A few months ago in May, we published a Founder’s Diary post introducing the InterNations Activity Groups, where InterNations founder Malte Zeeck recalled the long road that lay between the conception of the idea and the final implementation of our Activity Groups in the first five test Communities. Now we are happy to announce that we have successfully started to roll out our Activity Groups to all our Local Communities across the world.
Just to recapitulate: The Activity Groups are our answer to the feedback we received from our members. Many of you have told us, both in person at our events and in your answers to our Member Survey, that they would like to see more – and more varied – events and activities on InterNations. The Activity Groups are here to address this need: They provide the infrastructure for our members to organize their own events and invite others who share the same interests or hobbies. These Activity Groups events are smaller, more personal get-togethers than the official monthly events in our big Communities, thus giving our members the opportunity to meet up in a much more informal setting.
The idea is that you can check your InterNations events calendar on any one day of the month and you’ll find that there is always something going on: It could be just the evening when the InterNations Travel Group in your Community holds their regular meet-up, or maybe the InterNations Cycling Group has organized a small tour to the surrounding country side for the upcoming weekend. Another group of InterNations members could be going to the new art exhibition in town on that very evening, or to that crazy Karaoke place around the corner… There’ll be something for everyone, everywhere, anytime!
That’s the idea, and so far it has been working out great! In the five pilot communities Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Istanbul, and Munich, new Activity Groups have sprouted like mushrooms, so that two months after introducing the feature, we already counted around 130 Activity Groups in these five Communities alone. So a few weeks ago, we decided it was time to start the roll-out phase and introduced the new feature to 33 more Communities, namely: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Doha, Frankfurt, Geneva, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan, Montréal, Moscow, New Delhi, New York, Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, São Paulo, Shanghai, Shenzen, Singapore, Stockholm, The Hague, Vienna, and Zurich.
Of course we need someone who makes all this happen. On the one hand, that is of course you, our members, and all those especially dedicated ones among you who decide that they want to run their own InterNations Activity Group! On the other hand, there is the InterNations Groups Team here at our headquarters in Munich, coordinating everything, liaising with the IT Team to guarantee the smooth running of events and ensuring the quality and the variety of InterNations Activity Groups around the world. As the Groups Team is your first point of contact in all Groups-related matters, we thought it would be a good idea to let you know who you’re dealing with.
So let us introduce to you – the InterNations Groups Team:
Kathrin
When did you join InterNations?
I joined the team in October 2010.
Which areas are you responsible for?
Northern, Southern and Middle America.
What is your favourite group theme?
I like our City Trotter Groups. They offer their members a wide variety of activities , bring the new city closer to them and often come up with surprising ideas!
What kind of group would you found?
I started a Family and Kids Group in Munich, and have already found another member who takes the main lead for the group. My son and I have enjoyed meeting other moms, dads and their kids.
Franziska
When did you join InterNations?
I joined the InterNations Team very recently, in June 2012.
Which areas are you responsible for?
I am the point of contact for Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania.
What is your favourite group theme?
I especially like the out-of-box themes, such as Singles or Arts and Culture. Professional Networking has a certain appeal as well – the idea of strangers coming together to hone their business skills!
What kind of group would you found?
Definitively one with a focus on cultural and natural heritage. In fact, I am already in preparation!
Dominik
When did you join InterNations?
Just a few months ago, in February.
Which areas are you responsible for?
I am responsible for the Activity Groups section in all Local Communities in Europe.
What is your favourite group theme?
Everything that has to do with good food.
What kind of group would you found?
If it didn’t already exist, definitely a hiking group.
Dominik, Franziska and Kathrin are there to help you if you have any questions with regards to the InterNations Activity Groups. Remember, we are planning to introduce the Activity Groups feature to all our Local Communities, so do get in touch if you would like to create your own Activity Group and become an InterNations Group Consul – no matter where you are! If your Community has already been included in the roll-out, you can find some guidelines on how to open an Activity Group here . Otherwise, please contact Dominik, Franziska or Kathrin at groups[at]internations.org. We are looking forward to receiving your ideas and suggestions!
