Engage! Vol. 5, No. 3


LIPSEY | FUTURE CONFERENCE 

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PAPER 7

Speaking Up and Speaking Out:
Call for Future Conference 

Alexander Lipsey
PHD Student
IU Indianapolis School of Social Work 

I cannot wait for next year, because I will 
surely be registering for the IU Community 
Engagement Unconference again. I believe the four 
assignment topics did a superb job at asking a diverse 
array of questions to get the voice and opinion of the 
participants that attended the conference as it relates 
to how their work is, and can be, applicable to 
community engagement. I resonated with prompt 2 
and prompt 4 the most but see the value in prompt 1 
and prompt 3. 

Prompt 2 asked for participants to highlight a 
best practice or model that they have personally 
implemented regarding community engagement that 
has proven successful. I found this to be a real beard-
scratcher because as a social worker there are many 
things that I have done regarding community 
engagement. Yet, of those things, which would I 
consider successful is dependent upon how success is 
defined. Consequently, I had to operantly define 
success to myself before I was able to continue. 
Deciding to respond to this prompt was monumental 
for me because I typically just go through the 
motions of things, believing action is enough. Prompt 
2 helped me to realize that action and its resounding 
affect is to be valued. 

Prompt 4 inquired upon participants to give 
their general thoughts about the Unconference, which 
includes the speakers, the interactions, the 
networking, etc.

Because this was my first time attending I did not 
know what to expect, so having the opportunity to 
simply reflect and give my feedback about the 
experience was helpful. I got to experience 
something new during my attendance. I had never 
seen the Mentimeter app used, which was a 
remarkable way to get engagement from the audience 
while relaying their anonymous opinions about the 
topic being asked in real-time across the presenting 
screen for everyone to see. That alone was amazing 
to me because the conference was centered around 
how to engage the community, and they exhibited an 
assortment of ways to engage the attendees at the 
conference, while also promoting what can be done 
outside of the conference. 

Prompt 1 asked participants how they see 
their work advancing community engagement, which 
is like Prompt 2 but with one key difference. Prompt 
1 is asking what could be done, and Prompt 2  is 
asking what has been done. I found Prompt 2 easier 
than Prompt 1 because there are countless ways I feel 
like my work can advance community engagement, 
but it is all dependent upon and limited to the 
resources and funds I have available. Consequently, I 
favor Prompt 2 because I know all the things I have 
done and could put them on a Likert scale of how 
successful they were. I see the value in being able to 
think about the future and what could be done to 
improve it, but my mind finds it hard to put limiters 
on future prospects about how things could be done, 
or what could be done. 



PAPER 1

 Prompt 3 probed participants to think about how does the IU system-wide effort, like the 
Unconference and other engagements, enable institution and network building to be better, together. 
This is a great prompt to get people's thoughts about how they think IU and things like it encourage 
growth in the institution and the networks that they are comprised up. Some people may feel very 
strongly that institutions are doing a lot to foster network building, while others may feel just as 
strongly that institutions are not doing enough. This prompt allows for a disconnect to be addressed if 
it exists somewhere. Otherwise, it allows people to highlight the actions of things being done so that 
people in places where it is not being done can become aware that it may be something that should be 
having done. 

All the topics held value, and I am grateful for the opportunity to attend the spring 2024 
Unconference to learn and foster connections with professors and individuals of like minds. I am sure 
next year will be just as good if not better. I would jump at the chance if there was an opportunity to 
help in the development of future Unconferences.

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LIPSEY | FUTURE CONFERENCE