I have had some feedback that October is problematic due to:
…so looking at a March 2021 date. Have also had question of location raised but we have $$ tied up in the venue who have been amazing but if we shifted location altogether would need to pay them additional funds.
Would welcome any thoughts before I go wider on this?
Ahh ok good to know Andrew - I’ve been wondering. It does feel like October will creep up quickly and people might not be back in the swing of, or feel comfortable with, domestic air travel.
I think pushing back to March makes sense and gives us all more breathing and planning room. (I’m guessing the Mexico event unlikely to proceed then.)
The location looked incredible and it would be great to keep it there if possible.
Keen to hear what others think of course.
Yes I can’t see Mexico happening (for those who don’t know there was a North/South American Champs Retreat planned for Mexico in April 2021).
My feeling is we need to offer something in capital cities as well, so thinking Tas could become a Retreat in March for those who want to attend but also piggy back with maybe an online event or in-person to gather the whole community.
We’re tied a little bit to the venue in Tasmania financially but I am also conscious many people supported us in the postponement, small local businesses there, along with the venue itself and I would love to honour that by still holding an event there.
Honouring the retreat centre by sticking with them and making something work would seem like a totally B Corp practice IMHO. Thanks for being transparent with your thinking.
G’day! Yeah, I agree with all of these comments. March seems much safer date. Online event(s) in the meantime sounds great too.
Hi @Andrew-BLab if everything is back up and running with flights etc then October is good but March is definitely a safer bet I’d say. Would love to support Tassie and the small businesses who will benefit from the retreat. Hopefully the workshops in July will be a good opportunity to collaborate in the meantime. Cheers Steph
Just sent up date to the folks who booked, we are postponing to 17-19 March 2021 (community update coming out next week to wider audience). Just impossible to plan for an event without knowing status of borders, flights etc. This will also give us some more time to think about a combined virtual-in-person event… thanks for your thoughts above!
Good call on postponing Champs Retreat to March next year @Andrew-BLab & team. The Tasmanian premier has just announced their borders will stay closed until at least December. Had been debating whether to keep my flights and just go for a little holiday instead. It seems the decision has been made for me! Hope everyone is staying safe and well, and I have everything crossed that we will get to be together in 2021
Seems each time we postpone a few days later it becomes clear it was inevitable, but we’ll work on some new thinking as we need to develop new ways of connecting… new challenges!