Grow Remote is holding its first summit in Portlaoise. There will be fun events for remote workers as well as serious discussions about best practices.
Irish-founded social enterprise Grow Remote has been to the forefront of Ireland’s part in the global remote working revolution.
Its members have been campaigning for remote working to be taken seriously for years. Starting tomorrow (8 June), the organisation is hosting a two-day summit all about the world of remote working.
According to Joanne Mangan, remote transformation manager at Grow Remote, the event will address some of the concerns people may have about the shift to a remote-first culture.
“We know that remote work is good for people, for employers, for communities and for our planet. But we also know that adopting this new way of working can be a huge challenge, especially for employers,” she said.
“The purpose of the Grow Remote Summit is to bring everyone with a stake in our future into the same room so we can uncover these challenges and identify solutions to make remote work for everyone.”
The summit will feature more than 35 panellists from remote-first companies currently hiring in Ireland, including Gitlab, Globalization Partners, Ebay and Workvivo.
There will be a series of roundtables where employers can discuss issues and concerns around remote working in depth with a view to identifying best practices.
Mangan added that the summit is being held ‘in person’ in Portlaoise – as opposed to remotely – for this specific reason. “Remote workers don’t miss the commute but they do miss connecting with people in person which is why the Grow Remote Summit will be a fully in-person event.”
However, she did say that the event will have a global reach as Ireland will “play host to the world’s leading voices on remote work, together with employers, employees, local communities, government leaders and business innovators.”
That the summit is being held in Portlaoise, a town in the centre of Ireland, is also of significance. Portlaoise in Co Laois is one of the many commuter towns functioning as satellites to Dublin. Part of the push towards remote work in recent times has come from people living in these towns who don’t want to commute anymore.
Remote work has been a boon for people living in rural areas in particular, and the Government has realised this. It has invested in a series of remote working hubs in various locations around the country in an attempt to breathe life back into small towns.
Over the next few days, the Grow Remote summit will celebrate the local and the global benefits of remote work, while acknowledging the cultural challenges.
After the panel events, roundtables and serious conversations, attendees will get the opportunity to avail of Ireland’s hospitality. “By night, it will be a party and we are taking over the town,” said Mangan. There will be music, storytelling, theatre, beer-tasting and even a matchmaking festival.
It’s all a reminder that with the right amount of care and planning, remote workers can have just as much fun as their in-office counterparts. More information about the Grow Remote Summit line-up can be found on its website.
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