Here are a few gatherings worth checking out this fall for those looking for ways to impact positive social change. Going to any? Let us know in the comments below.

Hello Etsy Sept. 17-18, 2011
Berlin, Germany (helloetsy.com)

This summit on small business and sustainability will be an opportunity for approximately 500 small business owners around the world to network and obtain some skills in building enterprises that connect to nature and the local communities. This conference will be based on the concept of idea creation, product development, marketing and building a sustainable micro-enterprise. Choose from a variety of workshops including branding, blogging, community building, selling online and advertising. For those who cannot make it to Berlin, consider attending a satellite event in London, Paris, Brussels, Helsinki, New York, Portland, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles or watch the streaming video of the event online. Some of the sessions will be available on the website’s archives in October.

Join the Foundation for Social Change (FSC) and the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) for the annual Global Conference for Social Change: Turn Social Responsibility Into Business Opportunity and the Women & Girls Education Summit: Driving Economic Progress for Gender Equality. Join more than 200 attendees from a range of organizations to learn from a diverse group of business leaders how they put into practice the mantra that “doing good is good for business,” as well as initiatives to educate young women and girls in poverty.

The Global Forum on Human Trafficking Oct. 21-22, 2011
Sunnyvale, CA (notforsalecampaign.org)

Join Not For Sale, an organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking by equipping and engaging a global network of modern-day abolitionists, for its 3^rd Global Forum on Human Trafficking. At this gathering, speakers, panelists and activists will explore ways to mobilize in order to implement Zero-Tolerance Communities and develop cross-sector partnerships to combat human trafficking.

Read about more organizations fighting human trafficking.

Shannon Hopkins, social entrepreneur and director of Matryoshka Haus, reflects on an overall shift in conferences moving away from the speaker-based conferences to more interactive online activities, as well as regional events where people do things together such as the Social Innovation Camp. In fact, The Feast‘s decision to move its conference to focus on the retreat it had this summer was an interesting move designed to build community and get people more deeply connected and more poised to work together or create something new.

For a show about the business of microloans, watch “Penny Revolution” Tuesdays at 7pm ET on Halogen TV.