Impact Hub Global Retreat ’21 in Switzerland
Q Ragsdale, our Director of Acceleration, had the opportunity to climb the heights of the Swiss Alps to attend the Impact Hub Global Retreat ’21 which ran October 4–11th. The retreat is an annual event that happens in different locations each time and gathers makers from the global Impact Hub network. This year it was hosted in Switzerland with over 69 attendees from 35+ countries.
The Global Retreat consisted of a series of three-day workshops starting off in Heuberge, a beautiful mountain village in the Swiss Alps. This is where the team connected, discussed tangible action items, and shared the vision of 2030.
Q’s ski cabin hotel room was a seven minute up and downhill walk to the workshop center. He recalls never having been at an altitude that high before, and says it was the ultimate test for his lung strength and fitness levels. On the second day, Q went on a 1.5 mile hike in the Alps with team members who were from Impact Hubs all over the world. It was a great opportunity to bond and get to know the other team members.
A memorable person Q met on the hiking excursion was Claudia Valledares from Impact Hub Caracas, Venezuela who works on Technovation Girls Venezuela. The program teaches coding skills to young girls from disadvantaged communities of Caracas and has been running since 2016.
A highlight of the trip for Q was meeting social entrepreneur Urs Riggenbach from Lytefire, which is a Finnish social enterprise fighting energy poverty, climate change, and deforestation with the help of solar energy. Their mission is to empower communities to be self-sufficient both economically and environmentally. The technology is based on solar panels that generate heat energy through sunlight. It’s built and maintained sustainably through locally sourced materials and expertise.
After spending time at high altitude, the retreat participants headed back down to sea-level where they attended an inspirational closing ceremony at Impact Hub Zurich’s 10 year anniversary celebration. This was a two-day program which included workshops and panel discussions with local businesses, city entities and other team members of the global Impact Hub community.
To wrap up the retreat, Q participated in a walking tour of the historic district of Zurich, which included Lindenhof Hill and Limmat River.
The major takeaway from this trip was the amazing connections Q was able to establish with other members of Impact Hubs all over the world. He’s been able to stay connected with quite a number of them through an active Whatsapp group.
