The first day of the conference, will be packed full of presentations and workshops, and two feature presentations will revolve around the theme of freelancers and their motivation. Are freelancers really free, or are they actually forced into their situation by employment market forces?
Carolyn Ockels and Steve King from Emergent Research believe the majority of freelancers are in fact in control of their working situation. Their research group, which conducts detailed market studies and collates data from various sources, has recently focused on the situation of freelancers, entrepreneurs and contractors.
In a report for the firm MBO Partners entitled “The State of Independence in America”, Emergent Research asserts that 55% of independent workers proactively choose their working condition, while only 15% say it is due to forces beyond their control. They will present more detailed findings from their study in a session at Coworking Europe.
Later on the same day, a separate presentation by the Otto Group will show another side of the story – the perspective of a large corporation wanting to acquire and retain skilled workers. The Otto Group is a German company, known both for its mail-order catalogues and its sprawling empire of other businesses. Earlier this year the Otto Group dispatched a team of eight workers from its various branch companies to Betahaus Hamburg to work on a brainstorming project.
Christoph Giesa from the Otto Group will discuss the experience at Coworking Europe. In a video about the topic, Giesa said the decision by his company to dabble in coworking was partly due to a need to attract staff who might not apply to work in a big corpation: “Like all big companies we are facing a shortage of skilled personnel, and we have to accept that there are people who want to work in a different way from now on,” Giesa said.
While statistics tell one story, and a corporate perspective provides another, it is coworking space operators and their members who undoubtedly have the best understanding of the true state of the freelancers working inside their locations.
They will be encouraged to voice their observations on the topic, and to propose their own sessions during day two of the conference (November 4), which is slated as barcamp day with an open program. If you already have some topics in mind, please send your suggestions to
On the third day there are five guided tours for you. Starting at Cluboffice and ending at Betahaus, the tours will show you the wide range of Berlin's other coworking spaces, including the newest, Sankt Oberholz, a popular coffee shop for laptop workers which added a real coworking space to its concept six years after opening. During the conference you can easily sign up for one of the tours.
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Coworking Europe Conference, November 3-5 2011, Berlin
The conference is produced by Entreprise Globale, ClubOffice & Betahaus. Tickets for the conference – including food and beverages - are still available from the Coworking Europe Conference website.
For any questions regarding the Bar Camp and presentations please contact