Shared spaces to open to public for National Coworking Day on May 22

Matt Welson, Melita Farley and Sophie Ross work full-time in the coworking space at Confluence.

Are you curious about coworking?

Coworking spaces around New Zealand will open their doors to the public for National Coworking Day on Tuesday, May 22, so people can tour the spaces, find out about coworking and experience it first-hand.

Organiser Kevin Double, of Whanganui's Double Farley Creative Partners, said local coworking spaces Confluence and Hive & Co will be open for the week of May 21-25 for people to experience coworking. The third Whanganui space, Thrive, is offering free coworking during all of May.

"People in larger cities might be aware of coworking spaces but there has been incredible growth in regional coworking spaces too," Double said.

Coworking spaces provide workspaces and amenities but, unlike a traditional office, people using them are usually not employed by the same organisation. Coworkers are often independent contractors, small businesses, remote workers or people who travel frequently.

National Coworking Day 2018 will also see the launch of a scheme where coworking spaces in New Zealand will be twinned with coworking spaces around the world. It has been organised by Double Farley with the support of Coworker.com, an international organisation that helps connect people with coworking spaces in more than 115 countries.

"It's a great way to help connect the New Zealand coworking community and the businesses that work in them with the rest of the world," Double said.

"We're hoping it will be especially beneficial for coworking spaces in regional towns."

National Coworking Day is organised by Double Farley Creative Partners with the national support of the Cowork Hui and international support of Coworker.com. It is also an official Tech-week 2018 event.