The Treehouse Group

Summer vacation season is sadly coming to a close, but we’re looking forward to some great Treehouse Talks in the coming months. If you haven’t been able to make it to previous events, videos of all the Talks to date can be seen here.

Our next event is taking place on September 3rd at MaRS Discovery District, room CR2, from 6-7:30 pm. It’ll be free to anyone who would like to come, and will feature:

• SASHA GRUJICIC on Technology and Change: How it’s happened, how it’s accelerating, and how we need to deal with it
• SHIRLEY KHALIL on empowerment and healing using music.
• SHAWN MICALLEF on his book Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto.

Many thanks to everyone who’s given us (overwhelmingly positive) feedback - we love hearing what you have to say!

For those of you looking for information about June’s Toronto ideaXchange: Dimensions of Music, photos are up on Flickr.

It’s time for another ideaXchange! On June 13, join dozens of curious and engaging people from across the city for an afternoon of ideas, activities and networking at MaRS. We’re eager to repeat the success of the 2008 and 2009 editions with an ideaXchange devoted to the world of music. Think: beat-boxers, New Orleans Style Brass bands, phonetics in Opera, mental health and music, technology, and the “pirate” problem, plus anything else we can jam in. We’ll also have live musicians writing songs during the conference to be performed at the end.  Ending off the day will be a catered reception, and a chance to continue the discussion(s).

Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

For more information on what we do, you can go to the Events page. Details about this ideaXchange will be updated here.

After a bit of a break (to appreciate the Great Canadian Summer, bien sur), we’re back with some updates and news.

Updates

ideaXchange
We have elected to postpone our Fall ideaXchange, in favour of throwing a bigger and better party in the Spring. We’ll post information on the website as it becomes available, so be sure to check back for updates.

Cape Farewell
We were captivated and touched by this quick video documenting the travels of the young artists and scientists of the Cape Farewell crew as they explored Arctic waters, recording data and interpreting the experience as they went. Keep an eye out for the segment featuring the junk yard band on Baffin island: the drumsticks they are using were given to them by the Treehouse Group during an orientation session we put on at MaRS Discovery District, in Toronto, last Fall.

News

Monthly Brunch Series
A big thank-you to everyone who joined us for some “Hillcrest archaeology” last weekend, as part of our monthly brunch series. We picked up some “artifacts” from the neighbourhood and examined them through the lenses of different professions. The results were then given the Treehouse Treatment: What can a midwife teach a fisherman? How do epidemiology and the history of medieval guild festivals overlap? How can a baker and an exterminator share information?

Member News
Joseph Wilson is heading to MaRS! During a one year contract, Joe will be working closely with MaRS to roll out some new educational programs and on-line content. Look for some dynamic events in the new year featuring more collaborations between MaRS and the Treehouse Group.

That’s it from us for now. As always, if you have any questions or feedback please feel free leave a comment or get in touch! Happy Fall, everybody.

… but we’re not letting the warm weather and siren song of Canada’s many lovely outdoor patios keep us from our work! (Well, not too much, anyway.)

Our resident freelance writer, Joe Wilson, has another great article for you to check out in the July 2009 Issue of Open Source Business Resource (OSBR), a free monthly publication of the Talent First Network.

The Group as a whole is still busy working away on ideas for upcoming events (the Fall ideaXchange in particular), as well as additions to the website (details to come), and we are always seeking out new opportunities for collaboration. In that spirit, keep your ideas coming via email, comments on the blog, and on Twitter. We appreciate hearing from you.

Finally, we’re very flattered to have been listed among the Trailblazers on the VOLANS website, along with other groups from all over the world. We appear to be in very good company!

We’re currently bandying around ideas for our Fall ideaXchange (music? Intellectual Property law? Who can choose from so many options?!) and are soliciting input from any and all interested parties.

We want to avoid the boring PowerPoint/lectern talks that are frequently found at conferences, and would much rather employ innovative variations on traditional modes of presentation. Our main focus is in finding unexpected links between different fields of study and/or work.

Help us organize an event that will engage as wide a cross-section of Toronto as possible: if you have any feelings about what our theme should be, or ideas for brain-cleansers or fun activities, let us know by leaving a comment below, or by writing to us at ideaxchange@treehousegroup.org.

Thanks!

Nicolas Rouleau has been busy planning our first overseas ideaXchange, Envisioning Bangalore 2020: Trends, Problems and Solutions, which will take place on February 7th, hot on the heels of this week’s Toronto ideaXchange. From 9 am until 5 pm, at the Centre for Knowledge Studies‘ CKS House, participants from a variety of disciplines will come together to discuss the question of what Bangalore will look like in 10 years if current trends continue. The discussions will cover issues such as transportation, immigration, urbanisation, culture, poverty, sanitation, and health.

For more information, please click on the thumbnail below. You can also check out the event on Facebook, or email Nicolas at nicolas@treehousegroup.org.

The word has spread and Treehouse Group activities are currently being planned in various locations across the globe.  If you know anyone in the following places, tell them to watch the Treehouse Group website for information on upcoming events or, better yet, contact the organizers directly to get involved:

• Nicolas Rouleau, Visiting Professor at the National Law School of India University, in Bangalore, India.
• Charmian Love, Volans: The Business of Social Innovation, in London, England.
• Lucas Robinson, Canadian International Development Agency, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.