2025 Inspiring Workplaces Awards now open for entries
Get started
Date posted: 26th April 2021

26th April 2021

Inspiring Workplaces launches Inspire:Cities – driving change locally and globally

Inspiring Workplaces launches Inspire:Cities – driving change locally and globally
  • Created to help build people-first organizations all over the world
  • Inspire:Cities are the city-based communities of the global movement of Inspiring Workplaces
    • Aim: To connect with likeminded professionals, learn and affect change in their sphere of influence.
  • 20 founding Inspire:Cities announced today reach almost 100 million people, including: Atlanta, Istanbul, London, Milano, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Washington D.C
  • Goal to reach a quarter of a billion people by the end of 2021
  • Includes a unique human-centred event experience that highlights why organizations need to create people-first cultures

New York & London: April 27, 2021The Inspiring Workplaces Group (IW) today announces the launch of its latest initiative to change the world by improving the world of work.

Called Inspire:Cities, this initiative will inject local momentum into the fast-growing global movement of inspirers. The 20 founding Inspire:Cities announced today range from Inspire:Atlanta to Inspire:Vienna and Inspire:New York to Inspire:Sydney.Inspire:Cities is driven to help build people-first organizations and is targeted at any business owner or professional that has a passion for improving the lives of their colleagues and the performance of their business. What matters is a shared desire to deliver the IW Purpose. So, our founder Inspire:Cities owners (Chief Inspiration Officers) come from many backgrounds – finance, HR, employee experience, culture, wellbeing, DEI, internal comms, technology. As well as, all buying in to the IW values of diverse, inclusive and psychologically safe organizations that enable everyone to bring their best self to work.

A community with an event like no other, to create a world we all aspire to live in
Everyone that joins a city community must also join the free global IW movement of ‘Inspirers’ – making them part of change for good at both a local and global level.

After more than a year in a world starved of human contact, IW is putting people at the heart of the Inspire:Cities events – just as they should be in the workplace. No decks, presentations, slides, handouts – just inspiring people-centred experiences.

Matt Manners, the founder and CEO of Inspiring Workplaces Group, said: “The Inspire:Cities events will replicate how workplaces should be by actively listening, giving people a voice and making it more human. No distractions, just a focus on storytelling and action”. The events will follow the simple philosophy of:

There will be a at least three events a year in each city.

Matt Manners continued: “Imagine how fast we can change the world for the better if we have people who believe in our purpose in every city around the world. Our 20 founding cities enable us to reach almost 100 million at a local level. By Christmas I hope that will be a quarter of a billion! Together, our Inspire:Cities will inspire people-first organizations everywhere.”

The aim is to have 50 cities by the end of 2021 and 100 by the end of 2022. The founding Inspire: Cities and their Chief Inspiration Officers announced today are as follows (in alphabetical order):

  • Inspire: Atlanta
    • CIO – Jason Anthoine
  • Inspire: Birmingham
    • CIO – April Bembridge
  • Inspire: Bristol
    • CIO – Hattie Roche
  • Inspire: Boston
    • CIO – Rachel Weeks
  • Inspire: Belgium
    • CIO – David Ducheyne
  • Inspire: Brighton
    • CIOs – Lisa Pantelli & Ruth Dance
  • Inspire: D.C
    • CIO – Dr. Russell Robinson
  • Inspire: Ireland
    • CIOs – AnnMarie Philips & Scott McInnes
  • Inspire: Istanbul
    • Seyhan Ayel
  • Inspire: Johannesburg
    • Coming soon
  • Inspire: London
    • CIOs – Kelly Swingler & Matt Manners
  • Inspire: Miami
    • CIO – Shea Heaver
  • Inspire: Milano
    • CIO – Diego Biasi
  • Inspire: MK
    • CIO – Nick Court
  • Inspire: Minneapolis
    • CIO – Dan Riley
  • Inspire: New York City
    • CIOs – Greg Simpson, Ira Ozer & Matt Manners
  • Inspire: San Francisco
    • CIO – Jonathan Goodman
  • Inspire: Stockholm
    • CIOs – Karin Volo
  • Inspire: Sydney
    • CIO – Kim Seeling-Smith
  • Inspire: Vienna
    • Coming soon

Creating inclusive cultures in The Inspire Ring™

Just like the fabled roundtable at King Arthur’s court (but much more diverse and inclusive), Inspire:Cities events will take place in a circular set-up. We are calling this the ‘Inspire Ring’ where everyone is equal.

Each founding Inspire:City has agreed the theme for the first event will be ‘Creating Inclusive Cultures’. Up to four pre-arranged storytellers will then share their experiences, views, insights, failures and successes for ten minutes before a group conversation takes place for another 10 minutes, and so on. Events will last no more than two hours with networking before and after.

The whole purpose is to connect with likeminded leaders and professionals to learn and affect change in your sphere of influence.

Local feel, global content 

Whilst the events themselves carry no decks or presentations, that does not mean inspiring content won’t be available beyond the events. Follow up/complementary content will be posted on the stories section of the Inspiring Workplaces website.

There will also be a local slack channel for each city to enable community interaction and much more besides. This means all inspirers get access to insights from a local and global level to help them develop and affect change in their own organisation.

Chief Inspiration Officers (CIOs)

Inspire:Cities would be impossible without its Chief Inspiration Officers – the owners of each city community. These people have the same drive and passion to change the world by improving the world of work. They can be found here.

Inspire your city

Want to change the world? Become your city’s Chief Inspiration Officer? You must buy in to the IW values of diverse, inclusive and psychologically safe organizations that enable everyone to bring their best self to work.

Contact Matt Manners to find out more before it’s too late [email protected]

Partners

All the CIOs will be interested in partners to keep costs for attendees down or space to hold these unique events. Please find our CIOs on the website here. For global partner opportunities please contact [email protected]

 

-END-

 

About Inspiring Workplaces – change the world

Inspiring Workplaces is a global movement with the aim to change the world by improving the world of work. It is headquartered in the UK and operates in North America, Africa and Australia. Part of its profits go to fund the Inspiring Workplaces Foundation, a not-for-profit organization designed to create the inspiring leaders of tomorrow. Full information on The Inspiring Workplaces Awards can be seen here  https://www.inspiring-workplaces.com/awards/

About Inspire: Cities ™

Inspire:Cities is the local arm of the global movement from Inspiring Workplaces. Our mission is to change the world, with you, through the world of work. One workplace, city and community at a time.

Launched to help create people-first organizations, central to Inspire: Cities is you and a unique human-centred event for a limited intimate audience. The events replicate how we believe workplaces should be, by actively listening, inclusive, giving people a voice & making it more human. No distractions, no fear, just a focus on storytelling and action.

Whilst connecting locally, you will also be part of the free global IW movement. You will also receive access to all the free IW content, news, interviews, eBooks and events. A win/win.

For more information on Inspiring Workplaces:

Matt Manners

+44 (0) 7799876473

[email protected]

www.inspiring-workplaces.com

Twitter/Instagram: @inspireworknow

LinkedIn Group/ Facebook: Inspiring Workplaces