NEW AT COMNET19

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Leadership Coins: 

The Communications Network is guided by 3 core values: Community. Learning. Leadership.

As we gather in Austin for ComNet19, we want to acknowledge and honor folks who are exemplifying these values through their actions at the conference.

During our time together, Network Board members, Community Ambassadors, and members of the ComNet19 Host Committee will be distributing a limited number of Leadership Coins to recognize and appreciate conference-goers who are exemplifying our core values.

Leadership is an activity, not a role. It shows up in ways big and small.

Our values are merely not words on a screen or on a page. They inform who we are and how we conduct ourselves. By offering Network leaders a special means to acknowledge and encourage everyone at ComNet to live our values, we are honoring those extraordinary people who, across The Network’s rich 40 year history, have given of themselves so that our field might grow and improve. We stand on their shoulders today.

So, what does it take to earn a leadership coin?

Put simply: we’re hoping to recognize people who are living and exemplifying our core values of community, learning and leadership. That could look like someone reaching out and including someone who looks like they are out of sorts/being left out feel welcome. It could be recognizing someone who delivers an extraordinary breakout session — or a critical question asked at a keynote or during a Dialogue. It might be honoring someone who is especially active in connecting people in person or online (using the conference app to organize folks, social media to share new ideas and insights, etc).

Leadership coins are a new tradition at The Communications Network and at ComNet — one we hope will grow over time.

When you’re handed a leadership coin, the gratitude doesn’t stop there! Thanks to support from Cause Communications, anyone who receives a leadership coin can redeem it for a free print edition of the Communications Toolkit, a guide to navigating communications for social impact.

Here’s how:

  1. Earn a leadership coin

  2. Take a picture with your coin

  3. Post the pic in the conference app or tweet at @CauseComm

Conference Badges:

We’ve been thinking a lot about how we want to create an open, inclusive, and inviting space as The Communications Network celebrates its 40th anniversary in Austin — so in the spirit of trying to encourage each of us to see the whole person and individual, we are radically reducing the amount of information on the cover of our ComNet19 badges. While information including your organization, affiliation, and city will all be available in the app, your name badges will simply say your name. Here's why: We’ve noticed over the last few years some folks “size you up” based on where you work, where you’re from, etc. This is counter to our core value of community. And  we believe strongly that everyone has something of value to offer and bring — so to the extent that we can disrupt behaviors that aren’t helpful or constructive we ought to actively do so. 

Pronoun Buttons:

As a show of The Network’s commitment to belonging and inclusion, we are introducing pronoun buttons for your name badge at ComNet19. Pronoun buttons will be available for pickup at registration and throughout the conference. We ask you to join us in wearing them. We’ve also put together a page with inclusion resources.

Sustainability: 

This fall when The Communications Network gathers you will be an active part of making ComNet19 a sustainable event. We'll be bringing more sustainable practices to ComNet19. By “sustainable” we mean preserving our natural environment, promoting a healthy and inclusive society, and supporting a thriving economy. Why does this matter? Find out here.

Evaluation: 

We are doing something different at ComNet19. Many of us rely on surveys to evaluate events, but we’ve learned there are more effective ways to gather feedback that leads to insights that improve our work. This year we've partnered with Vantage Evaluation to shift our approach from data for data’s sake to evaluate the conference in a way that takes a learning process for strategic improvements. This means you'll see us collecting a lot of data in real time, and in more engaging ways. We invite you to stop by our learning wall, take a selfie at the Humans of ComNet station, and share your reflections using the ComNet19 app!