This week, InterNations has a birthday to celebrate!
One year ago, our Activity Groups saw the light of day. The InterNations team members officially created the first of these groups on April 17, 2012.
What’s This All About?
Some of you may now be wondering: What’s an Activity Group anyway? For those members who haven’t joined one yet, here is what our activities are all about:
Our Activity Groups are created and organized by the members themselves, as smaller spaces dedicated to various hobbies and interests. They cover a wide range of leisure activities and professional themes, offering something to expats from all walks of life. 
From expat athletes to bookworms, from young party people to best agers – each of these groups has their own local niche to plan regular meet-ups in their InterNations Community.
Fun with Figures
At first, the Activity Groups were launched only in five of our biggest Local Communities to see if members liked the concept and showed sufficient interest in trying something new. So, we started out with InterNations Activities in Beijing, Brussels, Dubai, Istanbul, and of course, Munich, home to the InterNations HQ.
But where are we now, after one year? Well, to use a bit of understatement, there was enough interest indeed. We’ve asked the staff members of our Activity Groups team to provide some stats to sum up their success.
How many Local Communities have got their own Activity Groups now? – 270, give or take, from Abidjan to Zurich.
And how many Activity Groups are there in total? – A whopping 1,850.
Which InterNations Community can boast the most Activity Groups then? – That’s our local Munich Community, with more than 80 groups at the moment. 
Where can we find the Activity Group with the highest number of members?
Again, in Munich. This is the Munich Alpine Division, which is a record-holder in several respects. It is also the oldest of our groups and thus the #1 in our internal classification. Today, it unites 1,500 expats and locals in the Munich area who love hiking, skiing, and mountaineering in the beautiful Bavarian Alps.
And if I don’t live anywhere near Munich? Where are some other lively Activity Groups?
Oh, there’s plenty going on in other expat hotspots, too. For obvious reasons, the Activity Groups in the first five Local Communities tend to be the biggest since they are also the oldest. In Istanbul, the Singles Club attracts its fair share of lonely hearts while in Dubai, Professional Networking is our most popular activity.
The Brussels DinnerNations people – over 1,000 of them! – love exploring the cuisine of the Belgian capital, beyond waffles and French fries, 
and the Brussels Galleries & Exhibitions group, which brings almost 700 art lovers together, deserves a shout-out, too. In Beijing, on the other hand, music seems to be a favorite – the Live Music fans attend plenty of gigs together, from swing dance to gothic industrial rock.
But are the groups with the most members automatically the most active ones?
Well, not always. Many of the larger groups do organize a lot of regular meetings, but a few smaller ones literally give them a run for their money. Our Running Groups in Houston and São Paulo “only” have 50 and 130 members respectively, but these runners are really busy and can’t do without their training!
What about the folks behind the scenes? Have they ever attended an InterNations Activity?
Certainly! In fact, every member of the Activity Groups team has already been out and about. Dominik and Franziska participated in some activities of our Munich Charity Group, which helps to support the residents of a local home for refugees and asylum-seekers. 
Christin went skiing together with the people from the aforementioned Munich Alpine Division, and Susanne joined the Jazz, Pop, and World Music Club for a live concert. So they could all see for themselves what they help daily to coordinate.
Last But Certainly Not Least
Most of all, the success of our Activity Groups is due to our Group Consuls – those members who moderate and maintain the groups, and host activities as well. A big thank you to every single one of you! We couldn’t have done it without you.
Interested? If you’d like to become a Group Consul, too, you can simply create an Activity Group in your InterNations Community. Or if you’d rather give selected groups a try, check out the local Activity Groups section.
Now it’s up to you to show up and have fun. Enjoy!
(Photo credits: 1, 3, 4: InterNations; 2: Germany Bavaria Alps Road by Wikimedia Commons user RRKennison)
