By Joe Crossland, co-organiser of CU25 Scotland
I’ve written about the taster session before, so I won’t repeat myself on the reasons why I chose to attend Comms Unplugged in 2019, so here I’ll focus on the reasons I’ve returned every year since!
Community connection
Comms Unplugged is a special community. It’s inclusive and welcoming – you feel you’re in the right place from the moment you step into the field and sign in. There’s also a collaborative element that people tap into very easily – the collective knowledge and experience in the field is powerful. Chances are, if you have an issue to resolve, someone else has already been though it and is more than willing to share their expertise.
Camping and comms is an interesting Venn diagram! CU attracts people with an appetite to switch off that phone, to engage with their surroundings and their fellow delegates and do something different. Because it is different! Where else would you camp overnight and have your sessions in a marquee or in a wood? You won’t see the same people every year – and actually it’s great there are new people to welcome to ‘the field’ each time. They widen the collective experience and knowledge of the group and everyone seems to have the same open-minded ethos.
And that community lasts. A WhatsApp group is set up after the event for unpluggers (you’re not a ‘delegate’ any more!) to tap into the collective wisdom and expertise of the group, or just to shoot the breeze with like-minded humans.
I know I can simultaneously vent my frustrations in a safe space and have my achievements (in and out of work) celebrated by the group.
Hierarchy? What hierarchy?
One thing that’s apparent from the moment you step into the field (and this I absolutely love) is the total lack of hierarchy. The programme contains a list of attendees and where they’re from – not what they do. You can assume they work in comms though! Everyone is there to learn and connect with each other on a human level. No one cares about job titles when you’re toasting marshmallows over an open fire!
Equal focus on wellbeing and development
If you collect CPD points, you’ll get them for both the development and the wellbeing sessions. It’s a recognition that both are equally important. My original interest in CU was mainly in the development sessions, but I quickly realised how much I enjoyed the variety of wellbeing activities on offer and how important they were to me.
A sense of perspective
Getting away from the computer and turning off your phone while being in the great outdoors (especially camping) gives you a sense of perspective rarely found elsewhere. Complex problems seem to fade, or solutions seem to arise, just by having that distance applied.
Chatting with people (whether about work issues or not) and simply having time to think without distraction really does work wonders for assessing what matters to you.
Brilliant fun
Whether you’re in a development session, or participating in a wellbeing workshop, or sitting by the fire with your new friends, or enjoying some delicious food, or in that special moment when you unzip the tent first thing in the morning and see the sunrise reflected in a million drops of dew, you will be having a brilliant time.
I always hoped more of my Scotland-based colleagues would get the opportunity to participate in the magic that is Comms Unplugged, and now that time has come! Don’t pass up your chance to be a part of it – book your ticket now!
— Monday 12th May —
