Grassroots unconference

NOTE: The contents of this page are not set in stone, and are subject to change! This page is a draft in active flux ... Please leave suggestions on the talk page.

When: June 7-8, 2008 (9:30am - 5pm Saturday, 9:30am - 3pm Sunday)

[followup teleconf Sunday @ 4pm.]

Where: Final location TBA - suggestions welcome.

In the tradition of Barcamp, we will be holding Grassrootscamp Boston, an unconference dedicated towards community-organized, bottom-up, user-group, grassroots groups, initiatives, events, structures, and best-practices for all of the above.

This is not just an OLPC event, though there will be a practical focus on how to make educational grassroots groups succeed, with examples from OLPC projects in Peru, Nepal, Ghana and Uruguay. Anyone from any grassroots group, or with interest in volunteer-run physical or online organizations, is invited to attend.

To participate

Just sign up below. Please do sign up! Having a head count of how many people are likely to come is immensely helpful to figure out how many chairs, tables, etc. we need.

Attendance is free as in "no monetary cost,"* and every attendee at an unconference is expected to contribute something to the event. For some people, this means giving a presentation or running a tutorial; for others, ordering 10 large pizzas to feed others during lunch one day is their contribution. For yet others, photographing and liveblogging the event is their chip-in, and for others... well, you get the idea.

* though contributions are welcome! we are working to support the event through local sponsors, but contributions help.

Attendees

• --Sj talk
• Mel Chua - will serve as scheduleboard creator/maintainer/moderator, and plans to take profuse notes/transcripts.
• your name - what you're contributing

Needs

• Food
• Swag
• Supplies
• Presentations/tutorials

Location

Suggested locations:

Stata Center

• Pro - Nice open spaces; large blackboards
• ? - Needs someone to check with the facilities staff
• Con - needs reservation in advance, may not be entirely ours

Outdoors

• Pro - could be gorgeous
• Con - could be windy or rainy

1CC Offices

• Pro - lots of whiteboard space! and quiet conf rooms, networking, and access to XOs.
• Con - Many of the people coming will be there for the following week; a change of scenery is nice.

Related events

If you can't come to the grassroots bootcamp here, there are other events you might be interested in coming up over the next 3 months.

• Open Community Camp - in the Netherlands, August 10-17