Special Note
The World Congress on the Future of Work will not convene in 2006. For a variety of reasons (not the least of which is the limited "bandwidth" of the World Congress leadership team), we have opted not to hold the World Congress during 2006.
This is not to say that we are short of ideas, issues, and opportunities. The future of work remains a vibrant and dynamic image floating just beyond our grasp (as it should). We are out in the world creating the future of work on a daily basis right now, and it's all happening just a bit too quickly at the moment - even for us. Right now we're just plain running too fast to slow down and talk about it. But stay tuned: we're going to have a whole lot to report on come Spring 2007.
The 2005 World Congress
The second annual World Congress on the Future of Work was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 26-28, 2005. Kevin Kampschroer, Director of Research and Expert Services within the General Services Administation (GSA), was our host. Our second premier sponsor and partner, Herman Miller, in conjunction with Spectrum, provided all the furnishings for the event. We are also pleased that Francis Cauffman Foley Hoffmann and Spherion were Silver Sponsors.
The theme for the 2005 World Congress was Making It Real: From Vision to Action. Our focus was on moving from broad visions and concepts to specific actions that Delegates could take to make the future of work real in their own organizations.
We are deeply honored that John F. Street, Mayor of Philadelphia, welcomed Delegates at the opening session of the World Congress, on Wednesday morning, April 27. Mayor Street set a tone for the Delegates' conversations about making the future of work real as he described his vision for "Wireless Philadelphia," the recently announced initiative to bring low-cost broadband wireless Internet access to all Philadelphia citizens and businesses.
On Wednesday afternoon, Delegates heard from Richard Lamond, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Spherion, about the challenges of managing an emergent workforce whose values and expectations differ radically from those of more traditional workers - and who create dramatic new management challenges for organizations. In addition, Dianah Neff, Chief Information Officer for the City of Philadelphia, shared her vision of how Wireless Philadelphia will change basic patterns of work within the Philadelphia area.
For a more detailed report on the World Congress activities and the issues discussed by the Delegates, please visit our Future of Work weblog.
Future of Work
The World Congress on the Future of Work is led each year by Charlie Grantham and Jim Ware, founders and executive producers of the Future of Work community. Future of Work is a global network of resources - practitioners, thought leaders, researchers, and senior consultants - who are committed to building work environments that are cost-effective, socially and environmentally responsible, and personally satisfying.
For more information, please visit our primary website, at www.thefutureofwork.net.
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