When the third Coworking Europe starts in November, content will revolve around the professionalization of each coworking space and the movement as a whole. Many operators build their coworking space as a side project, next to their actual profession. "As a side job, it will only work for one or two years,” says Jean-Yves Huwart, organizer of the Coworking Europe Conference.
“That's why we want to teach more skills about coworking. And to those who doubt coworking as a successful economic model, we want to show them that coworking is economically viable, and socially and culturally sustainable. It's not about a bunch of people playing together in a garden. We should not extol coworking. We can already demonstrate its success."
In addition, coworking is not only an innovation as a form of work, "it can be used in a variety of areas and (for different) objectives," said Huwart. Some of these will be presented at Coworking Europe.
The conference itself serves as an example. For the first time, it has received support from a regional government, the Ile de France. It supports various coworking projects in the region as part of its regional economic and spatial development. One day before Coworking Europe starts, another conference will also take place in Paris around this topic.
Even large companies are increasingly integrating coworking into their development strategies. This includes Google, which, in collaboration with Seedcamp, Techhub and Central Working, recently opened Google Campus, a seven-floor coworking space in London. Eze Vidra, head of Campus, will speak at the conference.
Collaboration between Google and coworking spaces had already taken place, starting with sponsored workshops with the aim of building a developer community for its mobile operating system Android - in coworking spaces such as Parisoma or New Work City. Together with the London TechHub, Google has promoted selected startups and small companies in the tech field for about two years.
But what actually occurs when instruments of urban and business development are merged thanks to coworking? At the least a lighthouse Project, like the one seen at the moment in downtown Las Vegas. The downtown project is a private initiative that aims to revitalize the downtown area of the casino city, and establish, with the already collected US$350 million, Las Vegas as the "coworking capital of the world." At least US$1.5 million will be injected directly into a coworking space in the first year.
Among the project’s supporters are Zappos, which plans to move its headquarters from Henderson to the old City Hall next year. Zappos was acquired in 2009 by Amazon. While Amazon wants a portion of its profits to launch people cheaply and safely into space, Zappos continues to focus on more local networks. Direct social interaction, the curated promotion of entrepreneurial startups via the VegasTechFund, and support for companies that want to stay small make up the philosophy of both, the downtown project and the company.
Jennifer Magnoli works on the strategy of the Downtown Coworking project since last year. Whether it is a sustainable enterprise and urban development strategy, and how successful they have been thus far, will be discussed at Coworking Europe. "It is an outstanding example of how this amount of money can be invested into coworking, and in turn be used as an innovative tool for different purposes," said Huwart.
But it won't just be big companies represented at the conference. Small agencies and individuals will also discuss how to operate a coworking space, how to broaden their income base, and how how best to design a space, with good material for discussion provided on the first day by the results of an architectural competition.
Whether curated spaces that select their members go against the coworking philosophy, or how coworking spaces support the startup movement, are also topics over the three days. The conference ends as it did last year with a tour of the coworking spaces in the city. Last year, over 200 came together in Berlin. This year, around 300 participants are expected to attend.
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Coworking Europe Conference: Paris, 8th to 10th November 2012
Location: La Bellevilloise, 19-21, rue Boyer
Tickets for all three days:
"Early Bird" (only until 31/07/12): € 110 (limited number)
"Easy to connect" (until 25/09/12): € 260
Full Price: € 340
