© SEZ

Mindchangers Fuckup Night for funding and project execution

On Thursday, June 20th, 2024 at the “StadtPalais – Museum for Stuttgart” at 5:00 pm we invite NGOs across Baden-Württemberg to transform the current “culture of failure” in project funding to learn from each other’s mistakes and failures. We will finish the evening celebrating our imperfections at Palais Après.

Never Fail Alone

When it comes to funding and project implementation, we usually want to present ourselves from our best sides, assure the funding institutions that the funds are in good hands with us and that we will use them as efficiently as possible – of course without any problems or unforeseen circumstances. Truth be told however, we also know that our plans rarely work out exactly as we had planned and imagined.

With our Fuckup Night*, we want to show the problematic side of the flawlessness we usually portray in our projects and break up the stigma that only “fuck-up-free” organizations can be funded.

Fuckup Nights are non-judgmental spaces in which we not only openly share our biggest mistakes with each other, but also celebrate them, precisely because we can learn so much from each other as a result. Being open about failures requires courage and trust. The format thrives on these two elements and will only be effective if everyone present is prepared to stand up on stage and talk about things that didn’t go according to the plan. That’s why we want to invite all participants to share their mistakes and failures at our Fuckup Night and embrace the collective human experience of failing within our organizations.

We at Mindchangers are not taking ourselves out of this. Over the last three and a half years, we have been able to celebrate many successes, but it has also been a real rollercoaster for us at times and challenged us in ways we could not have foreseen. And we are more than happy to share these interesting and also embarassing moments with you.

The event starts at 5:00 pm in the StadtPalais in Stuttgart. Prior registration is required for participation. Apart from a small ice-breaker, there is no agenda for this event as it is an open format. We plan to end the official part of the event at around 7:00 pm. Afterwards, all participants are invited to end the evening with networking at the Palais Après. As always, snacks and drinks will be provided!

We are happy to reimburse the travel costs for participation within the framework of the state travel expenses law.

*Fuckup Night is the official name of a method that aims to establish a constructive error culture in which participants admit their own failures, learn from them and pass on their experiences to others. The aim is to establish an error-friendly culture in order to increase the capacity for innovation and mutual acceptance. The aim is to encourage the audience to deal openly with failures, actively look for their causes and see them as an opportunity for growth. Learning that others also make mistakes should also help them to deal better with conflicts and failures.