3 Insights from my SXSW 2021 Mentor Experience

By: Priyanka Jaisinghani

This past year has forced us to reimagine how we gather, and how we gather meaningfully. In this global pause, every industry has had to rethink this, and more specifically conferences have had to rethink what are the most important elements, what matters most to their audience, and what are the elements that create purpose.

This year, SXSW hosted its first conference virtually and they were able to bring all the elements that make SXSW magical in a virtual setting. During their virtual gathering, I had the honor and opportunity to be a mentor. Throughout the week (March 2021) I connected with over 20+ across the globe to talk through: community, gender equality, movement building, advocacy, career growth, and impact.

I connected with women across the globe eager to connect and make a difference. From a local woman in Austin who wanted to create a unique experience to gather like-minded women excited about Mathematics to a Canadian artist who wanted to mentor Asian women and help them break into the music industry, to a Brazilian woman who wanted to figure out be more civically engagement to a global citizen who created a tech company focused on the immigrant experience.

From my 20+ conversations, these are the top 3 insights/pieces of advice that kept surfacing in conversations:

1. Reinventing Impact: We all have the tools, resources, and our own superpowers to make an impact. The desire and need is deep, and while we can’t do it in traditional ways right now, we can invent ways that still allow us to build meaningful ways to create our desired impact. When we’re looking at the ways we can reinvent, we have to ask ourselves: what impact do we want to have/what do I want to feel/accomplish? And what do we have in hand to start the journey? It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the process and visualize the long-term audacious goal. But it doesn’t have to be that hard. We can start today with our respective communities with the tools and resources we have at hand. As an example, in one of my mentorship sessions, one of the community members wanted to create a safe virtual space for POC individuals working in the film industry. Instead of feeling overwhelmed with the desire to create this space, it was much easier to look at the people in our community, the platforms we have, and how we can create meaningful structures to gather. In this case, through a curated virtual dinner party/meetup with structured questions and phases to move past the small talk and into the deep end conversationally.
2. Mission-Driven Organizations: More than Nonprofits: When we think about volunteering with mission-driven organizations, it’s easy to think about the traditional organizations and jumping straight to nonprofits. But today, it’s exciting to see how diverse the field has become. Mission-driven organizations can now encompass startups, B-Corporations, nonprofits, and more. The best way to get your foot in the door is to get clear on the type of industry/field the organization you want to volunteer for (eg: education) and research the top 5 to 7 organizations. Instead of waiting for them to open up volunteer spots, send the team an email offering up your key strengths that you’d like to support them. This allows you to create your opportunities and find what impact means to you and what experiences matter. This also allows you to understand how these industries work (and what type of work is required) if you want to investigate this space as your next professional jump.
3. Virtual Communities: As we continue to stay indoors, we’re craving a deeper bond and connection to our community. Sometimes we need to add a little spice in our virtual spaces and create a different routine and structure by incorporating games, deeper questions, or breaking off into smaller groups. However, this is also an opportunity for us to connect with new people. The internet is powerful because it allows us to connect with like-minded individuals across the world. A new favorite platform to connect with people is lunch club — you’re automatically connected to a new individual for virtual coffee.