Check out our fall events below, or see our Events Archive for information on recent Small-Mart events.

The FoodBIN conference, held in Cherry Hill, NJ (near Philadelphia) will provide an opportunity for social enterprise proponents, community development specialists, microenterprise and small business lenders, food business development advisors, urban and rural economic development professionals, and food technology support groups to learn about how food business incubation practices are helping regional economies and supporting entrepreneurs and farmers around the world. The FoodBIN Conference is a special segment of the 2008 Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) Annual Conference, whose theme is “Restoring Our Urban and Rural Communities with Healthy Food.”

In celebration of the Oregon Microenterprise Network's 10th anniversary, the 2008 Summit will feature an expanded set of trainings for economic development professionals under the theme "Building Communities, Expanding Prosperity." The summit - designed to highlight innovations and best practices that help entrepreneurs grow and prosper - will take place at the Governor Hotel in Portland, Oregon. Michael Shuman will be speaking on October 17. The Oregon Microenterprise Network (OMEN) is a statewide association of microenterprise development programs and their supporters.

The Bioneers Conference is a leading-edge national forum where social and scientific innovators showcase solutions for restoring the Earth and communities that are inspired by nature and human ingenuity. Michael Shuman will speak on October 19 about the Small-Mart Revolution as part of a track entitled Eco-Design and Eco-nomics. The conference will be held at the Marin Center in San Rafeal, California.

Michael will be speaking at the College of the Siskiyous, a public community college.

The 2008 Rural CAMEO Conference is entitled: MicroEnterprise: Leading Local Economic Development, and will take place at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento, California. On October 23, Michael Shuman will speak about how to revitalize your economy, out-compete the world's largest companies, and increase community investment through support of local businesses.

Hosted by the University of Kentucky's Appalachian Center, this one-day event will bring together economic development practioners from Eastern Kentucky to discuss mechanisms for collaboration and innovation through localized economic development. Speakers include Michael Shuman; Anthony Flaccavento, executive director and founder of Appalachian Sustainable Development; and Becky A. Anderson, founding CEO of HandMade in America. The event is hosted by the University of Kentucky Growing Local Economies Partnership, which includes the Appalachian Center, the Kentucky Entrepreneurial Coaches Institute, the Kentucky Small Business Development Centers, the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Rural Economic Development Program, and the Training & Development Corporation.

Michael will be speaking to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, California.

Taking place at the Laxson Auditorium in Chico, California, This Way to Sustainabily IV seeks to develop common ground to help build a sustainable society; one that balances economic, environmental and social needs. This annual event provides a forum to discuss issues that are relevant to the Chico region, community, faculty, staff, and students. On November 6, Michael Shuman will deliver a keynote entitled The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Economies are Beating the Global Competition. Hosted by Calfornia State University (CSU) at Chico, The Associated Students of CSU Chico, Butte College, and The Associated Students of Butte College at the CSU Chico Campus. This event is free and open to the public.

The Green Festivals are a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America. The festivals are now held annually in 5 major U.S. cities. The D.C. Green Festival, held at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, will celebrate what’s working in our communities—across the District, Maryland and Virginia—for people, for business and for the environment. The event features 125 renowned speakers and 350 green businesses, how-to workshops, green films, a Fair Trade pavilion, yoga classes, organic beer, organic cuisine and live music. Michael Shuman will moderate a panel on November 9 at 4pm entitled “Triple Bottom Line Businesses: How to Make them Work.”

The D.C. Green Festival, a project of Global Exchange and Co-op America, is proud to host the 2008 D.C. Environmental Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs and Wholeness for Humanity. The conference will take place at the Washington Convention Center and includes a community focus pavilion and an Environmental Scorecard kiosk, a Town Hall Meeting on the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday at 1pm, and a dramatization of the degradation of the Chesapeake Bay.

Michael will be speaking with a range of organizations in Vermont about the importance of and possibilities for state- and regional-level stock markets.

The Rural Development Initiatives' Regards to Rural VI conference is a gathering for information, inspiration and celebration of all that is rural in Northwest North America. The conference will take place March 20-21 with pre-sessions on March 19; all events will be held at the Salem Conference Center in downtown Salem, Oregon. After a popular talk at last year's conference, Michael Shuman was invited back and will serve as one of two keynote speakers at this year's event.

Michael will be speaking at a range of events across Australia during this window. For our Aussie, colleagues, we’ll post more details when we have them.