Building Community Bridges Across Innovation Ecosystems

Community Week Podcast S1 – London Community Week Episode 24: In Conversation with Ilker Akansel Co-Founder, TalentLed Host: Kateryna Bova, Community Strategist & Founder of BÓVA Community Agency In this episode, we sit down with Ilker Akansel, a community strategist and systems thinker with a background in corporate learning and development. Now the Co-Founder of TalentLed, Ilker supports companies in building strong, purpose-driven communities inside and outside their organisations. Ilker shares key lessons from his journey—how to design community programs with impact, align internal and external stakeholders, and lead with clarity in fast-paced environments. Key discussion points: ✅ Community design through systems thinking ✅ Connecting L&D with community growth ✅ Running the Community Strategy Hackathon ✅ Scaling meaningful engagement with structure ✅ Making community efforts measurable and strategic 🗓️ What is London Community Week? From July 8–11, 2025, London became the global stage for community professionals: • July 8: Community Strategy Hackathon • July 9: Community-led World Conference Day 1 • July 10: Community-led World Conference Day 2 • July 11: Unconference Plus for Community Builders 🌍 45+ speakers. 4 days. 200+ attendees. A global celebration of community strategy and collaboration. Learn more: https://london.community-week.com/ 📺 Don’t forget to subscribe — new episodes are dropping every few days as we count down to the next Community Week!

In this week’s episode Faye and James welcome two inspiring guests: Natalie Gray, head of marketing and partnerships at Codurance, and Ilker Akansel, a community strategy consultant. They delve into the importance of grassroots tech communities and how they contribute to a vibrant tech ecosystem. Key Insights include: · The Importance of Community: Ilker emphasises, “Technical communities provide support to all the moving parts within entrepreneurial ecosystems.” These communities foster collaboration and innovation, essential for growth in the tech sector. · Creating Safe Spaces: Natalie shares that grassroots communities offer a “safe space where you can practice, make mistakes, and learn your craft.” This is crucial for both newcomers and seasoned professionals looking to enhance their skills. · Intentionality in Community Building: Ilker highlights the need for a clear purpose in community initiatives, stating, “If you put the member journey at the centre of the community, you can't really fail.” This focus ensures that communities remain relevant and valuable to their members. · Regular Engagement: Natalie stresses the importance of consistency, saying, “As soon as you start skipping events, that’s when cracks start to show.” Regular meetings help maintain engagement and commitment from members. Produced by Cambridge TV Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information. Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/26497767?utm_source=youtube

Welcome to the Digital Community Leaders Podcast, a conversation with community experts, diving into their insights and leaving you with actionable ideas. Today we’re joined by… Ilker Akansel, a community strategist with experience working with big tech. He’s focused on creating talent communities and hwo they can have a real impact on your talent acquisition. Check out our website for the podcast: https://podcast.digitalcommunityleaders.com/ Steadfast Collective: https://steadfastcollective.com Find more from Ilker Akansel: https://www.talentled.co/

Join us for a captivating conversation with two community strategists and self-proclaimed ""armchair psychologists,"" to uncover how communities influence mental well being. Key highlights: - How being part of a community can enhance mental health and overall wellbeing. Why empathy is central to building true communities and how it differentiates a genuine community from mere audiences or groups. - The role of community leaders in setting positive examples and fostering environments where members can thrive without the fear of judgment. - How to create inclusive spaces where everyone feels safe and valued. Panel Ilker Akansel Yurii Lazaruk Morgan Rice, Community Development, Hivebrite Watch all episodes from Community Therapy season two here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ef5iWQXQuP7tWyiebQbrCNTjfnu57sn #Hivebrite, #CommunityTherapy, #CommunitiesAndPsychology

Get the hottest ideas and predictions in community strategy from across the community industry for 2025 from the Ember. We selected 8 brilliant minds, spanning the globe, and actively shaping the community landscape to give us their take on what's coming to community strategy in 2025. Their response? Well... it might shock you. GUEST EXPERTS: Hugo Paquin X: https://x.com/HugoPaquin LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugopaquin/ Jocelyn Hsu X: https://x.com/jocelyntypes LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jocelynhsu/ Mirella Ang de Jonge LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirellamoves/ Ilker Akansel X: https://x.com/ilkerakansel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkerakansel Bri Leever LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannaleever/ Todd Nilson X: https://x.com/toddnilson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tnilson/ Kristen Pavle X: https://x.com/kpaxle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kpavle/ Matjhijs Vleeming X: https://x.com/VleemingMathijs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathijsvleeming/

Bottom line: Talent-led online communities can have a real and measurable impact on your talent acquisition and retention strategies. Join Todd Nilson and Ilker Akansel on the next installment of Talk About Your Community, where they will answer: - What is a talent community? - Why are talent communities needed? - How will talent communities change talent acquisition and retention strategies? - And more, so be sure to bring your own questions! ABOUT ILKER Having managed projects and programs, and led volunteers and communities at Google, Cisco and London Olympic Games, Ilker is one of Turkey's first Community Management and Strategy experts providing consultancy on contributions that communities can make to organizations. He is also the founder and one of the co-hosts of the Istanbul Chapter of CMX Connect network, which is the leading global network of Community Professionals. https://lnkd.in/gAGYhjA9 https://lnkd.in/gcDvpCkE ABOUT THE SHOW Talk About Your Community is a weekly live stream for leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and community builders. Tune in to talk about community building and digital strategy. #LinkedInLive #community #digitalstrategy #communitybuilding #onlinecommunity #communitymanagement #communitymanager #talentled #talentcommunities Talk About Your Community is produced by Clocktower Advisors, a global consultancy specialized at helping organizations like yours to build thriving, sustainable communities online. Clocktower Advisors Privacy Policy: https://lnkd.in/dS64AhxU Connect with Todd Nilson on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/gi9gh6NN Follow Clocktower Advisors on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/gu9CXE_s Schedule a call: https://lnkd.in/gmYK3rwf Original Music by Blisskrieg Studios (looking for your own soundtrack, message us and we can put you in touch!)

Welcome to Community Life! Here we talk with the community experts about their lives, and today our guest is Ilker Akansel, the most helpful and supportive community expert from Turkey, a hard rock lover, a great electric guitar player, a music expert, Community Management Building & Strategy Consultant, CMX Connect Istanbul Founder and Co-Host, and an amazing person who is always there for you 🤩 From this episode, you'll know: 👉 what is the agreement behind Ilker's first tweet 👉 how did Ilker lose himself in the music 👉 what does the name Ilker mean, and how it influenced his life 👉 how does Ilker feel about arguing with people 👉 what challenges Ilker had to overcome when he started his first community... and so much more about Ilker's life! 🤩 Follow Ilker on social media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkerakansel/ https://twitter.com/ilkerakansel https://www.instagram.com/ilkerakansel/ #community #communitymanager #communitybuilding

Our expert panel featuring: Kelly McMichael (Slack), Sarah-Jane Morris (Mailchimp) and Ilker Akansel (Community Builder & Strategist, ex: Google, Cisco) discussed what makes a strong developer community. They shared how to gain the trust of developers, create impactful programs and events, measure success, and much more. We also took a dive into the world of hybrid events and shared what those programs might look like in the DevRel world.

I get to spend a few days at the epicenter of community, and meet all the best experts in the world at CMX Summit, but I want you to meet and hear from them too! That's why I'm inviting my favorite people from CMX Summit on the show to tell you their biggest takeaway, themselves! If there is anything I've learned so far is that the "community crowd" is a warm, welcoming, brilliant crew. You won't want to miss this special edition of the B2BCB! Come be a part of the show! https://tinyurl.com/B2BCBSeason5 Connect with Josh Grose! On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshgrose/ On his company: https://www.commonroom.io/ Connect with Tim Courtney! On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timcourtney/ On his website: https://timcourtney.net/ Connect with Kaila Lim! On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kailalim/ On her website: https://kailajlim.com/hello Connect with Jenny Weigle! On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyweigle/ On her website: https://www.jenny.community/https://www.jenny.community/ Connect with Ilker Akansel! On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilkerakansel/ On her website: https://www.ilkerakansel.com/ Connect with Carol Hink! On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolhink/ On Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolhink Connect with Cole! On His LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colefeldman/ On His Website: http://www.rebalancedaily.com/ Connect with Sam! On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/szelitch/ Connect with Venia! On Her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthavlogan/ On Her Website: https://sociallyconstructed.online/ Connect with Lori! On Her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lori-goldman-054b323/ Connect with Jan! On his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-biller/ On His company: https://glowingblue.com/en/ Connect with Piper: On her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pipertwilson/ Connect with ME! In person at: Jesse Lane Conference in Jacksonville 10/22-23 Online at: LinkedIn or Instagram. Learn to produce internet talk shows and build your own Relationship Flywheel. Find out more about the Bootcamp HERE.