RSA Ideas: Norwich - It's good to talk

Robert Ashton FRSA shares his experiences of running an RSA Ideas in Norwich and future steps.

I staged an RSA Ideas event on Thursday 11 May in Norwich. I’d spoken at a couple, one in Cambridge and one at RSA House. Both were great opportunities to talk about Swarm Apprenticeships, the social enterprise I set up in 2013.

Both also delivered useful connections, resulting from chance conversations.  There’s no doubt in my mind that what the RSA does is to create opportunities from serendipitous conversations. They often lead to something, as of course what unites RSA Fellows is a common desire to make the world a better place.

The Norwich event delivered on all fronts. Just three pitches left plenty of time for questions and answers from the 30 or so Fellows present. We really got a sense of what Jean, Linda, and Peter were setting out to do. Delightfully, there was real synergy between the three and I’d not be surprised to see them collaborate over the coming months.

This was the first open RSA event in Norwich for almost a year. I think there should be more, so to stimulate that conversation I’m arranging a series of regular informal drop-in meetings at Café Marzano at The Forum, Millennium Plain, Norwich, NR2 1TF.

These will take place between 16.00 and 18.00 on the first Thursday of every month, starting on Thursday 1 June. To encourage conversation, I plan to pair Fellows up as they arrive and encourage them to swap round every ten minutes or so. This will make it easier to meet new Fellows and share ideas.

You don’t have to book. Just turn up, buy yourself a coffee, and look for the tables carrying an RSA logo to join the conversation.