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In a time when technology is advancing faster than you can swipe, the old ways we were initially taught to think, learn, and create may no longer be serving us. How can a modern business succeed in the technological wild west? Better yet, how can a modern business thrive off the onslaught of possibility? According to John Banks, artist, Chair of the new MA in Innovation and Creative Technology program at John F. Kennedy University, and speaker for our latest Soapbox discussion, one place we can look is artists, who have always been the first adopters of new technologies, and who have always had a different way of working than has traditionally been taught. “An artist is more interested in questions than answers,” explains Banks,. “If you’re asking questions, it keeps your mind open to possibilities, which is one of the keys to innovation.” Whether you’re crazy for technology or concerned about technology, join us to hear more about problem solving, troubleshooting, and just plain playing around from an artist’s point of view.

So, you have an issue. You are upset about something. You see an injustice and you see nothing being done about it. The leadership in your country or state are failing to address an issue that affects the wellbeing of the people. You feel helpless. What can you do, especially if it’s just you? “The answer,” says Andrea MacRae, local grassroots organizer and activist, “is that it’s never just you.” There are others out there who are feeling the same way you do and the first step toward doing something about it is to find them. Once you have found each other, you can start organizing from the bottom up. What it looks like from there will be the subject of this timely and urgent Soapbox talk. MacRae, who is responsible for organizing 1200 members of the up and coming state elections-focused organization, Sister District, will share hers and other stories on what it takes to participate in a grassroots effort. How did the Women’s March get organized? How are the Parkland students organizing? How can you personally put together something small that’s part of a larger movement? Bring your selves and your ideas to this talk to get clear on those formative first steps and get a sense of what much-needed effect your efforts could yield down the road.