Take part in the first European Jelly week (January 17-23th)

Anni Roolf from Wuppertal is initiating the first European Jelly week in the third week of January 2011. It’s a great idea. So far, three spots have been put on the map. Sure, there will be many more !

What about you ? Will you take part in this kind of big Jelly/coworking European “flashmob” like ?

Here is what Anni tells about it :

Everybody is invited to start a jelly at his place in this week
and to invite coworkers from all over Europe. Let’s take action to push local coworking initiatives and the european coworking community!

Jelly is a casual working event. People are coming together (in a person’s home, a coffee shop, or an office) to work for the day. Bring a laptop (or whatever you need to get your work done) and a friendly disposition.

The event’s Facebook point is here.

And don’t forget  to spot your Jelly on the European Jelly week’s map
COWORKING EUROPE 2011 // Jelly Week 17.-23.1. all over Europe auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen

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New York’s mayor supports the creation of business incubator with Coworking facilities

Is the Coworking movement getting some kind of official recognition ? It sounds like it is, after Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, just announced is support (a 250.000 $ grant has been provided) for the launch of a new business incubator with coworking facilities in the Bronx. The goal is to accomodate up to 400 entrepreneurs.

It could be an inspiring path for public decision makers and city councils in Europe…

Sunshine Realty Management inked a 10-year lease with Taconic Investment Partners to make the incubator a reality. Sunshine expects the office space to be self-sustaining within the first three years. There is about 11,000 square feet of office space in the soon-to-be-open Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator—room enough for 180 workstations. The incubator will offer desks and coworking space for freelancers.

Two simple ways to build the community in a coworking space : ask and promote !

Nice post published on the global coworking blog :

Coworking is not just about freelancers sharing desks, chairs, and wi-fi. It’s about connections, interactions, conversations, collaborations. In a word, coworking is about community. Independents working together is a testament to how coworking both fosters and sustains community. And you can help build community by doing two simple things: ask and promote.

1. Ask
Believe it or not, if you ask someone for help in a way that’s respectful of their time and knowledge, you’ll probably make their day! What better way to build community than recognizing the awesomeness in others? […]

2. Promote

[…] We’re not talkin’ about smarmy self-promotion. Oh no. We’re talking about promoting others. As you grow your own business, you can contribute to your coworking community by helping to promote others—in small and big ways. […]

Read the all post here

Why a first European conference on Coworking ?

Berlin based online magazine Deskmag, one of our media partner, just published an article regarding the goals of the first European conference on Coworking. Here is an excerpt :

Should bureaucrats and bankers start setting up booths in coworking spaces? Jean-Yves Huwart thinks so. The coordinator of Coworking Europe 2010 conference says coworking spaces could become hubs for government agencies and institutions seeking to reach freelance workers and start-up businesses.

“In most cities, there is a lot of help provided by the authorities to starting companies,” Huwart observes, “But you can spend at least two months visiting support bodies for entrepreneurs. What if all those support bodies could gather in one place? At a coworking space. It would save so much time.”

Banks, too, should be interested in having a presence in a location where many young companies sprout. One of the sponsors of the European coworking conference is the Dutch bank ING, which wants to increase its reach to startups. Huwart believes other bankers will follow.

Coworking Spaces as hubs for international contacts

Coworking spaces also have a role to play as nodes of international interaction between small companies wanting to expand. […]

You can read the full article here, on Deskmag’s website

The Works, Prague : “Community first !”

The Works, in Prague, is “the first CZ international online and real life Coworking Community promoting sharing knowledge and best practices”. The Works organises real life meetings to work (e.g. jellies) and share knowledge and best practices.
“The community matters more than the physical spaces !”, stresses Dave Ruzius, the founder of The Works in Prague. Dave will be a speaker at Coworking Europe 2010. (watch the video)